SUPERSTAR
ROSIE! RBARI'S MOST MEMORABLE
VIP...
 Rosie
is most surely RBARI's most memorable and well known VIP. Her
new owner will gladly attest to that, as he is continually stopped
on the street with exclamations of "Wow! Is that RBARI Rosie?!"
We are happy to let everyone know that Rosie is doing FANTASTIC
in her new home! She is so enamored with her new owner, in fact,
that upon a recent visit back to RBARI to see her old friends,
Rosie refused to get out of the car! Silly Rosie :) We were just
so happy to see her so content that no one minded having to go
out to the parking lot for the visit. RBARI friends everywhere
love our Rosie Girl.
CHAAC
(used to be WALTER)
Hello,
We adopted out dog, Chaac (used to be Walter)
from you 3 years ago. He is a pit/shepherd mix, about 75 lbs.
At the time, he did not know how to play, or trust people very
much.
He has since been through K9 education and K9 Good Citizen training.
We didn't come to the shelter for
Chaac- we saw another dog on your petfinder.com listing, and
came to meet him. When we got there, another couple was already
filling out paperwork for that dog. We looked at 3 other dogs,
and didn't see one we though was "our" dog. Then we
saw someone walking Chaac, and the lady who was helping us pick
out a dog thought he may be a good match. He was. We filled
out the paperwork and paid for him that afternoon, bought him
all his doggie necessities, and picked him up the next day when
the shelter opened.
I am writing in appreciation of
Chaac. Last Sunday, our 4 month old baby was having difficulty
breathing during the night. Both my husband and I were sleeping.
Chaac began barking and running to the baby until my husband
picked up the baby and saw that he was not breathing well. If
Chaac was not here, I don't want to think about what could have
happened.
Chaac was our first baby, he comes to all events, parties, and
even some vacations. When he can't go with us on vacation, he
has his favorite uncles come stay at our house with him so he
won't be stuck in a kennel. Now that we have a baby, he still
goes everywhere with us, but now he has a little brother coming,
too. He has been very gracious and gentle and not at all jealous
of the baby. Since the day the baby came home, Chaac is like
his second mommy, always watching him and whining if the baby
is upset, or until I pick him up if he cries.
While he has always been a good
dog, and very friendly, he has also gotten protective since
we had our baby. He barks when people come to the door, and
when strangers walk too close to the house. He will not let
people he does not know pick up or go near the baby, standing
by the baby and pushing the unknown person with his body, sometimes
crying, until we tell him it is OK. Chaac is the sweetest dog
in the world. People always tell us they don't like pitts, they
are vicious dogs. We tell them dogs are who they are trained
to be, and our dog is a pushover. He loves everyone, and even
people who claim to have hated pitts and other big dogs come
to love him.
While I have always counted Chaac to be among the best decisions
I have ever made in my life, and am constantly thankful he is
our dog, this just makes me more grateful for him then ever.
Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, for our Chaac.
Sincerely,
Samantha Feuss
POTATO!
Kayla and RJ and Tater
(Click
here to read our letter)
LUCY
(formerly BASHFUL)
We
Love Lucy
Dear Laura and thr rest of the RBARI staff,
The Golden we adopted who was named “Bashful”
by you guys, is doing terrific. We named her “LUCY”
and we definitely love her to pieces. You may remember she had
some skin irritations on her front & back paws, and chest.
The vet didn’t have any concern about them and her fur has
grown in completely to cover any scarring that is there. She is
gorgeous and looks & feels like silk. We are still trying
to house train her – she’s still having some accidents
but we’re getting it under control. She has lots of play
dates with other pups in the neighborhood and she had her first
swimming lesson back in August up in the Adirondacks. Lucy is
quite a digger of holes and she does it so fast. Stu is not too
pleased with his lawn being dug up, but is learning to live with
it. We took her to Dr. Rao in Boonton for her check-ups and vaccinations.
She’s good now for a year until her next rabies according
to the Dr. We haven’t decided where we will take her to get
neutered yet. Probably to Dr. Ferrante, the surgeon who operated
on our Jesse back in April. She’s opening a new practice
close by in Montville but works out of the Animal Hospital in
Fairfield . Will let you know when it’s done – won’t
forget!
Hope you enjoy the photo. Thanks for allowing us to adopt her
– she was just what we needed to ease our painful memories
of losing Jesse. We feel very blessed that she came into our lives
when she did.
Keep
up the good work!
Best
regards,
Kathy, Stu & Mike Lieberman
MINSK & PINSK- Two Great Cats!
I thought I'd share with all of RBARI
my success story with you guys. It's quite overdue, but better
late than never. It's not my parents' style to do things like
this, but I figure someone should.
July 2005, I walked into the kitten
nursery with my parents and sister. We knew we wanted kittens
(it was a late birthday present for my mother) but we had no idea
what to expect. There was one kitten, however, that immediately
caught my eye. His name was Loeman.
Lourdes was our helper that day,
and she told us that Loeman would have to go home with his sister,
Filene. Filene was (and is) very shy, and was hiding in the corner
of the nursery. My mom was hesitant. She had only bargained on
one kitten, but I knew from the second I saw Loeman that he was
going to be the one. A beautiful medium-length hair tabby, I am,
thinking back on it, surprised he wasn't adopted the day he came
there.
We took Filene and Loeman home (and
renamed them. Filene is now Minsk , and Loeman is now Pinsk ).
If nothing else, the first couple days they proved to be great
for getting the dust out of the corners. Pinsk was always the
affectionate one, and occasionally he would get dust in his whiskers,
then come up to me asking me to take it out.
The kitties had what I assume to
be usual kitten problems, such as not using the litter box, being
too explorative for their own good (we kept them in one room)
and so on. They grew up some, Pinsk became even more affection
as time went on, and Minsk still runs away when I go to pet her.
They're now approximately a year
and a half old, and happy as clams to be with us. And I'm happy
we have them. But I love all cats, and while these two are a handful,
I wanted more. I started volunteering at RBARI in July 2006 and
I don't plan on stopping. I told Lourdes about the kitties recently,
and it turns out they were her foster cats at one time. She did
a good job.
I'm so glad we have a shelter here
in Oakland , especially one like RBARI. I walk into the building
every week and I feel the happiness of the animals and the employees.
And I'm always in a good mood when I'm there.
Thanks, RBARI, for everything. And
I hope more shelters become like it, because the no-kill policy
is the single best part about RBARI. It may get crowded, but there's
just more animals to love. Long live RBARI!
Jeffrey Teichman
Junior Volunteer
LIZA
Hi
there. My name is Liza and as you can see, I am busy dreaming
about the good times ahead. I was adopted into my new home from
RBARI back in May….and I must admit, these have been
a couple of  the
best months of my life! My adoptive parents met me as
volunteer dog walkers and fell in love with me, but it took
them almost three months to take the plunge – What were
they thinking???
As
you can see, I am cute as a button (part Black Lab and part
Beagle). I am only six years old, but look a bit older
since I’m prematurely gray in the face – I guess
that may have scared off some folks who wanted to adopt. I’m
glad my new family could see my inner beauty -- I’m
laid back and easy going indoors, I love tennis balls and constantly
wagging my tail to show how happy I am. I turn on the
beagle “charm” when we go out for walks, pointing
out every living creature we pass. We take rides in the
car too, which I absolutely adore.
My
new family doesn’t know where I’ve been all these
years and what I’ve seen and experienced (I’m keeping
it a secret) J, but they seem to want to make the years ahead
fantastic ones for me. Truth be told, I think that I have
already made their lives quite a bit more fantastic too!
TINA
- Formerly Cassie
Dear
RBARI,
This email is long overdue.
About 2 years ago, my boyfriend (now husband) and I adopted a
female shep/hound mix named Tina. As soon as we brought
her home, she was very quiet and anxious. She paced and
paced and paced and would finally lay down. Little did we
know what we were in for.
We quickly renamed Tina, her name is now Cassie. Cassie
had her ups and downs, we tried crate training her, but we had
a feeling she may have been abused by a crate. We trusted
her to roam our home and soon enough we would find ourselves coming
home to tufts of cotton everywhere. She chewed our couch
to bits. She once found her way to a 5 lb bag of potatoes,
she didn't eat them, but she played with them. I came home
from work and found that each potato in the bag had puncture marks
in them. She must have thought they were balls to play with.
Cassie soon showed that she was very loyal to Dave and I.
Anyone that she didn't know that approached us, she would bark
at them. She is a very loyal dog to us.
We came to a point when we were very frustrated with Cassie.
We felt like we weren't making any progress with her. After
weeks of thinking about it, Dave and I made the decision to return
her. I made the phone call and I must admit, I felt awful.
I loved her, but was not used to handling a dog with issues.
After about a week, I knew I couldn't let her go. So she
chewed our couch, wingback chair and my very expensive pair of
shoes. So she turned out to be incontinent and had some
female aggression issues. I made the decision that I would
put even more time, effort and love into her. That is when
I made my next call to RBARI, I called back and said I changed
my mind. I couldn't let her go. She was a good dog,
but I may not have been experienced to deal with her separation
anxiety issues. I spoke with Melissa and we had a mini training
session. Melissa taught me how to handle her and every since
that one lesson, my life with Cassie was great.
Things were going very well for a long time. In August of
2004, our girl, Cassie, was diagnosed with Epilepsy. We
had tried all different things, but she was having seizure consistently
every 3 ½ weeks. After switching vets, we finally
found the combination for Cassie. She has been seizure free
for just about 4 months. She's on Phenobarbital, 2 pills
in the morning, 2 at night and her pheno levels/liver function
is fabulous.
I wanted to send a picture of Cassie. This picture is of
Cassie and I, we entered a photo contest at moto photo in Park
Ridge. We didn't win, but Cassie a winner to Dave and I.
She is not only a dog, but she is a member of our family.
She's our little girl. Although we had some downs with Cassie,
we have had nothing but ups for her. Cassie loves going
to my parents house in Cape Cod, the dog park and running around
in the backyard. She hops up in our bed when she thinks
we're sleeping and nestles herself right between Dave and I.
We love her so much. We had to leave her in the kennel when
we went to Ireland to visit Dave's parents, brothers and sisters,
but she was happy as a clam when I picked her up.
Thank you so much for everything you have done for us. Like
I said, this email is way overdue. I should have sent this
email to you a long time ago. Thank you for all of your
encouragement, understanding and support. This was my first
time adopting a dog from a shelter and believe me, when the time
is right, we will be adopting another dog from you. You
guys are spectacular.
I wanted to send this to you so you knew what a loving, patient
and caring home Cassie has now. She is such a good girl!!!
I read on your website about the Happy Dog Tails and thought Cassie
should be on there. She is a happy dog tail! She brings
us so much joy, I cannot even begin to explain it. Most
people gush over their children, Dave and I gush over her.
We love her and she loves us!!!!
Thanks again,
Sincerely,
Heather Curtin
Formerly Heather Henderson
JD - HOME AT LAST
JD is a 2 ½ yr old pit mix that
was brought to RBARI by a woman who happened upon him as he attempted
to enter a local convenience store. JD spent 2yrs at RBARI
desperately waiting for someone to give him the chance that he needed
to prove that he could be an affectionate and well-behaved pet.
Unfortunately, at the shelter, he didn’t give potential adopters
the opportunity to see how sweet he really was. Usually, he
was jumping about 4 feet in the air and barking and carrying-on.
He was also extremely dog aggressive and hyper. Little did people
know, that he would end up being one of the sweetest and most gentle
dogs. Well, actually, a few people knew…Melissa, the
shelter obedience trainer and Chris, the director. With Chris’s
ok and Melissa’s dedication and talent as a trainer, JD was
transformed from a mouthy and unruly pit-bull into a sweet and well-behaved
pit.
When
I started working at the shelter, I found JD to be a challenge.
In working with him and with Melissa, I fell in love. Eventually,
he was able to come home with me. Now, he can finally relax
at home with me and my 2 other dogs, and I can’t imagine my
life without him.~
Karyn Montuori
AN
ANGEL COMES TO RBARI
Working
at an animal shelter, you fall in love with every animal that
walks through the door. Every once in a while, you come
across that special one who really touches your heart. This
is the story of that special canine that touched mine.
In
October a Pit Bull Terrier and her five puppies were taken away
from their owner by animal control for neglect and cruelty.
The puppies were brought to R.B.A.R.I. but separated from their
mother. The pups were adopted fast, of course, who could
say no to puppy love? One person who could not say no was
one of our canine trainers, Karyn. The little female puppy
she adopted was given the name Lucy. We are blessed with
her presence almost every day Karyn comes to work.
Almost
two months later, we were so grateful for the delivery of the
mom Pit Bull Terrier. After spending a few minutes with
her she was given the name ANGEL,
the perfect name for the perfect dog. Angel is the sweetest,
most beautiful canine. She loves to snuggle and be held.
A fifty pound dog who thinks she weighs five pounds - Proof by
her thinking she is a lap dog - jumping up in your lap every chance
she has. The best part of having Angel at the shelter was
reuniting her with her puppy Lucy. Still today, we do not
know if they recognized each other but it was a nice feeling to
know we made that reunion happen.
Angel
was only with us for a short time. A month after her arrival,
she was adopted. She is very happy in her new home with
two wonderful owners who give her all the love and attention she
deserves.
Pit Bull Terriers are one of the most misunderstood breeds on
the planet. This breed is not new. They were the most
popular pets in American homes in the 40’s and 50’s.
The star of the “Our Gang” TV show was a Pit.
The puppy used for “Buster Brown Shoes” was a pit.
The “Little Rascals” dog was a Pit. The only
reason we have been hearing “BAD PIT BULL STORIES”
in the past ten years is because different people with different
agendas own them now.
This
breed is abused for fighting because they have a high threshold
for pain, are very athletic, intelligent and are one of the most
loyal breeds. Their loyalty to their owners and ability
to follow commands is being misused. A Pit Bull Terrier
that is bred and raised in a humane and proper way makes a great
family pet. They are very eager to please and fast learners.
Pits make very compassionate and loving pets.
Let
a Pit Bull Terrier enter your heart, just like Angel entered mine.
~
Amy Warnock
FOR HOLLYWOOD
AND LOUISE
IT WAS DOUBLE THE PLEASURE AND DOUBLE THE LUCK! |
