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Success Stories

Ulysses

Trista writes: Hello, I adopted Ulysses now goes by Thunder in February 2005. He is gray and white and a very much playful, full of energy, full of love and cuddles and the best thing is he loves to give kisses. I wish I had a photo to send to you. He loves his 2 baskets that he has in the house, he is such a spoiled cat and a very much loved cat, I just want to thank you for allowing me to adopted such a wonderful and loving cat.

November 2005

We wanted to tell you how great Tatum is settling into our home. We adopted her 6 weeks ago and she has been a pure joy. We can't believe what a wonderful house dog she has turned into after living in a shelter for 2 years. She's perfect! ly house trained and has not had even one accident in the house. We bought her several toys and raw hide chews. At first she didn't really know what to do with them but after several 'fetch' lessons in the back yard she if finally getting the hang of it. She stays in her wire kennel when we have to leave her but she if very content and seems to enjoy being in her own space. At night she either sleeps on the floor next to us on her pillow or she squeezes in between us on our bed. She's quite a bed hog ! She and her 2 feline housemates are getting along well.

She recently went on her first camping trip. She had such a good time swimming in the lake (in this unseasonably warm November weather). She is still nervous about riding in the car but hopefully after a few trips she get used to it.

Anyway we wanted to tell you that she has quickly found her place in our house and our hearts. She is exactly the dog we have been missing in our lives. Thank you so much for all you do.  Trish and Lonnie

October 2005

Sirius isn't serious anymore!

We wanted to share with you how Sirius is doing since adopting him at Harcourt park.

Sirius came home and adjusted very easily to our older, larger cat Cosi. They are both such good friends now, that Cosi cleans Sirius, they share food, bed, and play. Cosi seems less bored since he has a playmate.  He no longer stalks my 17 year old son.

August-September 2005

Pewter found his forever home and is fitting in nicely with his twokittysiblings. Here's a note from his dad...

Pewter and I gothome just fine. He waltzed right in and calmly inspected allhis surroundings and seemed tocare less at the moment what might be going on with the other 2 cats and their personal "idiosyncracies." He is indeed very mellowand easygoing. He is going to fit in beautifully here. He talks just like Adam used to talk. Acknowledging everything. I love it. Thanks. Ron

June-July 2005

Read Hiway's story...in her own words  ( You will need the FREE Adobe Reader to view/print PDF files.  If you do not have Adobe Reader, get it here.)

April-May 2005

Sammie was adopted on 3/30/05. Here’s a note from her new dad:

“She had a good night in her new home. She is ever so well behaved, and found her way around very quickly. Even after six months living at the shelter, she remembered that beds are much more comfortable to sleep on than carpets and jumped on ours like it was second nature! Thank you so much for our new baby.”

March 2005

Hi Janet! I wanted to drop you a quick note about our babies, Sebastian and Olivia. They just had their first birthday and I can't believe how much they've grown since December...especially Sebastian. He's going to be a big boy! Both cats have adjusted very well to us and love their new home. They were a little shy at first and not very sure of themselves. I suppose living in a shelter cage for the first nine months of your life would make you a little hesitant. It took awhile for them to get the concept of "jumping onto things". Now they are all over the place and the higher to spot, the better (top of the fridge, top of the fireplace, top of the cabinets).

Olivia loves to play with little wads of paper. She is very easy to please. She has a beautiful little trill that  she uses to greet us and her brother. Sebastian is all boy. He loves to bring us toys as his "kill", dropping them at our feet, awating our praises. The two of them love to sleep together and groom one another. At first, Olivia would panic when Sebastian left her sight. She was very dependent on him. Now they both are a little more independent of each other but still best buds.

They look very similar and to the untrained eye it's hard to tell them apart. While both of them are growing, Sebastian is much bigger than Olivia. His build is very masculine and her's much more dainty. His eyes are a golden while her's are green. We just love them to death. I recently started back to work full-time, but they get to spend the entire day with my husband who is home. I miss them when I'm at work and the highlight of my day is when I get to see them at night. They are also very social. When friends visit, they love to mill about, not wanting to miss a thing. I've attached a couple of pics. Enjoy!

Susan

We got an update on our beloved Tommy. As you can see in the photo, he's doing great in his new home in Louisiana. His mom shared several cute anecdotes with me. He is being spoiled, which he certainly deserves.
His parents sent a donation to the shelter in honor of Tommy's birthday.  Isn't that cool?!

February 2005

Faith's Story - Another Rescue Story (Only One of Many)

Who's Who in This Heartwarming Adventure:
Carol Lou: Narrator and Lago Vista PAWS member
Len and Nancy: Former Lago Vista PAWS members and forever dog lovers
Andrea: Lago Vista PAWS President and Executive Director
Alon: Lago Vista PAWS member, cat lover, and cat caretaker
Officer Gary Garrett: LV Police Department's Animal Control Officer

 

At the end of November, as I was driving from a dentist's office to my church in Lago Vista, I noticed a dog that ran through traffic on Lohman Ford, then made its way up a steep incline and disappeared. I became worried, so turned around and drove back to see if the dog was visible. It was not. I spied a local police officer handing out a traffic ticket, so I stopped and asked the officer to radio the Animal Control Officer, Gary Garrett, to come look for the dog. I told him it was a medium-sized brown dog. The officer assured me he would let Officer Garrett know, so I went on to church.

On the morning of December 1, I was at the shelter and asked Andrea Phillips if Officer Garrett had brought in the brown dog I had seen. She replied in the negative. Then she told me that there was another dog running around in traffic that she and other shelter volunteers had been trying to catch for three weeks. The dog was traveling up and down FM 1431 and Lohman Ford in Lago Vista searching for food. It appeared

the dog had been abandoned. Now she was lost and afraid and starving to death. It was obvious to the volunteers who had desperately been trying to catch her that she was pregnant. We were all concerned that this mother dog would give birth to her pups in a place where no one would ever find them. With cold weather almost upon us and the mother dog not even able to find enough food for herself, it was unlikely that the babies would survive.

That afternoon I received a call from my friend Len. Len and his wife, Nancy, are active in the Lutheran Church. One of the responsibilities Len has assumed at their church is to care for the grounds. He said that a couple of weeks ago he had seen a yellow-brown dog, mostly Lab he thought, and she was very pregnant. He tried to befriend her, but she shied away from him. Some days later, he saw her out on the highway, nosing at a blue Wal-Mart bag, like she was searching for food. Then, this morning, he was replacing a light bulb behind the large crosses in the yard of the church when the dog appeared again. This time she was no longer pregnant! He watched very carefully and saw the dog go into a heavily wooded area near the church. When he got home, he called me to see if Lago Vista PAWS could help in some way.

The holidays are always a busy time of year for the shelter because so many animals are abandoned. But I told Len that I was sure Andrea would have some idea as to what could be done for this dog. And I gave him her cell phone number.

A few hours later, Nancy called to say that Len had reached Andrea and he found out that this was the same dog that Andrea and other volunteers had been trying to catch. Andrea had told him that she planned to entice the mom into a humane trap using some ground hamburger meat.

A little while later Andrea called me. She and Alon had just been served with steak dinners at a restaurant in Jonestown, a few miles from the Lutheran church, when Len called. They immediately asked for to-go containers, slid the steaks into them, and took off for the church. Upon their arrival, they took a leash and a dog crate in hand and crawled into the Ashe Junipers, commonly called Cedars. After being completely covered with stickery tree parts, they discovered the mama dog, her ribs and backbone clearly visible, nursing nine live puppies that appeared to be about 2 days old. Sadly, there was also one dead pup. Andrea felt chill bumps run up both her arms as she realized

out of all the bushes and trees around, this dog gave birth to her puppies in the bushes right below the THREE WOODEN CROSSES, located in front of the church. The mother dog was wary when Andrea tried to approach. Andrea began feeding the dog bits of steak with her left hand, while making a slip knot at the end of a leash with her right hand. As Andrea fed the mama, she talked to her about how there are lots of bad people who dump dogs and that she and Alon were good people who wanted to help. As she doled out the steak and talked, she slipped the leash over the head of the mama dog. Then Andrea separated each of the nursing pups from their mom and placed them on the soft bedding in the crate. Once all nine pups were securely in the crate, they tried to get the mom into the cab of the truck. The dog was very, very scared and distrustful and would not follow Andrea. Andrea picked her up and carried her, gently placing her on the front seat. Together, the rescuers, mother dog, and puppies proceeded to the shelter. That night this thankful family was bedded down on soft, warm blankets in the shelter's storeroom, with plenty for the mom to eat and drink.

Andrea named the mother dog Faith. She has 5 boys and 4 girls and the names given to them by another shelter volunteer are Luke, Mark, Matthew, James, Peter, Hope, Esther, Rebecca, and Rachel.

This is the story of just one dog and her babies that have a safe place to live and will never have to face starvation again, thanks to caring Lago Vista PAWS volunteers. Now there are lots of concerned animal lovers teaching this dog and her pups that Lago Vista is a pretty good place to live after all. The babies have grown since their arrival and their eyes are already open. They are healthy, chubby, happy puppies! Faith is very happy to be at the shelter, where she and her babies have been given safe haven. She is a sweet, housebroken, leash-trained dog that knows how to sit on command. She was obviously someone's pet, like so many of our shelter animals. Maybe she was abandoned and left to die on the side of the road simply because she was pregnant. Unfortunately, this scenario is all too common these days. I think if Faith could talk, she would say, “Thanks to all of you who care about homeless animals and to those of you who took time out of your busy day to play an important role in my rescue mission. Thanks also to all the responsible pet owners who spay and neuter their animals, so others do not have to go through what I went through!”

The puppies will be put up for adoption when they are weaned. Faith will be available for adoption after she is spayed. If you would like to help provide for Faith and her puppies while they are living at the shelter, please send your tax deductible donations to Lago Vista PAWS, P.O. Box 4100, Lago Vista, TX 78645. Lago Vista PAWS is a privately owned and operated no-kill shelter with 90% of our funding coming from folks who care — like you!

I'm proud to be a member of Lago Vista PAWS.

Sincerely,
Carol Lou

UPDATE: All Faith's puppies were adopted.

Baby went home with a mom who has a 5-year-old girl. The little girl recently went blind in her right eye due to a birth defect. She has been having a hard time dealing with the loss of her vision in that eye. Mom saw Baby and knew that it was a perfect match for her daughter. The little girl is visiting her grandparents this weekend, so I can't wait to hear about her response to her new furry sister.

Cinnamon

Cinnamon was transformed thanks to the tender loving care that he recieved from volunteers Janet and Greg Smith. He went from being severely neglected to being gorgeous! (Note: You will need Adobe Reader to view or print this PDF file.)

 

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