Happy Homes

Happy Homes

Below is a selection of animals that have been given a second chance by the AWL.

If you have a HAPPY HOMES story please email the Animal Welfare League.

 

FRANKLIN

We adopted Franklin about 3 weeks ago from AWL. We had seen him on your Facebook site, needing a home and I fell in love with him from the start. We thought about him all week and decided to go and get him. We managed to find him, and everyone was so nice - the volunteers were just lovely. We actually wanted to take a pile of animals home, but we had two cats already, and Franklin makes three!
 

HONEY

We adopted Honey, a golden retriever cross, from the Elizabeth West AWL in November 2007. When we first brought her home she was very much her own “person” who didn’t really crave human contact and love. Oh my goodness, I don’t think the poor dog had been ever taken for a walk before although she was 18 months old, she was certainly a handful to walk on the lead. She was happy to spend all her time in the back yard and not be inside with us.
 
Our son, Thomas, who was severely disabled, was very much an alien being to her who was just to be ignored. After a very short time our love and patience paid off and Honey became an integral loving part of our family. Within weeks she came to dote on Thomas, staying by his side constantly and kissing him lots. Whenever he was sick Honey laid by his side on the bed with her head on his chest almost seeming to wish him better. Unfortunately Thomas passed away on 20th November this year and Honey has been pining for him, looking at us to give her much encouragement and loves. Her world has changed once again as has ours.  I don’t know how we could have survived the past few weeks without the devotion of our beautiful AWL ‘person’ and hope that other families adopt a pet to give them us much joy as Honey has given to us.

BENDIX

We adopted our new kitten, Bendix, earlier this year- he was an older kitten, creamy ginger with a skinny kitten body and a huge fluffy tail.
Now he is a lovely middle-sized cat and quite fluffy all over, so we got a longhair without realising it. He is the most wonderfully affectionate cat- wakes me up by gently patting me on the face with one of his very furry feet! He's an intelligent kitty also- plays fetch with anything he can fit in his mouth; he brings a rolled up piece of foil wrapper to us if he wants to start playing and can pick up things in his two front paws and toss them around in the air for a bit! He is very well-behaved as well- never runs across the road if he goes out the front of the house and always stays in the backyard when he's allowed outside. We got him to quickly replace another ginger cat we had had for exactly 3 years, whom we got (with his twin) from under a hedge in Kilkenny at 4 weeks of age, via the RDNS Call Centre in Glenside! A nurse saw the 2 kittens with no mother, all wet and hungry and kept them at the call centre for a few days while putting a notice on the RDNS website- I adopted both and still have one. The other escaped one hot night and inevitably ended up under a car. We just have to be very vigilant.
 
Anyway, keep up the good work!

BELLA

We  adopted Bella, a golden labx from the AWL on the 21st of July 2009.   Bella although a little timid at first, has settled into life with our family fantastically.   She is very much a part of our lives and loves swimming in the pool.   Bella has brought much joy to our son (aged 18 years) who has suffered from depression.   She has given us all a purpose and given us something to joyful to focus on.  We have had lots of laughs (and lost some shoes!).   We love her very much.

CHILI

Just dropping you a line to let you know that I am ok and very happy with my new family! Thought I might send you some pics of my new digs. My new parents think I'm a gem and have given me a beautiful new home.     ~ Regards Chilli   ~ 

CLYDE

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I wanted to write a quick email about my family’s newest addition, Clyde.
We adopted him from the AWL three months ago as a companion for our dog, Sawyer.
Three months on and they’re inseparable.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the hard work all the staff and volunteers put in. Without your efforts these beautiful animals would meet a far worse fate, and families such as ours would never be completed.
God bless, merry Christmas and a million good returns,
~Alison Douglas~

SHADOW


Hi - I just wanted to share a good news story with the staff at the AWL. 
17 years ago we purchased a small domestic black kitten from you. We called her Shadow.  "Queen Shadow" as we soon called her is still with us and although her kidneys are starting to show the first signs of old age (she is on Forticor and Hills KD), she is happy and healthy. She is part of a family of 4 fur kids - an old Sandy Creek dog sanctuary puppy called Shazza; an RSPCA tabby cat called Chippy and a pure bred bullmastiff called Delilah. Queen shadow is "top fur kid" and keeps them all in line :)  
Thanks for all the great work you do. Enjoy the pics of Shadow.
Mel and the fur kids.
CLANCY (aka ROSCOE)
Hi!
Just writing to update you all on darling "Roscoe" (who has now been renamed "Clancy").
We adopted him a few weeks ago and he has just settled straight in at home. We all
absolutely ADORE him. He has such a gorgeous, lovely, caring, spritely personality and
all the other humans and doggies that have met him love him too!!

He gets a walk every morning and every night followed by a massage with his favourite
massager that the loving Kristy gave him as a farewell present from the AWL. He then
settles in for snuggle on the couch. He's gained weight and the vet has given him a clean
bill of health exclaiming that he has the fittest heart he's ever heard and the muscliest
legs he's ever seen!

He is so obedient and polite - we did not know dogs could be like this!

He is best buddies with "Ike" the doberman and they spend all day wrestling on the tennis
court before passing out from exhaustion next to each other. His other friend "Duke" the
blue heeler loves him too and although they don't romp around, they run off together and
have working dog adventures - they always come back looking cheeky.
Even "Jimi" who is renowned for being the bossy top dog took a shining to him and lets
Clancy herd him while he chases the ball!!

We are so grateful to the AWL for bringing Clancy into our lives!! He truly is a special guy
and is loved by us all dearly!

Thanks again AWL!!! We couldn't be happier!!!

4 HAPPY DOGGIES

Hi Animal Welfare League

I thought I would send the AWL an update for Happy Homes about 3 dogs that Nathan and I, and my Dad (Bob) have purchased through the AWL.

Nathan and I adopted Oscar over a year ago and have loved every minute since with him. He is loyal, funny, affectionate, lovable and protective. We loved him so much that we bought him a little friend, being Meeka, who wasn't through the AWL but was being re-homed too. The two of them get up to all sorts of mischief and love cuddling up with each other in their beds at night time.

My Dad has adopted 2 dogs from the AWL, being Bonnie & Belle. Bonnie was the first adopted and is a total rascal, who LOVES toys. When Belle was recently adopted, Bonnie took on a motherly role and still looks out for Belle and teaches her all the fun games and tricks. They follow each other around and sleep together in their beds.

All 4 of our dogs have had a couple of play dates and all get along famously. Attached is a pic of all 4 of our Darlings.

It is because of the care and love that the Animal Welfare League Staff give each animal, that enables them all to become fantastic pets, despite what their pasts have been.

Thank you for persisting with shy, timid or rascally dogs, because in the end they all deserve a good life.

Nathan, Karen, Bob
Oscar, Meeka, Bonnie & Belle
 

CLEM

HI there. Just a quick message to let you all know that Clem is settling in very nicely!
 
We adopted Clem 2 weeks ago, and he really has blossomed! He was a TLC cat when we got him, so we were told that he may never be a very affectionate cat,did not like being handled or picked up and may take a long time to come out of his shell...you should see him now!
After a few days of having him here, he came out of his shell and now he loves to chase toys (he plays fetch!), snuggle, LOVES having his belly rubbed, sleeps on his back, sits upright on the couch and he is completely house trained!!...he is full of character, and fits right in with us :)
He still has his moments, but most of the time he just runs around and chases his toys, he is an asboslute delight to have around..and he is spoilt rotten too ;)
We decided too that he needed a bit of a rock-star name with a bit of character just like him, so we re-named him 'Jedda'.
 
If you are after a loving companion who is going to love you unconditionally..go to the AWL, these animals just need a home with a family so they can love and be loved!!!

Thank you so MUCH
 
Sean & Tanya...and Jedda

TAZZY

 

Hey everyone - it has been 3 weeks since we bought lil "Flower" - the Rotty X Border Collie, home.
Her new name is Tazzy, because she looks just like a tassie tiger and growls when playing with the other puppy,  like a tassie devil. Just recently we signed her up with a vet puppy school at The Paralowie Vet
Her first time there the puppy teacher told us that she was the perfect demo dog;  she sat when told, waits for her food and NEVER growls at anyone.. She has a new purple collar with a purple tag.
She gets on so well with our other puppy, an English Maastiff X Ridgeback - known as Skittles.
Tazzy is the perfect DOG ever. Protective, loving, caring, and so SMART! She is treated like a princess SPOILT, LOVED, AND CARED FOR as SHE DOES FOR US!
We just want to thank ALL the volunteers for their hard work at the AWL and for bringing our little Princess into our lives
Thank you from Stacy and Brett, and of course OUR BABY Tazzy.

 

 
SEIFER

We were the lucky ones to adopt SEIFER  after his long stay with you (over 2 months!).  When we met him, we were told he wasn’t really interested in us, the love was one sided, ourside. We said we would make contact in a month to let you all know how he had settled in, fully expected him to just tolerate us for sometime until we earned his love and trust.  How wrong were we!
We are amazed how quickly he has made himself at home and bonded with us.  If we walk out the back door, he comes bounding to meet us with tail wagging.  If you look at him through the door, his tail starts wagging.  He is actually inside at the moment, and when one of us leaves the room, he gets off his bed and walks to greet the returning family member, again with tail wagging.
It is almost 1 year since our beloved Celeste left us, and the sadness of her passing is still with us, but already we know Seifer will help fill the void.
Karen, Ian, Adrian, Stacey and Heath Hunter
 

OSCAR

Hi All

I thought I would let you know just how happy we are since we got Oscar from the Animal Welfare League.  He has become such a BIG part of our family, and we both love him so much (as do all our family and friends).

When we collected Oscar from AWL we were made aware of his “very” timid and scared nature and that this little boy would need lots of love, care, attention and affection.  In which I couldn’t wait to show him this, because I loved him as soon as I met him.

On his first day home with us, he was very shy and didn’t want to leave his bed.  So I spent the day with him, in his bed cuddling him and showing him how much we loved him and that we are nice people who will treat him well.

Each day since then, we have seen constant improvement in his confidence, and he has come out of his shell so much, and progressed in absolute leaps and bounds.

He loves playing with Mum and Dad in the back yard, and runs around like a confident little puppy wagging his tail the whole time.  He also loves his special cuddle times, and all the pats he gets.  And has trained us I think, that each night he won't go to sleep unless he gets tucked in with his blankets.  But as well as training us, we have trained him, and he has mastered most common commands and toilet training already.

We just want to thank all the staff at AWL so very much for bringing this little darling boy into our lives, and looking after him so well prior to getting his new home with us.

It just goes to show what strength LOVE can bring to animals life’s.

Thanks again

Karen, Nathan………and Oscar!

 

SADIE

Sadie

Hi All

Just a note to say that Sadie has become a wonderful part of our little family. She enjoys getting 'mum' out of bed each morning and celebrates by bouncing around our little unit. We then promptly go for a walk to the local park where she trots around as though it were her own private grounds! We then walk around the neighbourhood to better both our fitness. She gets two walks to the park each day (we don't have any lawn in our backyard so I think this only fair) and occasionally gets a third walk to the shops during the day.

With some persistence, she's become used to her kennel, a bit of an issue at first, but gentle insistence finally payed off. She’s become a real character and has us wrapped around her littler paw! We both really enjoy having her with us, and can't imagine life without her now.

We are both very happy to have Sadie, she's gone to a good home.

Thank you
Natalie

GEORGIE

Hello,

In early 1990, my wife adopted a staffy cross from the AWL and named her Georgina (Georgie). At the time, she was told that as she had all her adult teeth she was probably 2 years old so March 3rd 1988 was her “birthday”.

Now we are in 2007, Georgie has had her 19th birthday and is still a lovely and wonderful friend, especially with our other daughter who is now 4. She has a bit of a liver problem but apart from that is in full health and every now again you can see her racing around the back yard, chasing birds and thinking she is still a puppy. She can still jump on her couch when she wants and seems to a 6th sense when the fridge is open.

She has lived in Brisbane, Melbourne and numerous places around Adelaide and is a big fan of going to Victor Harbor - although does require a stop at McLaren Vale to settle her stomach!

Just goes to show what love and kindness can do for pets, especially when it is given back so happily as well!

Cheers
Jonathan Teubner

 'Wally'


Hello to all at the AWL

My name is Kerry McKelliff and I bought a mastiff x staffy from you exacty 4 weeks ago yesterday. I'm writing to tell you just how happy we are with our dog.

You named him Boris but we changed that to Wally which we think suits him perfecty. You didn't really want us to have him because we have another male staffy x boxer called Grommit. Well I'd like you to know that Wally and Grommit are the best of friends and they share everything. They share beds, food, toys and bones. They never squabble. We also have 3 cats and Wally is brilliant with them.

All 5 of our animals get along famously. Right from the first day I was able to take Wally for walks in the paddocks around our house and let him off the lead. He always comes when I call and I just have to hold out his collar and he puts his head through himself.

Wally is no trouble at all and is very loving and well behaved. His nervousness has gone and he is walking with his tail held high so we guess he is happy and relaxed now. My husband and I feel so blessed that we have 2 fantastic dogs. 

Our son's girlfriend has a maltese and she brings him over to visit and all three of them play beautifully together. Wally is an absolute dream and I am so glad I went to the Animal Welfare League to get our second dog. Thank you.

Kerry McKelliff

'Bailey'

Hi,

My name is Audrey and my family recently purchased a dog from the Animal Welfare League at Elizabeth West. His ID No. was PA142. I am writing to let you know of our absolute joy of this little dog. We have called him Bailey, (he's a Jack Russel) and he is the most loving, darling creature.

We were warned that he would be very active, would require lots of exercise and probably dig up the garden. He gets plenty of exercise as everyone in the family wants to play with him. He hasn't (at this stage) made any mess in the garden. He doesn't bark either as many little dogs tend to do.

I would like to send my appreciation to all at Animal Welfare League for allowing such an adorable dog into our lives. I hope that every family that gets the opportunity to own a dog from you is as fortunate as we were.

Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou,
Audrey 

'Paddy'

This is just a quick note to say a huge THANKYOU for bringing Paddy (or PD as he was formerly known) into our lives.  We adopted Paddy from Wingfield earlier in the year and this week he celebrated his first birthday – we don’t know his exact date of birth but he achieved the grand old age of 1 this week!!

Paddy has settled into life with us at home in Hallett Cove, SA. He has changed from a shy, quiet reserved dog into a lively, boisterous 1 year old with the biggest paws and waggliest tail!  He is a really happy dog, leads the life of a king and is spoiled rotten.  He has turned our backyard into what looks like the surface of the moon – he loves digging and burying bones and recently buried a mobile phone! We love Paddy so much and he is a valued member of our family.  He has brought so much happiness to our lives with his waggy tail and unconditional love.

We just want to say thank you again to all at Wingfield and to all AWL staff and volunteers for all the fabulous work you do in the various shelters around the country and across the world.   We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a New Year.  Lets hope that that fewer animals are left in the shelters in 2008.

Best wishes from Elaine and Dave and PADDY xx

'Jonas'

Hello folks,

We brought an 11 week old puppy from Elizabeth west on the 9-9-07, whom we have called Jonas, he is a little Rottweiller x Kelpie. He has fitted into our family very well and is a much loved and very spoilt little puppy and full of mischief, if you look closely at the photo you will see a hole he has dug in our lawn, big enough to bury him in. It is a waste of time trying to fill it in, for he digs it out again and loves putting all his toy's in it!

He also gets on well with our 11-year-old very placid German Shepherd. We took this photo of him a few days ago and thought we would send it through to you so that you can see how happy and well he looks.

Thank you for letting us bring him home to Broken Hill.

Regards from Jeffrey and Julie Williams

'Rex'

Hi,

Rex (six-years-old) has settled in very well. He's just about the perfect dog. He has a run at the beach every morning and afternoon, loves the kids and loves his ball.

Thanks for finding him for us.

Cheers.

Cameron