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| This is Wilma |
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I adopted Wilma (now 'Wilms!') from the shelter almost a year ago, and boy have we come a long way! Just a few days after
her adoption, she began to have some serious health issues from a neglected injury prior to adoption, which required emergency
surgery.. something that as a new pet owner, was quite shocking to have to do! But having had her in my life for just those
few short days, I knew I couldn't lose her. She bounced back from surgery quite rapidly, and has been my partner in crime
ever since. She greets me at the door every day, pokes at my face with paw and whisker every morning, and enjoys sitting on
my lap, with both paws resting on my desk, when I type at my computer (like she is now!) She even enjoys playing fetch, and
has learned to 'sit pretty' like a dog! I'm pretty sure she's part Maine Coon, which would explain her dog-like demeaner,
loyalty, and aptitude for learning tricks! I can't imagine my life without Wilms, and give my unending thanks and gratitude
to HATS for assisting with financing her surgery, and for their wonderful website. Keep up the great work, every pet deserves
a great home, and every home deserves a pet as great as Wilms!
Kimberly Hasenbank
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| Meet Gracie |
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We adopted our dog Gracie (formally Coco) in July, 2009. We went to the shelter on a whim, with absolutely no intention
of bringing home a dog any time soon. When we arrived, we asked Cindy to introduce us to some older, smaller dogs who
might need some walking. We found our girl, who was neither older nor smaller, and fell in love. Gracie has since doubled
in size (a healthy 65 lbs and growing!) and is a wonderful addition to our family. She's a gorgeous and brilliant pup, and
we adore having her with us. Thank you for helping us find her :) Adrienne West
| Gracie and Santa |
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| "I got what I wanted"!!! |
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| Meet Zookpo |
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When I walked into the shelter on August 28, 2009 I didn't know someone would be coming
home with me. We dropped of some treats for the dogs and decided to take some for a walk. When I saw him my heart dropped.
His name was Storm and I knew he had to come home with me. When he got to the house he knew he was home. He stretched right
out on the rug and let his new sister know he wasn't going anywhere! Keiko is my chow and wasn't too fond of the idea of someone
else running the house. Hard work paid off and now they are the best of friends. When he leaves she cries at the door. He
had alot of energy so, he has became my new running buddy! We renamed him Zookpo from Storm which means "its snowing".
We thought it was a good name for his breed, and the fact that he is obsessed with snow! We hope we have many years with Zookpo
and couldn't be happier that he is a part of our family! Thank you for letting us have the chance to have this wonderful dog
in our lives!!!
- Emily
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| Tiger and Friends |
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Just wanted to drop you a quick note. We lost our dog Bear at age 11.5. We adopted
him as a puppy at the animal shelter. He was a very sweet big German Shepherd/Collie mix.
It didn't take long for us to decide that we needed another puppy. We came back to the animal
shelter to take a look. And there was this little friendly puppy that was begging us to take her home.
We adopted "Chianna" almost two weeks ago. She had been adopted prior to us taking her, but somebody
brought her back to the shelter after two days.
Our five year old renamed her Tiger.
Tiger is doing very well and is enjoying being around us. She follows me around the house
and is very loving. She likes to curl up in my lap and take a nap. She has a wonderful personality and is adjusting well to
living in a house with two energetic children.
Thank you
Tanja Dunn
| Tiger |
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I adopted "dale" aka Drake back in Feb 2009. I did however discover that Drake, well is a she. Every morning
when my alarm goes off Drake (aka boogie) gets me up. He's gained a lot of weight living with me and my fiance along with
our two other cats, Charlie and Boo Boo. I was having a rough couple of months and decided I needed a pet after my cat
Henn died. I went to the shelter looking for a kitten. And there Drake was, with the biggest green eyes. I
picked him up, and he licked me all over my face! Which is something I wasn't familiar with from a cat. Instantly
this cat was mine. No questions asked. I'm so happy to have him. Thank you so much!
Sam
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| Meet Lucy |
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January of last year I came
to the shelter to look at the dogs. Recently after, my other dog I got from there ran away. I was very upset about that. Sadie
was a very good dog. She was a black and white pit bull. Very friendly! I never thought any other dog could take her place
but on January 30 2009, I came across this light brindle and white pit bull. She was only about four months old. After, months
and months of looking at dogs that came into the shelter hoping to find Sadie or maybe even one to help fill the emptiness
of Sadie not being around, I knew this Brindle and White dog had to be the one for me. I asked a little information on the
dog. The workers at the shelter said “she needs immediate obedience classes”. I still knew this dog was meant
to be my dog. There was not a doubt in my mind that I couldn’t give her a little TLC to get over the disobedience. Now almost a year has passed and Lucy (formally known as Zelda) has been the best dog I have ever
had. It took a lot of discipline and training by my boyfriend and I but, Lucy came right out of any puppy stages she was in.
She is the friendliest dog I know. When people come over to our house I think she pesters them because she wants them to pet
her. She tries to sleep right next to me every night but, she is too big. So she has a blanket to sleep on. Lucy enjoys chewing on rawhides, going for car rides, walks, and sucking on blankets…weird
I know. I asked the vet why she does that and he said because she was weaned too early from her mother. Everyone thinks pit
bulls are horrific killers and mine suckles on a blanket like a newborn pup. I have had cocker spaniels, and Springer spaniels,
my pit bulls have been the funniest, most loving of all. I think society needs to realize a dog is what you make of it. All
they need are love and affection. Lucy is truly a blessing and an ambassador of her breed. Please rescue one from the shelter,
there are so many loving pets there that need you more than anything.
Tiffany Blanchard, MI
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| meet Janie |
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My name is Emily and I volunteered at the Isabella County animal shelter as a service project
for my former sorority. While there, I met Mary Jane the pit bull(now known as Janie), the absolute sweetest dog in the world.
I decided to walk her because she seemed very calm. After her walk, I was working on "sit" and "shake" with her and when I
said "shake" she put her front paws on my forearm and leaned up to give me kisses. After that, I knew I had to adopt her;
she just stole my heart. I did some research on pit bulls and picked her up the next week. Ever since, Janie has been my best
friend and I just can't imagine life without her. Everybody she meets adores her as well! With a little socialization and
obedience training and time to adapt to her new home, she turned into a very well-behaved girl who loves to spend as much
time as she can in my lap or by my side. Adopting Janie has been so incredibly rewarding, and I feel good knowing I gave her
a second chance. Many thanks to the staff and volunteers at the shelter who made all this possible! I just want to let
everyone reading this know what wonderful dogs pit bulls really are, and to never write them off as innately mean or aggressive
just because the degenerates who use some of them for dog fighting have made them to be that way! If given a loving, responsible
home they are no more likely (some of my research has even said less likely) than any other breed to display aggression toward
humans. They are intelligent, affectionate, eager to please, and extremely loyal. Blame the deed, NOT the breed!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
| This is Mia and Shyler |
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My name is Schyler and this is
my dog Mia. We had been visiting the shelter on a regular basis and helping out with walking the dogs. My family
brought Mia home from the dog shelter in June 2009. We were originally just “fostering” her while the kennels
were being cleaned. Mia was such a great dog, she didn’t bark or run away from me. She grew on us all and
we decided to adopt her. She is a good girl and loves to play with me and my brother.
Thanks for bringing us together! Schyler
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| This is Buck |
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I sent some pics of Buck to show you how great he is doing. He is definitely a part of this family!
He has gained about 15 lbs. since you have seen him, he's a big boy! I have a pic in there of his girlfriend, her name
is Roxie. They both enjoy each other even though there was one fight. They kissed and made up. I couldn't have asked for a
greater dog!~Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
ps. They had a great time hunting already this year!
He got his first pheasant this year.
| Buck and Roxie |
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My husband and I decided to adopt a dog. The first day we walked in, we saw our dog Chip (formally Petie). We
fell in love with him and wanted to adopt him. He was not available yet, but the day he became available we were in at 9am
and adopted him right at 9:01am, August 2009. He became comfortable with us right away! We quickly found out that he is so
loving and so smart! He is such an amazing pet! We couldn't have had better luck! ~Amy
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| This is Olliver and Chloe |
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My boyfriend bought me the puurfect Christmas present this year! Meet Chloe (tortie) and Olliver (orange), the
two wonderfully troublesome cats that we adopted from HATS earlier this year.
Chloe was a rescued medical research cat and is missing part of her tail. She likes to play with paper and she
LOVES water.
Olliver is the friendliest kitten in the world and LOVES attention. You can hear him purring from down the hall
and he will snuggle right up by your face if you let him.
Ollie and Chloe have really warmed up to each other. Every morning they thunder through the house chasing one
another. They have really warmed up to us too. It is so nice to have them greet us at the door or lay with us while we are
relaxing at home.
Hopefully in the future we can give more animals a forever home. Thank you so much for getting
our little family started. =) Rachelle
| Chloe and Olliver-the best of friends |
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| Meet Fiona |
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One of the fabulous staff & volunteers at Isabella Co Animal Shelter suggested that "Snow White" (renamed Fiona) would
be a nice success story, so I'm sending this and her picture. She's recovered really well from the surgery she needed when
she was abandoned (thank you HATS) and I've gotten her too-long coat and claws under control (an ongoing process!).
I drove up to Mount Pleasant to meet Fiona on 9/22 and was lucky enough to adopt her on 9/23. Fiona (Fee) is sometimes
quiet and snuggly, as in the picture here. Outside, she is incredibly active and loves to run full tilt up (and down) hills
and patrol the woods and sidewalks. She likes to figure things out (Where exactly did that squirrel go? Which house does
that person---and their dog--live in?). Cautious but friendly with other dogs of all sizes, she even charms self-professed
'cat people.' I'm very happy to have her and she seems really happy to have a home. When she went for her first vet visit,
she seemed nervous, but I made sure to stay in her line of sight and reminded her that she's stuck with me now, and I'm not
going anywhere without her. Many thanks to everyone at the shelter for taking care of her (and all other animals).
Kate L.
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| This is Chance |
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I adopted Chance 2 weeks ago from the shelter and after about 3 days at home he got progressively more
sick. I took him to the vet and we found out that he had the Parvo virus :( However, with a generous donation from Lee Fabiano
and the help of friends, I was able to afford the veterinary bill and get him the treatment he needed! He spent a little over
4 days in isolation at the vet receiving fluids and antibiotics and now after a week at home he is doing awesome! He seems
to be going through his terrible twos right now but we love him for it anyways! He is one of my best investments ever!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
| Morgan's first day home |
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This is Morgan. We adopted her about 2 years ago and we are so happy to have found such a great friend
like Morgan. She is my little shadow and follows me everywhere. Morgan loves to play outside with my nieces and my nephew.
The kids hate to play hide and seek when she is around because she is the one to find them instead of the seeker. She
loves to take walks and ride in the car. She has no problem staying close by when not on her leash. I hardly ever hear her
bark. She has many nicnames, Mo, Morg, Moj, Morgi, Morgi the Corgi...lol... it works. We love her so much. She was a great
addition to out family. Thank you so much HATS.
~*Kate*~
| Hey, get in your own bed... |
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| here's Morgan snoozing |
| she loves the kids |
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| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |
| This is Monty |
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Hats Volunteers,
We adopted a wonderful dog named Buddy from the Isabella County Animal Shelter on 5/16/09. We changed his
name to Montgomery "Monty" and have had no problems with Monty. He is the perfect Couch Potato. He has great
manners except that he tugs while walking, but we are working on that. He minds really well and likes to stay with the
family. He has gone to visit other family members with no problems - He really likes rides in the car. He does
not bother the family while eating as he just likes to be near us. He gets along well with our two cats and they
sometimes even curl up on the couch together. We still keep him a rope when he goes outside but he has enough
room to run. I really think he thinks the neighbors are his family also and that does not seem to bother anyone as they
will come over an visit if Monty is in the yard. He is curled up at my feet as I write this note.
Summer thank you for all your help in finding a forever home for Monty. He is part of our family and if we
come up to Mt. Pleasant for the day we will call you and see if we can meet.
To all of Hats Monty says Hello and Thanks for my new home. Enjoy the photos.
Tim and Cindy Moore
| Monty and friends |
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| Rusty and Harley |
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I adopted Rusty the beagle in May of 2008 a few days before he was scheduled to be euthanized.. He came potty trained
and lived in my apartment with me for a few months until I bought my house. It seems to me as Rusty may have been kept primarily
outside by his previous owner because he spends most of his days outside in my fenced in backyard (by choice). It is
hard to get him in the house as he LOVES to watch for squirrels! Rusty is and excellent dog and loves everyone, dogs,
cats, and kids. If he sees children in the park he will cry and try to make his way over to see them. Rusty's
best friend is my male Doberman, Harley. They absolutely love each other! Rusty is in the process of training Harley
to hunt and has gotten him very interested in chasing the squirrels in our backyard. I am so glad that I adopted Rusty
from your shelter, he is such a great dog that I have had two people offer to take him if I ever wanted to get rid of him!
Sorry, but Rusty will be with me forever! Thanks so much!
Kim
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