Dogs for Adoption

Cats for Adoption

Special Animals

Stories

Information

Oreo a Mom with a New Home

Being a foster parent to shelter dogs is one of the most incredible roles I have the privilege to hold. Every one of our fosters holds a special place in our hearts, but somehow a pregnant foster finds a way to capture your heart even more. We decided to foster Oreo the same day our previous foster found his forever home. Oreo has those eyes that look so deep inside yours that you can’t help but fall in love and she stole our hearts from the minute we met her. Oreo’s previous home was not a happy one. Her owners turned her in without letting anyone know she was pregnant and after having kept her outside for two years. Despite this rough start, Oreo must have been born with her positive demeanor and a deep love for people. We fostered her for two weeks before someone took her to the vet during adoptions one Saturday and found out she was pregnant. Then, just one week later, Oreo gave birth to seven beautiful puppies, five boys and two girls. It was truly one of the most amazing experiences I have had and it felt like I had never loved something so much, let alone seven little somethings! My family doted on all eight of them for six very hard, busy and wonderful weeks and Oreo was a better mom that we could have asked for.

When it came time to separate Oreo and her babies, we decided it would be best if we kept the puppies for a few more weeks as it would be easier to place Oreo in a different foster home. We certainly missed her wonderful smile, wagging body, and soulful eyes, but we knew she would do well at Mark’s house. The puppies kept getting bigger and funnier and all seven of them quickly found perfect families.

Oreo took a little longer to find her home and switched from Mark’s to Julie’s house before she found her forever home with Tim. She and Julie’s dog chased each other around in the yard and she seemed so very happy. As Oreo has a way of stealing people’s hearts, it wasn’t long before she had Tim’s too. Tim works as a pet trainer and both Oreo and Tim became quite smitten with each other. As Oreo is one quarter Pitt Bull Terrier, she was not allowed to live in Overland Park or Leawood. Tim started the process to get Oreo approved to live in both cities and she passed with flying colors! With this approval, Oreo found her perfect family with Tim. Oreo now has a lab sister, Dixie, a loving dad, and a new start to life that she so deserved.

--Liz Musil

Tribute to a Shelter Dog

Bill & I recently said our final goodbye to our beloved senior lab, Buddy. We knew this day was coming but it was still hard to say goodbye. Buddy died peacefully in our arms.

Several years ago we had to put to sleep our dog, Candy. We had decided to honor her memory by adopting a shelter dog. I had contacted our local animal control officer and found out our city did not have a shelter. I had told her what had happened and what we wanted to do. She recommended a nearby shelter that she had worked at previously for 13 years. She made several suggestions to us regarding adopting. She suggested getting a black dog since more black dogs are put to sleep. She also said don't rule out a dog that doesn't jump to the door of the kennel for attention and also look for a dog who's time is almost up.

Armed with this knowledge, we headed to the shelter. We found this skinny odd looking black lab mix in the back of the kennel on a rug because he had kennel sores. He had all three of the strikes against him that the animal control officer told us to consider—black, disinterested in visitors, little time left. We took him away from the shelter and walked him in the park on the grounds as she had suggested and he started to come out of his shell. We took him home. We did not know at the time what a gift we had been given.

The unwanted shelter dog who's life would have been wasted had he been euthanized has touched so many and given so much. The dog we rescued from the shelter became the rescuer. He helped a grieving family over the loss of our Candy. Later he became a mentor and teacher to the young foster dogs we brought into our home. He was a friend and buddy to our family and the dogs we have adopted. In cases of emergency, he was a blood donor to our vet and gave life saving blood to help sick and injured dogs in need.

Although our loss is great, we had almost eight years with Buddy. A life that could have ended in the shelter, but he gave so much to so many. Through the pain and sorrow of losing Candy, we found great joy in the adoption of our shelter dog, Buddy! Although we will always miss Buddy, we want to thank him for the love, joy, and friendship he gave to us all. Rest in peace our beloved Buddy!

--Debbie Umstead