Dear TASTC,

A year ago my male rott passed on. Recently I decided it was time to find another companion. I still have my female, but I wanted another. (No, I do not breed. I neuter and spay my pets.) I chose to sign up on Adopt A Pet, entering my criteria. I received several emails but they just weren't "it".

Last week I received an email telling me about "Dale", a half Rottweiler and half Great Pyrenees up for Adoption at your shelter. I looked at it, went on, and then went back to it. I felt he was the one!

I called your shelter, and after talking to you, called my husband. He left it up to me, I called you back and asked you to hold him for two days until I could get there.

When we showed up Saturday, I was impressed at the size, and the cleanliness of your shelter. And I was surprised at how big, for a puppy, "Dale" was. We decided to rename him "Bear", because he looks like one!

When Bear came home he was a bit apprehensive. He lay down at my feet curled up in a ball. It wasn't long before he stretched out and offered his belly to me to rub it.

In the days since adopting him Bear has adjusted and is fitting right in. Katie, our Rottweiler, has been aloof with him, but Bear takes it in stride.

He is almost housebroken! He has only had two accidents.

And he is so cuddly! He follows me around, room to room. If I sit, he sits. You can tell he is a "people dog".

I am so thankful I signed up for Adopt A Pet, and I am so thankful that I went with my instincts about Bear.

He is a wonderful companion and I look forward to the years ahead with him. I am sending a picture of him stretched out by my exercise bike. He was wore out from playing in the yard earlier.

Thank you so much!!

Sincerely,
Beverly

Dear Rita,

I would like to thank you for helping me find my new little puppy. When I got him his name was Taz. He didn’t respond well to it so I spent a day and a half thinking of names for him to pick. I tried a lot of names with no response. Finally he chose the name Munchkin.  He’s very happy and playful. I’m working on getting him house trained, and he’s doing better.  He loves exploring his new home, and trying to play with the cats. Although the cats are bigger than him, they are afraid of him.  He likes to chew on my hands and pant legs, but I’m working on getting him to only bite his food and toys.

I feel truly blessed to have such a wonderful little puppy. He’s sweet, cute, and loves to cuddle. I would like to thank Rita, and all of the members and volunteers of TASTC for their hard work taking care of all the wonderful cats and dogs. I look forward to seeing you all again, and will bring Munchkin in from time to time so all can see his progress.

Thank you TASTC

Sincerely,
Stephanie Crabtree

When I first saw Chester's picture in the newspaper, I just loved the kind look on his face. I knew he would be adopted soon. I ran into my friend Kevin a couple months later, Kevin volunteers much of his time at The Animal Shelter of Texas County. I asked if Chester had been adopted, and Kevin said no, he couldn't understand it, as Chester was such a good dog. I asked Kevin to call me in a month if Chester wasn't placed. I already had 3 dogs, and also livestock, so I wasn't sure if a coonhound would fit in. I was worried that he would chase my chickens and horses, or bark a lot. When Kevin called me to say that Chester was still available, I knew I had to give him a chance. Now that my husband and I have Chester home, I don't know how we made it without him. He doesn't even glance at our free-range chickens, and the only time he has barked is when he is following me riding my horse. He LOVES being outside, and can run the perimeter of our 47 acre place in 5 minutes flat, on 3 legs! My 8 month old Border Collie loves Chester, because they have the same energy level, and he has a willing playmate. I am so grateful to the staff at The Animal Shelter of Texas County for all they do for dogs and cats in general, and especially for Chester. He has a little PTSD from the trauma he experienced, being caught in a trap, and jumps at loud noises, but he is healing. He is an inspiration to me on a daily basis. I plan to help him get his Canine Good Citizen status, and work on training him to be a therapy dog - I think he would be perfect.

Marie Lasater

I just wanted to let everyone know that I would recommend the Texas County Animal Shelter to everyone who is looking for an animal to adopt. On June 18th, 2010, we welcomed our new addtion Jeter to our home.  When we picked him up from the airport, he was a scared, skinny silky terrier. We brought him home and he didn't know what grass was and scared to death when birds chipped, and wouldn't let us catch him.  Jeter only weighed 3.4 pounds.. I saw Jeter on Pet-Finders and shortly after filling out an application Rita called me.  Rita was the nicest person I have ever spoken to. She was understanding to my fear of shipping a dog by airfair and adopting a pup unseen.  She assured me he would be ok and he was.

Now 5 months later Jeter is a happy little boy, weighing in at 6.1 pounds.  He loves to cuddle up to my older dog who has taken him under her wing. He loves chasing leaves, playing tug of war, and wrestling with my son.  He as taken his spot on the bed to cuddle up to me.  Our family couldn't have gotten a better dog. I am also thankful for meeting Rita ( not in person- although it seems as if we met).

So a dog that came from a horrible puppy mill has turned out to be the best little man.  He has blossomed to a loving, trusting boy.

And as Rita says, he is her little "Yankee dog".

Thank you Rita, 

Renee Calkins and Family

Hi,

My husband and I made the over two hour drive down to Houson to see Chicky last Wednesday, we are sure glad we did :) She did very well on the long drive back home. She has been a bright spot for us and our older terrier mix dog, McGwire. We have changed her name to Cricket, we figured that was something small , full of energy that jumps around!

After losing our 10 yr old Dalmatian ,Dominoe, back in July I actually said I did not want to get another dog. Well as you see that did not last too long and I started looking around on line when I came upon your shelter and once again I say how thankful we are that I did :) She has made herself at home here, she has lots of room to run and has put the spark back into our lives as well as our 12 yr old McGwire. I have attached a couple photos, I have already taken a ton of them, so it was hard to choose which to send.

I will keep in touch and certainly will recommend The Animal Shelter of Texas County to anyone I know that may be looking for a pet.

Thanks again,

Vickie & Don Squires
Cricket & McGwire

Hello,

I understand that you probably have a lot of dogs and cats to deal with.  However, just wanted to give you a brief update with Paris, now Pari Puppy Miller.  (Sorry, with Paris Hilton constantly in the news, we had to change that.)

She is doing great!  She is adapting well and getting more and more acclimated with us.  Her and Riley are having a ball.  The weather cooled down and they are putting on quite a few "shows".  Call me nuts, but I think Riley sensed how timid Pari was when we brought her home and he is rather gentle with her.  He chases her when they are playing and I know he could outrun her and chooses not to....how mush fun would that be anyway? 

Thank you, again.

Sincerely

Marsha-

I wanted to give you an update on "Rusty". We decided to rename him Alfie because we have a friend named Rusty. He is a very sweet and energetic boy. He has had a haircut and now regularly goes to doggie daycare for socialization as well as the dog park locally. His very spoiled sister Charlie (my female jack russelll) is wondering when hes going to get dropped back off at the airport haha! She is warming up to him and sharing the couch with him now. They had a few little scuffles in the beginning but now are learning to co-habitate nicely. I would like to thank you for allowing us to give Alfie a loving home. 

I just want to thank all of you for the care that you gave to Wendy (RCA) and for bringing us together.

My dog passed away in July and I was heartbroken.It took me awhile to feel that I was ready to adopt another "best friend." I called TASTC and inquired about RCA. Much to my dismay, I learned that a deposit had already been paid for her adoption. I thought that it was just a sign that I wasn't ready for another dog. But to demonstrate the dedication and compassion of your volunteers, I received a call two days later from Rita. She told me that RCA's adoption had fallen through and she was still available! I hadn't left my name or number, but Rita had taken that extra initiative to find me by going through the shelter's phone log on the day I had called. Wow!

Two days later, I met RCA (whom I have re-named Wendy), and adopted her. I know that most people, myself included, tend to adopt the little puppies rather than a dog who is 7 months old, but there are some definite advantages. I've had Wendy for a week and a half and she has not had one "accident" in the house (knock on wood). She also sleeps all through the night. We've already taken her hiking and she's played with about every toy in the toy basket.

She has adapted very well to our family and has changed our lives for the better. But what has amazed me the most, was the sincere appreciation that she showed us on the very first night we had her. While everyone was decorating our Christmas tree, I noticed Wendy just sitting there, taking it all in, with such a contented and grateful look on her face. She will be our lifetime friend and I think she knows it!

Fate may have made Wendy and my family's lives' paths cross, but it might not have been possible without the caring volunteers at TASTC. I can't thank you all enough, other than to start volunteering at TASTC myself. If I can do for others, what all of you have done for us, the cycle will continue!

Sincerely,

Vicki Lucky-Powell and "Wendy"

Testimony: Adoption of "Holly", by Michelle Vivero at 1 Choice Realty ST G.M.A.C. Real Estate

"In short, we had just lost Simba, our Golden Retriever(who had been a member of our family forover 11 years), over the Thanksgiving Holiday weekend. We were heart broken.

However, by December 13th, I did one last search on Petfinder.com to see if there were any otheranimals who needed a home and there she was, just posted, from our local Texas County Animal Shelter. She was listed as a Golden Retriever/Spaniel mix, exactly what we were looking for to fill the hole left behind, in our family, from our recent loss.

My husband & I immediately made an appointment to visit with her at the foster home she was staying at. She was a little aggressive when we first walked in, however, after spending about an hour with her she finally warmed up to us, as long as we were willing to play for what seemed like forever! We then set an appointment to go back on Saturday, so our son could meet her. She fell in love with him too. Needless to say, we took her home that Saturday night.

Holly is the joy of our family. She is very affectionate and does not mind letting you know when you come home from work, that she has been home all day alone, has behaved well and now wants your undivided attention. If you don't give it, she will make sure she gets it! Each morning when I get up, Holly comes out to the living room and sets next to me on the couch to get her morning belly rub, just before going out. Holly is smart as a whip! She picks up new commands within just a couple of tries. Holly loves to play and chew up her tug toys, however, she only chews on what she knows she is supposed to.

Holly has truly been a lot of fun and she has created her own loving memory in our family and we look forward to having her with us for years to come.

So, if you have recently lost a family pet or would really like to have someone who loves you unconditionally, adopt a pet who needs a loving home, from the local animal shelter. The relationship you share with a pet is everlasting and they love you no matter who you are, what you look like, even when you are grumpy and pets are loyal to you when no one else is!

Remember though, owning a pet is a responsibility. The pet you adopt may have issues to work through, however, if you both are committed, the reward it great!

Holly is the 5th pet I have adopted either from an animal th shelter or a humane society, who needed a home, and I have never regretted it. They usually are the most loyal and loving animals you will ever come in contact with."

I am writing concerning the bichon frise puppy my husband and I adopted from The Animal Shelter of Texas County. What a positive Mo experience we had!

Beth Burch was a wonderful contact and answered my many calls and questions before we made the 4 1/2 hour journey to Houston from Fayetteville, AR. My husband and I truly appreciate you holding our precious Houston Mo (who we call Mo) for us until we could get there to pick him up. We had been looking for a bichon puppy for quite some time and found your listing on petfinder.com and knew that this was a right match for us.

Mo did great on his ride back to Arkansas and stole our hearts immediately. He now loves toys, walks outside, and chasing his tennis ball around. He has also done great with crate training and is 98% house trained (which we are suprised about for a puppy his age.) Thank you so much for posting on petfinder.com, for if you hadn't, we would not have our little joy.

Good luck in the future finding homes for other orphans, just like Mo used to be. I am going to try to e-mail some pictures of Mo if I can.

Thanks again, Audra