I jumped at the chance to share my experience of adopting a dog from Animals Best Friends!  I was lucky in that my family has always been blessed with pets.  Once my sister and I moved into a house of our own (with her two cats), I knew it was time for me to get a dog.  I began my search at Wayside Waifs.  While they had a nice facility and friendly staff, in most cases, they were unable to tell me if the dogs were cat-friendly.  This matter was, of course, crucial to my search.  After one botched attempt (I took one of our cats out to meet a dog), I decided that I needed to find an adoption group that could give me more conclusive information on their animals.    Luckily, my other sister ran across Animals Best Friend’s website and saw my future dog.  I began speaking with their representatives and soon found I would need to go through a very thorough application and meeting process.  While at first this can seem like a lot of work, please believe me when I say, “It is worth it“.  By meeting the representatives and Chili (formally Lilly) in my home, I got a better feel for their organization and commitment to the animals in their care. Furthermore, I could interact with Chili and see how she behaved around our cats.  Once the initial meeting was over, Chili went back to ABF and I had some time to decide if she was a good fit for me.  Needless to say, that was a resounding ‘yes’ and Chili came to stay with me for a test-period of two weeks.  If everything went well after the two weeks, the adoption would be final.  Obviously, Chili has been with me ever since and I could not have asked for a better match!   As with any new pet, we have had our ups and downs.  Dogs can be trained, though, and I know we will be able to work through anything.  After all, she is very smart!  More importantly though, I have found a true companion.  Chili makes me laugh everyday.  She loves sleeping the morning away and going on walks.  We are each others protectors and friends, and I count myself lucky to have found her.   Finally, I want to express my gratitude to Animals Best Friends.  ABF cares for the animals that other people have abandoned and they tirelessly search for good homes – ones that will give the animals the love they deserve.  Their work is truly inspiring and unfortunately, often unappreciated.  I just want to thank you again for taking care of Chili.  It might have taken some time and patience, but you found her the home and family she was always meant to have.   Adrienne Mielke

Many people view shelter animals simply as “mutts,” nothing special, just dogs that were brought to the shelter because they were no longer wanted. I heard our president-elect state on television that he is also a “mutt” and his family plans on adopting a shelter dog if possible.

If you look at it realistically, we are all mutts and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. As a matter of fact, having the genetic diversity of a mutt is a good thing. Mutts usually have a lot less health issues than purebreds. If a certain pure bred is known for being nervous, the mutt will likely have an easy-going personality. A mutt or mixed breed usually makes a great pet. This is the case with Darcy.

Darcy was an ABF dog who was adopted in January 2006. Darcy is a black and white, Spaniel mix who has become a very important dog. We recently received the following from Darcy’s mom, Mary Bouck, and wanted to share it with you:

After we were screened as prospective owners and had our two week trial to get acquainted, we settled into a wonderful relationship that continues today. We immediately saw that Darcy was intelligent and seemed to want a job! I began to teach her commands, took her to an obedience course, then we qualified to become a therapy team in August 2006 with Pets for Life.

Pets for Life (www.kcpetsforlife.com) is a volunteer organization. Their mission statement is “the purpose of Pets for Life is to enhance the care and treatment of people in local hospitals, nursing homes, shelters for domestic violence, mental health programs, treatment centers for youth and corrections facilities through the use of certified therapy teams of pets and volunteers.”

Darcy and I visit Delmar Gardens of Overland Park monthly. The residents of this nursing home are alerted to our visit on the activity board. Some dog lovers even have treats ready as we stop by their rooms or visit with them in the activity room. We chat as we go answering questions such as “what kind of dog is she” and “is she your dog?” I take friendship cards with me to give to residents with Darcy’s picture on one side and Pets for Life information on the other side.

There is one resident who always wants a kiss from Darcy. As we are discouraged from “nose to nose” contact with residents, I redirect her to pat Darcy’s back, which Darcy loves. Many residents reminisce about pets they have had or still have at home with family members. One resident even uses a picture of her dog as a bookmark. Family members may also bring pets to visit.

Darcy obviously enjoys the attention and I have a smile on my face from the time we start our visit until we leave. I would recommend this volunteer activity to anyone who has a pet with the skills and temperament to make a difference in people’s lives.

We are currently taking additional training through Pets for Life at Pet N’ Macs in Independence to gain additional skills. Some of these include “move up”, “back”, “wait”, “pet” and “leave it”.  There is also a review of “sit”, “stay” and “down.” All of these commands are helpful in tight spaces in nursing home rooms.

My husband and I encourage anyone interested to adopt a dog or cat through Animals Best Friends.  You will have wonderful friends for life, and may share the love with others, too. Studies have shown that pet ownership actually enhances their owner’s health and well being, and visits can be a healthy highlight for those you visit as well.  The Bouck Family.

Joy first came to our house to convalesce.  She was an ABF dog who was the first in a long line of puppies to contract parvo at our facility in 2006.  When the epidemic was over we had only one casualty, Katy, who was Joy’s sister.

Joy began staying in a kennel at night and my Mother would get up in the middle of the night to check on her.  Mom would change her bedding and papers if she was wet.  Joy quickly became my Mother’s baby and Mom spoiled her completely.

We decided to foster Joy for ABF and for the first six months had good intentions of finding her a permanent home.  However, Mom had become so attached to Joy, and Joy was becoming fast friends with our lab Sweet Pea that giving her up would be too difficult for all of us.

Joy had her problems.  She showed some aggression toward our alpha dog, Joni more than once.  When she was good and exhibited submissive behavior toward our older alpha dog, we praised Joy over and over.  That was over one year ago.  Now Joy knows her place in the pecking order and has accepted her “low dog on the totem pole” position.

Joy now will play with Joni by diving into the carpet and crawling on her side around Joni.  Joni will prance around her and play bite at her while Joy crawls around Joni at the speed of light.  It’s quite a sight to see.

Joy spends her days at Mom’s side.  She will lie on the loveseat while Mom reads in the living room.  When Joy is out of doors she is either running and chasing with Sweet Pea or sitting quietly under our spruce tree watching for squirrels to raid our bird feeders. 

When Joy was small and sick I bought her a squeaky toy at Wal-Mart.  It’s an odd looking thing; a colorful elephant wearing dreadlocks that can make the most awful noises.  Joy still has that elephant.  She will carry it around, or hold it down and lick it, then squeak it for several minutes.  Joy’s favorite way to play with her elephant is to drop it down the basement steps and listen to it squeak each time it hits a step.  She will then go down stairs, pick up the elephant, go back up the stairs and drop it again.  

Although Joy has not had any formal training, we have worked very hard with her and she has become a treasured member of our family.  Her curious nature and expressive face makes us laugh daily.  When startled, she makes a sound similar to a rooster crowing.  She is good with her sisters and loves all our friends and family members who come to visit.  She has brought a lot of love and laughter into our family.  Joy has lived up to her name and we couldn’t imagine life without her. Gamble Family

Our beloved dog, Angel passed away suddenly from an illness. Our family was extremely grief stricken, especially Angel's companion Chance. Chance became sullen and inattentive. Although we knew no animal could replace Angel, we knew Chance needed a pal.
Since we have always adopted homeless dogs, we began our search through rescue groups. Our only criteria was that the new dog would have to be a great companion for Chance and make him happy. We traveled with Chance to many shelters and contacted several rescue groups but had no success.
While looking on Petfinder we came upon a picture of a mixed breed dog named Dora who was from Animals Best Friends. We contacted them and found that Dora had been adopted. However, there was one dog left from Dora's litter. This was Roscoe, and he had been living at ABF's rescue facility for nearly six months. Therefore, we scheduled a home visit with Roscoe.
When Roscoe came to meet Chance and our family, we did not know what to expect since Chance was nearly eight years old and Roscoe was six months old. When Roscoe entered the yard, Chance immediately responded as if he was two years old again. Chance was running and playing as he did with Angel.
Roscoe won our hearts immediately. Talk about a cute personality! We decided that Roscoe was going to become the newest member of the Wixon pack.
Roscoe brings such joy to our household. His antics are reminiscent of a small child. When he wants attention, he runs and gets something that does not belong to him. Roscoe then brings the item out to let us see that he has it. Once we notice he has it, he takes off running and the chase begins. In addition, we have discovered that he would sell his soul for a "Greenie".
Roscoe has ingratiated himself not only into our family but into the neighborhood as well. Everyone knows Roscoe and to know him is to love him!
Thank you animals Best Friends.
The Wixon Family.

We are so happy having adopted Bonnie from you!  Her & her new sister Maggie get along great.  They love to play tug of war with anything!  They have bonded so well.  Bonnie even cleans Maggies eyes in the morning, somthing that Maggie won't let me do!  And since we bought a new king size bed for all us, sleeping isn't nearly as crowded!    As you can see by the pictures, Bonnie loves playing with the water hose. She also loves her nightly pig ear treat, & loves playing tag with Maggie.   We really liked the adoption process.  Never knowing how dogs will interact, it was nice knowing that if things didn't work out in the first 2 weeks, we had the option of not adopting Bonnie. But things did go fine & still are.   Thanks for letting us become Bonnie's Mom & Dad!  

Sharon & Jimmie

After being a first time homeowner for nearly a year, I found that living alone was just that - lonely.

I decided that it was time to find a dog to fill up that lonely space in my home. I searched online for a dog similar to my brother’s.   I found Dollie on
Petfinder and contacted Animals Best Friends about adopting her. Our two week trial was a little testy for both of us, but by the end of the two weeks I found that I couldn't bare to let her go.   Desi has been the best thing to happen to me in a long time! I renamed her Desi (from Dollie) not long after adopting her. Desi and my brother's dog get along fantastically and keep each other entertained! Desi is so smart.  She has learned to sit, lay down, shake, and stay, within the first few weeks of living here. She loves to run and play, and keeps me in shape just trying to keep up with her! She's the best of both worlds;  loves to snuggle and loves to play! She is full of personality and never fails to make me laugh. It's hard to imagine life without her now.  
Thanks!   Jen Ferns
Desi (Formally Dollie - born April 07).

My name is Riley. I think I must be the happiest dog in the world. I have a new family, and they have a boy. I’ve always wanted a boy and now I actually have one. My boy and I run around in my new big backyard all the time. I get lots of exercise that way, and my new family walks me around the neighborhood so everyone can see that I’m the new dog on the block.

My dad has been teaching me to sit, stay, and lay down, shake, and of course, the old trick “rub your tummy”. I’m pretty good at them now, and I’ve over heard talk of teaching me to “sit pretty”, which is more difficult than just “sit”, “turn around”, “play dead”, and the old trick with me balancing a small doggie bone on my nose, and then I get to eat it for my reward. My mom has been teaching me to fetch the newspaper. One day I brought the newspaper all the way to the back patio. I think I’m getting pretty good at it, or at least I think my mom thinks I’m really good at it, because she keeps praising me. When I’m really tired and just feel like loafing around, my mom and dad give me massages. Boy, they sure do feel good.

Now to get to the really good stuff, I was only here at my new home for a day or so and my new family let me watch the KU Championship game on a cozy blanket on the sofa. That was a lot of fun. Go Jayhawks!!! As you can see, I’m a big fan. I am a really lucky little puppy to have found such a loving family, but I think my family feels really lucky to have found such a loving and smart puppy. You might just say that at this stage in my life, I AM “leading the life of Riley”.

Having grown up with dogs and other miscellaneous critters my whole life, I knew that when I finally got a place of my own I would continue the tradition of adopting dogs that needed a home.   When I saw the pictures of Dora and Spencer in an Animals Best Friend's newsletter and on the website, I knew I had fallen in love.  I went to look at them one day while ABF was at PetsMart for Adopt A Pet.  I had to fill out an application immediately.   The home visit and two-week trial went great and I adopted them.  Dora and Spencer, lovingly referred to as "the kids," fit perfectly in our home.   I love Dora's curious and protective nature and Spencer's easy going and happy-go-lucky moods.  They are the sweetest puppies and I can't picture my life without them. I strongly encourage people who are looking for a dog to consider adopting one. You can't beat their personality or their affection.   ~Aubrey Clark

Riley, Stewart Little, & Tyge

 My given name was Oreo, my new adopted name is Riley.

I came to live with my new humans in October 2006. From

the day I walked into my new home, I totally owned the

joint. I was just a little tike then but I was the big cheese in my new home.  Our first night they thought I would probably be more comfortable in my kennel but not 2 minutes into bedtime and I was right smack in the middle of their bed, which is now

known as our bed, I found my comfortable spot.  Did I mention that I have another friend in the family, her name is Tyge, she’s a cat and she took me right in without any reservations. She’s pretty fun for a cat, we play chase from time to time, or should I say I play chase, she runs. It really didn’t take me too long to train my humans, nor did it take them to long to train me.  My potting training was a breeze, we went outside every hour on the hour. Didn’t take me long to get the picture. I have such fun with my mom and dad. Dad takes me walking every morning and then mom and dad take me walking every evening. We play fetch, which is my very favorite game in the world.

In September of this year I got a new brother, his name is

Stuart Little and we have a blast together.  We are always wrestling and chasing each other, sometimes a little too much according to mom and dad.  Once again we go for walks every morning and every evening and  sometimes we go the unleash park and run and run and run. We also go to Pet Smart too and pick out our treats and toys if mom and dad think we need any.  Our bed is a little crowded now but I know mom and dad wouldn’t have it any other way.

Guess you could say we live the life of Riley!