Trixie
Dear Trixie, you touched our hearts in so many ways in such a short period of time. Even when you were sick, you offered up your paw to everyone you met. Your smile made me smile. I’m grateful for the time we had together and I hope you felt loved by us. Despite our best efforts, Trixie died from pneumonia, as a result of contracting Distemper at a local shelter. You deserved so much better, sweet girl. We will always remember you. I hope you and Daisy are playing together right now, free of disease and pain. You have inspired me in so many ways to help other homeless animals and to fight for better conditions in shelters. ~ Melissa & John W.

Trudy the Mini Shepherd
My fiance, Travis and I adopted a Shepherd mix that we named Nellie from the animal shelter and it was one of the greatest things we've ever done. Nellie has brought us such joy and laughter. We had a strong desire to help more dogs that needed a new start in life. We thought fostering would be the perfect way to do it! We signed up to foster with PRBJ and when we saw Trudy's profile pop up on the website, we knew she was the one we were meant to care for. When we met Trudy she was so skinny, malnourished and sad. We brought Trudy home and she curled up to sleep right away. We had trouble getting her to eat and she had trouble keeping what we did feed her down. We wanted so badly to make her happy, to see her tail wagging and to get some meat on her bones. We made sure to pet her at every opportunity. But as the days went by, she continued to be sad and was even losing weight. We noticed that she really seemed to perk up whenever we took her outside. We made sure to take her on lots of walks and even saw her tail wag a few times. These small progressions made us so happy! We decided to bring her to Judy so that she could get checked out by a vet, but we had every intention of picking her up the following day. Sadly, that day did not come. When Judy took Trudy to the vet, they discovered that she was filled with cancer. Travis and I were heart broken. We had such plans for finding her a wonderful family and making her life so much better than the one she had been given. Trudy seemed to take a shining to Travis. On the night before we brought her to Judy, Trudy slowly approached Travis who was sitting on the couch. He brought her up on the couch to sit with him. When we had done this earlier in the week, she would stand there awkwardly for a moment or two and then hop down. This time when Travis brought her up, she sat and nuzzled her head into Travis's chest as he hugged her and gently pet her. It was truly beautiful. We can only hope that Trudy knew she was loved. We had her for only a short time, but we fell in love with her gentle spirit and adorable puppy dog eyes. She was a wonderful girl that deserved such a better life than the one she had most likely led. We are so happy that we were able to give her a loving, comfortable home for the last days of her life. As emotionally difficult as it was, we would not trade the experience of knowing Trudy for a second. We know that she's up in heaven, eating and playing her days away. She's finally getting the peaceful life she so greatly deserves. Rest in peace, Trudy. You were truly loved. Love, Brooke, Travis and Nellie xoxo