Our SPOT Pet Story

We call him Prince (formally known as the jack-o-lantern head cat.) We were hesitant to adopt him due to his great size, and his huge head. He purred like a kitten though and bonded with my youngest instantly, so we couldn't resist. Everyone said that we had made a mistake...we often heard, "He will eat the children." His first goal in life was to hide under anything he could get under. With food we stove to make our home comfortable for him. Pretty soon, he would lay on the floor and look around calmly. He never made a sound other then purr every once in a while. One evening, when we were all asleep, Prince came running into our bedroom, yowling at the top of his lungs. I was so surprised...I ran to him and thought that something was wrong with him...I began to check him over. He looked distressed and ran to my oldest daughters closed door and wailed. I was confused but opened the door. There my daughter was sitting up in bed, lips blue.. She was holding her throat and was not
breathing. I ran for her emergency inhaler. I administered her inhaler and rushed her to the emergency room. The doctor stated that if it had been any longer it would have been very serious. We got home and I hugged Prince so tight. He had saved my daughters life. Prince is now very comfortable with us, sitting on our laps most of the time. He is sick now, with kidney problems, and he is allergic to almost all food, but you won't hear us complaining. He is a member of our family now, and we hope he is with us for years to come. So Mr jack-o-lantern head is here to stay. I am so glad that we adopted him from SPOT, our experience with him has not only been life changing, but life giving.

~Tina Jonasson

Jeepers Update

Corinne Spring is just around the corner. With the temps getting warming and the days getting longer the dogs made me buy them new spring clothes. Attached is a photo of Jeepers sporting his new fleece sweater.
Also attached is a photo of my two determined beggars. Jeepers is a very determined beggar. When I sit down to eat my dinner I can always count on him to be standing there bright eyed with ears perked. He never moves or makes a sounds. He just stands there bright eyed knowing he WILL get something. I think he is using mental telepathy to will me to give him my food. If I acknowledge his presence he will lay down as Sammy is. Sammy is learning from the master. One night I chose to ignore him while I ate thinking he would give up and go away. Of course I saved a few bites for him. When I was done eating I looked down and there was Jeepers standing there. He didn't move or make a sound the whole time. The funny part is he had drool from one corner of his mouth to the other and there was a string of drool from his mouth stretching all the way to the floor. I wish I had a picture of that one. He had some serious drool going.
Jeepers had seizure this past Sunday evening. It was the first one since last November. I was a little worried because it lasted a half hour. A few minutes after the seizure stopped he was up and running around again as though nothing had happened. That was a relief. Other than the last seizure his health is good. I'm sure I mentioned it, we go for daily walks so the dogs get a couple hours of exercise daily. I'm fortunate to have some area so close where they can go off leash. It is rare for us to miss our daily hike. He isn't much for running and playing outside but really likes to walk and explore and check out all the smells. At home Jeepers likes to run through the house and bark.
There have been a few mornings where I have woken to find Jeepers with his head resting on my pillow right next to my face. He is a real snuggle bug. If I get up he manages to slide into the spot I was keeping warm for him. when I come back I tell him that's my spot. He just looks at me like not anymore.
Here's a good one. I had the flu bug and burned a fever for 3 days. I went to bed laying on my back. A few hours later I woke up to find Jeepers laying between my legs, Griffey all stretched out pushed up against my side, and Sammy curled up in my armpit. I'm sure they were enjoying the fact I was such a good bed warmer. I was their favorite sleeping buddy for the few days I had a fever.
Jeepers is doing well, and I couldn't be happier he found us.
Take Care,
John

Daddy... all I want for my birthday is a Spot dog.

This is what I heard for around ten months before my daughter's 5th birthday.

Every opportunity and every time she thought of it she would be sure to turn those baby blues on and look up at me with more sincerity than anyone could begin to hope to understand and say those words with a smile, hope and expectation of that Spot dog... "Daddy, all I want for my birthday is a spot dog." Sometimes she would add "you don't have to get me anything else... promise." and "I promise I'll take really good care of him." and probably some other cute, adorable pleadings I don't remember that any 4 year old girl would say that was dead set on getting a Spot Dog.

You might think that this affinity for a "spot dog" was the result of some extended 101 dalmatian movie time but in actuality, she had never seen the movie.

I never told her I would. I never promised her she would get a "Spot" dog. I thought about it a lot (she never let me forget). I had already made up my mind early on that she would get her spot dog for her birthday. She was so insistent and so sure that this was what she wanted, I had to get her that dog but I wanted it to be a surprise so I never let on that we were scouring the papers, pet stores and local shelters for that perfect "Spot Dog".

My sister-in-law actually owned a pet store at the time and was also looking for a Spot Dog. We knew we didn't want a Dalmatian (even though they fit the description and are super cute, somehow we knew that wasn't what she wanted.) We knew that we did not want to support the puppy mills either.

Time was running out for our search and we kept coming up empty handed. I started to feel that it just wasn't going to happen. We just would not be able to find her that Spot Dog before her birthday.

10 days before her birthday and we are still empty handed. As fate would have it, I happened to be driving an eighteen wheeler for a short stent that year and I just happened to be in Blaine WA the weekend before her birthday (less than a week away now).

I decided to go walk about and see what the "big" town of Blaine had to offer and thought maybe I might run across something for my daughter (nothing like waiting to the last minute).

Again, as fate would have it, Petco (or some store like Petco, it has been too long for me to remember.) was hosting an adoption day and S.P.O.T. just happened to be the ones there. I am not sure how all of that works but I do remember the name of the shelter was S.P.O.T..

It was Sunday (I think) and I went in to see what they might have. I should have been surprised but I have to say that somehow, when I saw that they were having an adoption day, I knew I would find her Spot Dog there and find him I did.

There he was in all of his spotted glory. So small and cute and perfect. I knew instantly that he was the one. They only had two dogs left (actually only one, his sister was already spoken for). Why no one had snatched him up already can only be attributed to fate. He was so cute and well behaved.

Instantly I sealed the deal. I bought a crate, food, collar, leash, chew toy food and water bowls and arranged to pick him up the next day after I finished unloading (remember, I am in a big truck).

On the way home I knew we had a keeper, he was so good on a leash and would go relieve himself on command (the guy who brought him to me the next day had taught him this.)

I brought him home and snuck him in the house while my daughter was down at her Gran-pa's. Then we came home and there he was, waiting for her when we walked in the door. She was so excited and so happy, she knew she was going to get him. She never doubted it. He was perfect and everything she wanted in every way.

You couldn't ask for a better story in real life. This was the kind of story you read in a book that someone made up. How could you hope to find a more perfect match? You couldn't, trust me.

My daughter started asking for a "Spot Dog" and continued asking for a "Spot Dog" for almost an entire year before her 5th birthday. less than a week before her birthday I happen to be some 2,300 miles from home and S.P.O.T. just happens to have one "Spot Dog" left, just in time for my daughter's 5th birthday. What is the statistical probability of that equation? Anyone?

Now, almost 9 years later. We are taking our precious friend to the Veterinarian because he is sick and may not make it. He has lived a long life and has a very special place in our hearts. One that will never ever be filled or replaced should he not make it through this sickness.

The thought of loosing him is painful and brings our whole family to tears. We don't want to loose him, he is part of the family now.

We trust that he will pull through like he did before back in 2005 when he was paralyzed from mid section down. He couldn't walk and had no control of his bodily functions. The Vet we went to back then recommended that we put him down because there was nothing they could do and that he would only suffer and probably wouldn't live another week.

We refused and brought him home. We started giving him a daily dose of aspirin and ice chips to hydrate him. After a few days we started seeing improvements and he started eating again. Within a few weeks he was walking again and had control of his functions again. Now, some 8 years later (take that Mr. negative Vet), we are faced again with mortality and all of it's ugliness.

It made me want to find the people that made all of this possible and give them a big hug and a sincere Thank You from the bottoms of our hearts.

The prognoses is good that he will make it through this and we expect him to be home by Friday. But even still, we are faced with the possibility and it makes me thankful. Thankful that I have had the distinct honor of being his friend. That I have learned and loved, felt joy and peace, just from his friendship. He means the world to me and my family and when the day does eventually come, I will never forget him and will try my best to always remember the good and not dwell on the grief of his absence (when that day comes).

By the way, that little puppy weighed in at 96 lbs. today (even though he is sick). He sure did grow up. ;-)


S.P.O.T. and everyone that makes S.P.O.T. possible.

Thank you!

Without you, we never would have known the joy of Spot. That's his name. Fitting, don't you think? :-)

Happily ever after...

Four years ago we got our dear Penny from SPOT (can it really have been that long?) We think she's the Mary Poppins of dogs- "practically perfect in every way."

Nina, we will be forever grateful, and we have sent several friends to you, all of whom gush over their dogs as we do.

I just wanted to show you a peek at how Penny is living happily ever after, well loved by not only by us but also all the neighbor children and loving them back. We think there has never been a sweeter dog. Here she is, decorated for Christmas... the three year olds decided she should be just as "pretty as the Christmas tree."

Thank you, Nina and everyone at SPOT.

Max

In the first week we found out why they named this beautiful little beagle Max. He did everything that first week to the Max. Bark, Run, Chew and Play. He "Maxed" out at 8:30 pm everyday exhausted from his maximum effort. This little guy kept us on our toes from early morning until the evening when he goes to sleep. He did the usual puppy things, chewed up shoes, peed on the rug, ran at full speed from one end of the house to the other. Max found his place among the other pets quickly. He has found his niche and settle in like part of our family. The other special thing that Max does to the "Max" is love. We were blessed to receive a very loving happy dog that really loves life to the fullest. Easily bored and easily excited he is 100% beagle, happy all the time and full of love we could not ask for a better companion
We love our Max ! Thanks Spot

Sylvester

We adopted Sylvester in November 2007 after our 18 1/2 year old cat died. Sylvester had a rough time in life before we got him, and he spent the first 3 weeks under the couch. Since then, he has become my shadow and often entertains my husband and I. We call him Sylver for short and here he his, hanging out with his buddy Uno. And I couldn't resist adding a really cute pic of him sleeping soundly after managing to find his way under the comforter somehow! :)

Thank you so much for everything you to do help save pets! SPOT is a truly wonderful organization!!!

Tyson

When Joan brought 15 or more mini Aussies home from the puppy mill raid three years ago my husband and I went for a visit. I told David, Joan and Joe that I will have one of them when they were ready for adoption. The day finally came after a long legal battle so I called Joan and asked when we could come out. Joan is family so she knew what kind of dog would fit into our lives so she picked four dogs for us to look at. The choice was so hard we asked her not to bring out dog number four -- it was hard enough picking from the three beauties she had introduced us to. With help from our Bodie (Australian/Collie mix) we picked Tye (Tyson, Tyson B, Tye Tye - he answers to all of them now :). Tye was a little shy with me and Joe but he and Bodie were having a good time playing.

The first couple of days were very scary for Tye, he wouldn't come out of his cage unless we went in to get him. He would reluctanly sit with us but seemed to be warming up. I made a few phone calls to Joan and one thing she said really stuck with us....."He wants to be loved he just doesn't know what to do with it'. So we just kept loving him and eventually he started loving back. He's still uncomfortable with people he doesn't know but he tries. He has so much love to offer we really hope he gets over that.

He loves to run with his buddie Bodie and snuggle with our old girl Roxie. He's learned what toys and treats are and how to catch a ball, but still needs to learn how to bring it back. He loves the water and has ventured into the river to swim with Bodie. He's so much fun to watch run in an open field, you can see how happy he is. It's at times like that, you'd never know he spent the first three years of his life in a small cage in a dark barn (unimaginable!).

We are so lucky to have such a wonderful pet! We love him - he's with us to stay.