The Best Gift was His Life

My Husband, son and I have been going to the Gwinnett Humane Society for years looking for that special animal to add to our lives. We have always had it in our hearts to adopt and save a life, but little did we know one day, that we would actually be walking out with Bandit. When we went in the first thing he did was catch my eye. He would talk to us through the glass and it instantly clicked.. he was the one! I asked about him, and he was arranged for an adoption. Days went by and we would drive 45 minutes just to see if he was still there. Apparently two people have backed out of his adoption, so we decided to take our 2 year old go outside and meet face to face at last. What was odd is that he was SO excited to be outside he really didn't give his time of day towards us... but something still told me he was the one. After a couple of days we took him home and he has brought tons of joy into our home. Our family, neighbors and friends just LOVE him. He was such a skinny little
thing and its hard to believe that someone let go of this amazing dog. He has such a cute, intelligent attitude. He is full of love and constantly jumps in our laps.. it was so hard to see him in there, with no meat on his bones and no true affection. We have since got him to the vet, up to date on everything and he now weighs the normal weight for his size. I honestly can't picture my life or my family without him! Adopting him was one of the best choices, and commitments I have ever made, and I urge other families out there to do the same. Being an adopted animal owner is such a great feeling, and it fills a void. I just knew it was meant to be. It might have taken us many visits, but it was still worth it! Save a life, and adopt... don't "buy".

Our Little Fighter Rocky / Chimmie

I wanted to thank you for brInging little Rocky into our hearts. We were introduced to him 7 years ago through one of your fosters after he had been rescued from an abandonment situation with a mate that was pregnant. He was in the hospital about 3 weeks in order to recover and was initially rescued by a Chi group from animal control and then a woman with your group, I think her name was Linda, introduced him to us.

At the time Rocky was named Chimmie but he seemed like such a fighter, we decided to rename him. His age was estimated to be 2.5 - 3 years but our vet felt he could be much older. Anyway, 7 years later and he just recovered from a cervical disc injury with 8 weeks of crate rest and is doing well again.

Initially we overfeed him a bit so when I brought him to your annual Hogs for Dogs that first year, the volunteer barely recognized the little chubby guy, but we soon got him back into shape. I'm attaching a few photos so you can see he's looking pretty good for a little guy that had the odds stacked against him. I hope others will realize the older dogs makes great adoptable pets. Thanks for all you do.

Sincerely,

Ann and Wayne Shallcross

Beloved CoCo

We adopted our sweet chocolate lab, CoCo in April, 2000. This past Monday, after 12 wonderful years of unconditional love, we had to make the heartbreaking decision to put her down. I saw her sweet face the first time I visited your website in 2000. I didn't want to tell my two kids until I visited her in person and made sure she had a good disposition. She couldn't have been more perfect! She was such a joy to us throughout her life. She used to greet us at the door by spinning in circles and barking her head off. She went with us on many of our family vacations. She never left my side after the death of my 18 year son in 2006. She never ever complained in her late years. Our vet said she was full of tumors and had a huge mass around her stomach. He said it was "her time." Lying on the floor of the examining room next to her as she took her last breath is a moment I will cherish forever. She completed our family and is terribly missed.

Therapy Cat, Ashton

I adopted Ashton from Gwinnett Humane Society in 2007. I had been looking for a friend for my other cat, a very playful 2 year old female named Drew. I went to GHS and explained what I was looking for ("a cat that is active and can handle being abushed by another cat from the top of the couch...) I was very quickly told, "we have just the cat for you." I was taken to meet Ashton and immediately knew he was the one. He was walking around the room tackling every cat in sight, trying to initiate play. I think the other cats were getting annoyed and were happy when I said I'd take him!

Ashton and Drew hit it off immediately. He was the PERFECT fit! His sweet personality and attention-seeking behavior earned him the love of the whole family.

I now live in Los Angeles with Ashton, Drew and one more cat, a foster kitten-turned "mine", Aaron. Ashton loves to go on walks on his harness, bird watch from the window, and play with young Aaron.

I understand that Ashton was very close to his "last day" when Gwinnett Humane Society took him in. I can't believe such an amazing cat was so near the end because he has truly been life changing. Ashton has become a certified Animal Assisted Therapy Cat with spcaLA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Los Angeles). He visits nursing homes and comes with me to work where I run a violence-prevention program for at-risk youth at spcaLA. Ashton sits with the kids, providing company and a sense of ease. Most of the kids in the program only think of cats as outdoor pests, but Ashton has changed more than one person's mind about that! In one situation, an 8th grade boy began crying when talking about being abandoned by his mother and right on cue, like he knew his job, Ashton hopped into that boy's lap and snuggled in for some petting. Ashton truly is an amazing and gifted cat!

Thank you GHS! I love my baby boy so much- you made a great recommendation when you introduced me to him!

Meaghan
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Paisley

As fitting as it is... I adopted Paisley 3 days before Valentine's Day 2011. She came to my house and met my 2 yr black lab Patsy to make sure they would get along. We went to visit Paisley in her "house" where she was staying... they got along just fine. I brought Paisley home and that's when it all started! She was shy and timid and mostly hid on her bed in my bedroom since she had broken out of 2 different crates while I wasn't home (not sure if her sister helped her but I wouldn't put it past her.. Patsy is a bit of a hooligan). She slowly came out of her shell and started to show who she truly is... such a sweet, good girl. We first had problems with counter surfing, then peeing or maybe marking, then all of a sudden it stopped. I think she started to feel comfortable in her new home. Paisley, from what I was told, started out with a pretty rough life but thankfully was taken in by GHS. I was told she soon became a favorite and there are no questions why. She listens,
is gentle even when she slowly jumps up to greet me at the door when I come home from work and she just loves and loves. She has seen and learned so many new things in 6 months. She LOVES her sister.. they play all the time. She has a extreme fondness for her dog bed. I have a lake house and even when she is there she finds "her" bed (she claimed the one in the living room the first night I brought her home and hasn't given it up yet). She swam this summer for the first time until Patsy jumped on her head and dunked her and now she gets in the water but when she sees her sister get riled up she runs to the shore and starts to play (she's pretty smart too). She has learned to boat and has shown that she is a true lab. She now gets on the boat by herself and gets VERY excited when you move the boat keys off of the key hook!! She loves to ride in the car. I sometimes think her and Patsy would rather stay in the car than in the house. She has been such a blessing and I
wouldn't change her one bit! Paisley is growing each day. It's amazing how far she has come since the day I brought her home!! I couldn't imagine not having Paisley and Patsy probably couldn't either. :) She also learned how to play with toys ... with 2 labs, we like to call it "tear it up through tug as fast as you can and whoever gets the squeaker out wins"!! Paisley is an amazing dog and we both got lucky... she and I.

Max

We adopted Max into our family from the Gwinnett Shelter when it was still on New Hope Road, approx 6 years ago. We went into the shelter looking for a small dog, well I should have know that would not be what we left with. . . . my husband saw Max and told me to come over with the kids, the moment we all looked into Max's eyes we fell in love and knew that Max belonged in our home!!!!! We have loved Max and he has been such a blessing to our family for the last 6 years. Unfortunatly yesterday we had to have Max put to sleep. You see Max had cancer and it spread to other parts of his body. I wanted to share our story with you to say Thanks for all of the GREAT years we had with Max!!!! He will always be loved and missed!!!! And we are planning on adopting again soon!!! We think that adopting a shelter dog is the best!!!!!
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Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to Shy!
Aren't I beautiful! I turn 19 this month (January 22, 2011). I was adopted from GHS in April 1992. My name was Fiona, my family changed my name to Shy because I was very, very shy when I first came to live with them. I stayed under the bed for a week before I ventured out and became the Queen of my forever home.