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Adoption Letters from 2007

In the winter of 03’ we lost our beloved “Chubby” after a long battle with doggie cancer, and he was put to rest peacefully. Although I did not want another, my sweet dear husband Dennis, sensed my loneliness for another 4 legged family member.  He and my daughter planned to get another at the humane society on the Saturday before Mother’s day that same year. They went to the PHS to see a wiener mixed doggie named “Nugget” She was to be my Mother’s day gift. Unfortunately Nugget was very aggressive and non responsive to their presence. They tried desperately to bond, but to no avail. Sadly they left without Nugget. The next day we had our Mom’s day brunch, but I knew something was wrong. When I asked, they finally told me what they had tried to do. I said “Get in the car!” We drove to PHS and my daughter and I found “Nugget” and I fell completely in love. The volunteers sensed my longing for another (but not a replacement for my lost “Chubby”) they allowed me to sit with “Nugget” in a room and get to know her. She eventually nestled in my lap and fell asleep. The rest is doggie history. We renamed her Maggie and she sleeps in my armpit every night. (Please no jokes about BO!)


Phyllis and Dennis M., Foster City

About two years ago my girlfriend and I went into the PHS. We looked at a few dogs, didn’t see anything I liked until I ran across Trixie.  Just a little run down on her: she was returned a few times because she was too rough, too wild, not easy to deal with and what not. I have to admit she was a little pain in the butt for a while, but now she is perfect. She is a very loving and caring dog, and is a huge part of mine and my girlfriend’s life. All she needed was a chance with the right people and she got it. When I first saw her I knew I wanted her, and when we got to play with her in one of the rooms, I had to have her. I want to thank you for making a dog like this part of my life.


Dan P., So. San Francisco

Dear PHS:

I am writing to thank you for helping me find the perfect dog. I adopted Honey Bee 4 months ago, to keep Zoti (my cat, who is currently up on your Happy Endings page) company. Honey clearly has not had the best life. With good food, supplements and lots of love, her true color is coming in. She is a “chocolate” Miniature Pinscher with “rust” points. She is the sweetest little dog. We adore her. She was painfully shy of people at first. We set off to walking every night, with a goal of meeting at least one new person. It’s been three months. She is remarkably more social. Children are still her favorite though. Which is unusual for a toy like her. She worships them. We went to the Disaster Prep function at the County Fairgrounds. The children just fell all over her. She was in hog heaven. She took to my cats immediately. She has become Zoti’s most beloved playmate. Though his is twice her size, he is very gentle with her. Far more gentle than he ever was with Sophie, who is happy to have her dignity back. Honey and Zoti play for hours. I rarely watch television any more. Zoti is far more mellow now. He loves his doggie.

Thank you very much!


Lisa Marie G., San Mateo

Hi,

We would like to share photos of Flash, who we call Blackie Lee, the black cat we adopted from Peninsula Humane Society on October 16, 2007.

Happy Holidays!


The Lee Family, Daly City

Dear Peninsula Humane Society,

We wanted to take the time to tell you just how lucky we were when we adopted our cat Cosmo. When my boyfriend and I went in to the HPS/SPCA we had our list of expectations. When we came across Cosmo he had the saddest eyes you could tell he was there for a long time and just really had no energy to meow and show off like most others do. What was even harder was when we read over his medical sheet it stated that he was there for over a month and at one point he wasn’t eating.

We especially knew Cosmo was the one when we were able to bring him in to the observation room to meet with him personally. When we had him in the observation room it was like another little personality came out, he was lovable and very gentle. When we brought Cosmo home we didn’t know what to expect and were expecting the worst (scratching on the furniture, bathroom accidents, etc.) which was totally okay. We knew he was a little older, and that most likely we were going to have to train him dos and don’ts of the household. However that was never the case, Cosmo acted like he was already at home and trained very well. Funny thing is you would have thought we adopted a dog. Overtime we found that he has some dog like tendencies; he will literally roll over in front of us for a belly rub or fetch for his favorite toy which is my hair band. When he gets right to eye level he head butts you right on the forehead then tries to lick you. We are really lucky to have Cosmo, he has brought so much happiness, fun, and love to our new home.

We should have adopted sooner, but we’re glad we waited because we ended up with one really special kitty Cosmo. Thank You So Much!!!

Mark & Weena, Redwood City

Happy Holidays!

I can't believe its been a year since I adopted Bella (Use to be known as Jamba)! I still remember meeting her, she actually pawed at my boyfriend who was with me to help find a cat who wanted to be loved and spoiled rotten. As we walked through the shelter, she reached out and pawed at him, he turned to me and said, Michelle, you have to see this cat. As soon as I saw her I knew she was the one for me! Unfortunately I had a short trip planned the next day and couldn't adopt her that night. I must have called 30 times in the next 2 days to see if she was still available for adoption. I ended up cutting my trip short, just to adopt her. She’s an amazing cat, so playful, silly and cuddly. She loves to chase anything that moves, even our feet as we sleep, and loves anything string like. She has this pink ribbon that she pulls around everywhere she goes, its the most adorable thing. It now been a year, and I am so thankful for the PHS and for Bella.

Thank you to all the wonderful people at PHS that are able to give animals like Bella good loving homes.

Michelle M., Burlingame

Hello,

I was just going through our vacation pictures from our trip this year and found this one of Presley and Cory I thought I would submit for Happy Endings.  Presley was adopted last year from PHS on October 31st and Cory was adopted this year in August.  I don’t think that either one of them expected to wind up in Colorado at Great Sand Dunes National Park but they both turned out to be very good hikers and campers.  They also got to visit the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, and New Mexico.  Cory had a bit of a problem adjusting to 3 other dogs as we also have 2 beagles Skippy and Lily also PHS alumni which we have had for 17 happy years!  Anyways she is doing much better now and everyone turned out to be great little campers and friends!

Presley is the Black and Tan Coonhound and Cory is the Sheltie.

Paula M ., San Bruno

Hi,

Oliver is doing great!!! He has a new sister (well, she's a cat, but they play all the time!) and has almost totally gotten over his separation anxiety. He is still wary of strangers, especially when they come into the house, but I like that he's protective. He loves to go over to my mom's and play with their dog. That's his favorite thing to do, next to eating... play, play, play! He's learned a few tricks, too: he can sit, roll over, go to his "night-night" (his crate, shown in the pictures), and he plays fetch very well! One of his favorite spots is on his doggie bed, which we put on top of his crate so he can look out the window, which he loves to do as well. He used to just lay in his crate, but when we got the cat, we got a bed for her. She never uses it, but Oliver liked it, even though it was too small for him. So we got him one of his own, and he loves it. He still sleeps in his crate at night, and does really good. His crate is in the living room during the day, but we put it in our room at night.

We took a trip to the beach last week, and Oli loved it!

Rachel H ., Oregon

Dear PHS,

I will tell you a funny story about adopting Captain Zoti-Pants. My cousin Christine brought her toddler with us when we went to PHS. It had been 4 months since Murphy passed away. I adopted him from PHS many MANY years ago. He was my angel for 14 years. I didn't want Sophie to be alone. She's also a rescue. From a place up north. She is a Persian so I went looking for a nice mellow friend for her.

There was this dinky little cat all curled up in his cage. I filled
out the papers to see him. Christine and the baby sat down on the
floor while I played with this tiny kitty. They said he was 10 months
old. More or less. Dinky kitty went over to say hello to the baby.
The baby grabbed his cheek fur and just bit down on kitty's ear. The
little guy just sat down and waited for the baby to finish chewing!
We were all shocked.

I knew he was the one for me. He's a stinker to be sure. Into
everything. But he is so tolerant. I can do just about anything to
him. He is exceedingly playful and would love someone to chase around the house all day. He loves to hide behind things and ambush me.

Thank you again!

Lisa Marie G., San Mateo

Dear Peninsula Humane Society,

I thought I would send along my adoption story: While browsing the PHS adoption website, I saw the most gorgeous pair of white, blue-eyed cats. Their caption said, "Hi! We are Mocha and Blue, and we want to go home with you....together!" I thought, how purrfect. I wanted to adopt a pair of cats who would keep each other company when I was at work. I definitely wanted to rescue grown cats who might have a lower chance of being adopted otherwise. When I visited PHS, I entered a large room full of sleeping cats nestled in their cages. Only one animal woke to greet me. He stood up on his back paws, stretching to his full height, eagerly putting his front paws forward on his cage door, meowing with friendly anticipation as I approached. It was Mocha, the devastatingly handsome cat I'd seen on your website. The adoption counselors gently lifted him out and I started playing with this large, soft, long-haired bundle of affection. The counselors told me that his friend, the little girl kitty, was very shy. She sat tentatively in the corner for a moment until I reached out to pet her. Suddenly she crawled into my lap, put her paws on my shoulders and started purring loudly while nuzzling my face and licking my chin. At this point I said, please pack up my new pets!

This pair had been named Mocha and Blue. I gave them full formal names, so now they are known as Mocha Napoleon (a Napoleon is a fluffy, layered dessert that looks like...this kitty) and Madeleine Eclair (named for two more gourmet desserts - a madeleine is a cookie in case you're wondering, and an eclair chocolate frosting that looks like her tail.) Apparently these two used to be shown at the Pick of the Litter consignment shop. I am astonished that they had not been scooped up months earlier, but I think they were waiting for me. Thank you for bringing my beloved pets into my life!

Best regards,

Catherine E., San Francisco

Hello,

I love to tell the story of our "Big Mean Kitty!" I started looking on Petfinder. I especially like big tabby cats so I clicked on "Cat" and then "Adult" and then "Extra Large." Up came a list and there was a picture of this beautiful brown tabby. I watched the ad for over a month before deciding to drive over to the bay area. Tigger was just a beautiful as his picture showed and had a wonderful, easy-going temperament. Tigger came back with us. We introduced him to his new home and we all started to enjoy our new family member, even the dogs. (Only the older dog had lived with our previous cat.) Two and a half years later, Tigger is still thriving. He is almost 10 years old. He's likes to "talk" (but not excessively) and can meow in two or three syllables! He follows us around the yard and garage on weekends when we do chores. If you are on the computer in "his office," he is always lying by you waiting patiently for his next belly rub. He keeps the dogs in line with a swift swipe of his paw, if one gets too close. He sleeps on the bed and enjoys his scratching post and Trader Joe's cardboard cat scratcher and his evenings of sitting under the back patio listening to the wind blowing in the trees. He and I "spar" once in a while (because I love the feistiness of tabbies) but he is gentle with everyone else and loves to show off as the big, sweet, debonair boy that he is.

Susan J., Stockton

Hello all,

I adopted little Fiona back in March of this year, I'm sure any of you who are in the front office during the days will remember her sweet little face when you see this picture! I just wanted to keep you all updated on her!

**Although it wasn’t officially Fiona's Birthday…our other dog, Bella, celebrated her 4th Birthday…I just couldn't wait an entire year to celebrate with Fiona so we decided to celebrate them a few days apart! It was tons of fun!

Cheri B., Brisbane

PHS/SPCA,

There are so many good things to report on Kahuna. Kahuna is far better behaved and more extrovert than we ever could have imagined. Yes there was an accident on p.m. #1, and yes there was less than desired exploration (of kitchen and bath counters and the like) but certainly nothing we would not have expected given his limited exposure to a home setting. He is learning that every rustle of a sheet and movement of towel is not intended for tug of war. He is an incredibly fast learner and good listener. Kudos to all those who believed in him and trained him so well -- Jon and I are astounded with the results of their fine and enduring work. 

He is very playful and inquisitive, but knows -- and does -- hang out comfortably. Nothing bashful about this guy. Jon has been doing all the walks he had done with Ace. As you well know, Ace was really a hard act to follow, and Kahuna has not disappointed. We continue to marvel and mirror what had been on many minds -- why doesn't anybody want this dog.??? Looks like we scored (again). 

With many thanks to all -  

Diane

To the folks at PHS/SPCA,

In 1996, I found a funny-looking pseudo-Dalmatian at PHS, and took a chance on this skinny girl who looked like she had enough of something else in her that the Dal things would be balanced out. Tess turned out to be the best...God, how I loved that animal. And what a looker she became when she filled out. I can’t begin to describe my devastation when lymphoma appeared in January and took her from us with lightning speed…we said goodbye on January 29. I’m sending the donation as a small thank you in memory of this wonderful animal whose life I’m sure you saved and who you ultimately entrusted to us. Ten years with her was far too short – but I can’t imagine those years without her…Thank you for the priceless gift you gave us…”

Tricia R., Redwood City

Dear PHS/SPCA,

Thank you very much for the post card you sent regarding Reggie. Reggie goes out every day for his run. I put on my roller blades and he puts on his harness and well...we GO...and FAST. He does most of the work, but seems to like it that way…He needs to learn a few more tricks but so far he’s doing quite well with sit, stay, go to bed, down, shake, and go pee…He likes to sleep on the couch when I’m not looking…Everyone compliments him on his charm and good looks…He’s done quite well around my girlfriend’s two kids.

All in all, he’s a delight to have around, but I knew he would be from the start. Thanks again for helping us find our ideal pet.

Eric G., El Cerrito

Dear PHS,

Luna is as wonderful as she is stunning. Wherever I walk her, people stop us to pet her. She is only too willing to be admired. She never fails to win friends wherever she goes and I never fail to tell people she came from PHS. I want people to know that GREAT dogs can be found at the shelter.

My favorite story is of a man with a tiny white dog…Turned out to be a Coton du Tulare and less than a minute after I said hello to the dog, the owner proudly told me that he paid $5,000 for him. It was ALL I could do not to tell him my new dog cost $20….and, I think I got the best deal.

Barbara N., Burlingame

Humane Society,

I found myself taking a gander at the PHS website, and….was immediately captivated by Nala’s profile…On the ride home, Nala laid down, put her head on my lap, and let out a resounding sigh. I told her “I’m going to take good care of you”. Nala is everything and more that I could have ever wanted from a pet. She’s become a vital part of our family…I am extremely lucky to have her in my life, and for all of the time that I yearned to have a dog of my own, she was definitely worth the wait. In many ways, she has filled a void that I didn’t even know existed. Thank you, PHS, for all of the time and care that you have given to all of the animals, so that someone like myself has the chance to have dogs like Nala in our lives.

Rich L., San Bruno

Dear PHS,

On March 18th, I came to your shelter to look for a small dog to be a companion to my 13-yr-old Bichon. It was a wonderful experience. You were cooperative, friendly, efficient and caring… I did find a wonderful little dog named “Shorty” (now Bogie). He is perfect in both size and personality, and is, of course, spoiled rotten and loves it. He has no bad habits and is so well adjusted you’d think he’d always lived here. Thank you for everything. Please accept this donation and send me forms to contribute during the year.

Beverly F., Los Altos

Dear Humane Society,

Bardo (formally Lassie) is settling in fine. The back yard is about 10,000 sq. feet of trees and grass, with a racetrack around the perimeter that he and his friends run at full flight. He’s had training, which is ongoing. He’s adored, gets plenty of exercise, and is very happy. And we love him. Thanks for everything.

Brad R., San Francisco

Dear PHS,

I want to take this opportunity to thank all the staff at the Peninsula Humane Society. Without PHS, I would not have met Winter. Winter is such a beauty, playful, friendly – a prince! Winter had his first training class at PetSmart last Saturday. He recognizes his name, he can sit and stay by my command. He also lets me know when he wants to go do his thing. He is very healthy, and I like to take him to work with me out in the field. Thanks You All,

Minh D., Daly City

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