Brandy
Born in Johnson City Tenn, Brandy came home from the rescue to a family which meant as much to us as it did to her. "Fawned" over by her three Mommas, My wife Alice, my daughters Chanel and Danielle Brandy very quickly assumed the loving, nurturing and gentle happy disposition that was a reflection of her three masters...her girls. To my daughters the endless joy of constant smiles and welcomes, riding a sled in the snow or a baby carriage ride in the summer she was more human than canine. To me, years of nudges at the right time, a smile during the down times and the head dunking and love of the water at the cottage, her "raising" Riley to be be the dog he is today. To Alice, her best friend, a confidant, an inseperable companion who's never ending cheerfullness and consant smile became a model for everyone. Even in final days her loving looks and sense of contentment she again did what she has for a lifetime...........brought smiles to everyone and helped us get through a difficult challenge one more time. We love you Brandy and you will be with us forever. Enjoy chasing the bunnies and rolling in the flowers....................."MOMMY LOVES YOU" ~ The McVey Family

Molly the Dachshund
Dear little Molly Shamolly, You went so unexpectedely that it breaks our hearts to know you won't be home to greet us anymore. You were the most incredible little dachsund, with an amazingly loving, sweet personality. You gave us so many year of memories, from your little precious moments eyes, to sitting by the closet begging for another rawhide. You always warmed our laps while we watched TV and got the sheets ready for us at bedtime. We knew we'd never be ready to say good bye to you, but when that day came so unexpectedly, it made it 10x's harder. Know that we miss you and love you so very much. You were our little kid and will forever own a piece of our hearts! ~ Tiffany S.

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

Max The Shiba Inu
Max was a beautiful Shiba Inu. When he was less than a year old he was diagnosed with hip dysplasia. His family decided they did not want to treat this highly treatable condition and elected to put him down. The clients and personnel of University of Doglando learned of this and convinced the family to let them help him. You see, they had come to know and love Max during his many visits to the doggie daycare. They took up a collection and treated his hip dysplasia and then they set about looking for a new home. Sadly, however, Max developed a personality disorder that made rehoming him an impossibility as he became highly aggressive to both other dogs and people. Finally the difficult, but correct, decision was made to put Max to sleep. When Max closed his eyes for the last time, he was wrapped in the loving arms of Teena and Janie. It wasn't how they had hoped Max's story would end. But it ended in peace and in love, so perhaps that isn't such a bad thing after all......

Susie the Rescued Senior Greyhound
I realized today that it was almost exactly eight months ago when I got her; looking at a calendar, it’s just two days shy of a full eight months. It seems longer. She became such a part of my life, it’s hard to believe that it wasn’t longer. I had thought I’d be okay living alone down here in Kissimmee, while the family finished school and maintained the house in New York, and I did get over the jitters of being alone — although I routinely locked myself in an upstairs bedroom, with a nightlight and the alarm system on — but it was the emptiness of the house that disturbed me. Coming home to complete silence, except for the ticking of the many clocks, was what finally pushed me to place my name on a waiting list for a dog that I might foster, on weekends at least. Pet Rescue by Judy had been suggested to me by several sources, and it wasn’t long after putting my name on an application that I got a call asking if I would be able to take a look at an older greyhound dog who needed a home. Judy had gotten the dog from the local pound, who called her at the eleventh hour saying the dog’s time was coming to an end and she’d have to be put to sleep if someone didn’t take her. The pound admitted it was a shame to put such a sweet dog down but they had no other choice. Judy had taken the dog, but the noise and general commotion at Judy’s home seemed to make the dog nervous. I asked what the dog’s name was — “Suzie,” I was told. “That’s my wife’s name! It must be a sign…” and by the time I was driving over to the appointed spot, I knew I’d be going home with a dog. Judy arrived late, and we went out to her van; when she opened the back doors, there was Suzie, painfully thin, a little nervous and reserved, but friendly. She paid no particular attention to me, but just took in her surroundings. Judy mentioned that Suzie had a heart condition, but at ten years old, was beyond having anything radical done, just heartworm pills, which Judy generously provided for me, along with a metal crate, leash, collar, bowls and a full bag of PetScience food. I packed up my car, and Suzie got right in, still not showing much emotion of any kind, just placidly going along with the program. She panted a lot on that first ride home, almost an hour in the car. I talked to her, and reached back often to pet her and make her feel safe. At home, she checked out the lower floor of the house, but when I tried to get her to come upstairs, it was obvious she had never had experience with a staircase before. It took a number of times before she was able to coordinate going up and down, clumsily at first until she got the hang of it and learned what my routine was. The first few days we had some “spills” on the white carpet, but after purchasing wee-wee pads, a gate, deterrent sprays, and a SpotBot machine, we got a rhythm going and I knew when and how frequently she needed to be walked. It took a while to get her to eat consistently — whether it was nerves or just being fussy, we went through quite a few brands of dry food, canned food, sliced, mashed, or blended, and lots of people food too. Even though I was out of the house almost 11 hours every weekday, she was a good girl who held it in most days. Except if it thundered — she was petrified of lightning and thunder, trembling like I’ve never seen before. Those days, I could be sure that I’d have to change the wee-wee pads, but her aim was quite good and she understood the intent of the six or seven padded, plastic-backed sheets on the family room floor. She wasn’t much interested in toys, and you couldn’t really rough-house with her; she’d go so far with you teasing her, or grabbing her, before she’d get nervous and want to quit the game. I missed having a dog who I could wrestle with, but she was a lady and it just wasn’t her style. She ate delicately, especially the piece of cheese I would give her in the morning as a treat — the signal that I was about to leave for the day. She would take the first of the six bite size pieces I’d break off, carry it to her spot in the living room, and look up at me while I put the other pieces beside her. She had gotten to wagging her tail when she heard the Kraft plastic wrap being opened, knowing that something was coming her way. She was my constant companion; no matter how many times I’d go up and downstairs in my routine to get ready for work, she’d follow me. I’d almost want to say “Don’t bother, I’m coming right back up” but it wouldn’t have mattered even if she understood me. I would lay my robe on the bathroom floor and she’d lay down on it, but invariably when I would pull back the shower curtain to dry off, she’d be up against the tub on the bathmat, to be even closer to me. If I sat at the computer, she’d be under the desk, right at my feet. She slept on her own little mat on the floor beside me at night, and would follow me to the bathroom at 3 am if she didn’t sleep right through. On Saturday afternoons, we’d take a ride to the local McDonald’s, where she’d have a Number One meal (except for the pickle which she ate around). She thought she should go on as many car rides as possible and would hop in the car even if I was just unpacking groceries. On Halloween she was happy to greet every round of Trick-or-Treater's at the door, who she thought were all coming to visit her; same for the carolers at Christmastime - she greeted everyone with affection - a complete failure as a guard dog if that was what I had been hoping for. The past few days I noticed that she seemed tired even after our short walks. She was getting fussy again about her diet. I made an appointment for her at the vet for the first time since I had her, and they said she was fine and should just continue her heartworm medication. But that afternoon her breathing began to be very labored, and even though she ate her dinner, she was exhausted after her walk, and had a hard time making it to the top landing of the stairs when I went up to take a shower. She kept me awake on and off with her heavy panting, until at 1:30 a.m. I noticed she was standing by the bed. I coaxed her to go outside to urinate, which she did reluctantly and then struggled to get back in the house, where she dropped on the tile floor. She had been coughing, as if trying to bring up phlegm, for hours and it was putting a strain on her. I called an emergency animal hospital and printed up the directions to get there. It seemed like the longest trip, not knowing exactly where I was going and running into construction delays on the highway. The staff was very sympathetic and courteous, but the bad news was inevitable and obvious: the best thing to do was to put her to sleep. I didn’t hesitate and the doctor seemed grateful that I understood. She took Suzie away to put a catheter in her leg and to sedate her slightly. By this time, her tongue was black and cold and my last moments holding her were very short before the injection took effect. I was home a little after 3:30 am, and it was hard to believe that in the space of two hours, her life had come and gone. It took a while before I could sleep, grabbing about three hours after my own exhaustion overwhelmed me. This morning, the routine was already different: didn’t have to worry about stepping on her as I got out of bed; didn’t have to look for slippers to put on to take her out before my own bathroom routine. I saw the gate that no longer had to be put up to block off the formal living room; I washed the bowl for the last time, rinsing away her “last supper.” No need for these pads on the floor any longer. Should I give her food away to Daisy, the little dog down the block, or hold onto it for the next dog, which will inevitably come and steal my affections? The loneliness of the house was back again, just as it had been just eight months ago. Suzie had come and gone and touched my life in between. I consoled myself, as my family had tried to console me, with the fact that I was part of a rescue operation, and had provided her an opportunity to live out her last months in a loving home, giving her as much affection and attention and company as she had given me. And I sit here, just hoping that she understood how much I loved her. Feeling the emptiness… ~ Hugh