I thought it was time I sent you in my 'success story' for my beautiful boy, 'Bones'. He came home from the shelter on Anzac Day, and settled in with his new sister, Sahara, whom he adores. His name was quickly changed to Phoenix, in the hopes he would 'rise from the ashes' into his new life.
He soon developed trust in my partner and I, and has been attending Australian Dog Training since the day after he came home, and is doing brilliantly. He has already moved up a class, and will be training to 'platinum' level before competing in agility trials later this year.
He's a gorgeous boy, loves to be the centre of attention in his aloof way, and follows me everywhere. He curls all 37kg of himself up and sleeps on my feet every night, and I wouldn't be without him, although he is beginning to eat us out of house and home!
Thank you so much to the lovely staff for their help on 'adoption day', I couldn't ask for a better best friend.

Katrina Furlong

I visit your website often,although I lost my girl over seven years ago, her spirit still shines brightly:
___________
CANINE LOVE

Brue, my darling companion, I loved you with a full heart,
And watching you suffer , my special friend tore my soul apart,
Many times you comforted me,
And the tears I shed for you now would never fill the sea,
But an ocean is not as deep as the love I shall always carry for you,
I remember the precious times we had so very many together my wonderful Canine,
Our hearts and love are forever entwined,
I gave my heart to you, and with your fierce loyalty, you protected and saved me
from unwanted foe,
But I knew from the land of living sweetone, I knew you had to go.....
You deserved your dignity in your goodbye,
I saw the love in your eyes before your spirit set fly,
We shall meet again,
But never the less I have to endure the pain....
I always loved a Rainbow, How special they seem to be,
I know that you are waiting for me
Where once again we can be forever free.

Gayle Woods (c)

We adopted out little prince charming Rocky three years ago when he was a little ten week old fluff ball. We took him home and he settled in right away. Three years later he has the run of the house! He is a very smart cat but is a little confused as to whether he is actually a cat or a dog. We have taught him to fetch, sit and drop on command. He also loves to chase our heeler cross corgi Tyson around the backyard.

Rocky loves water!! As soon as you walk into the bathroom he jumps straight into the bath tub waiting for you to turn the water on for him to play with.
He is extremely cheeky and loves to hide around corners and jump out at anyone who passes.
We love him with all of our hearts and want to thank you for bringing him into our lives.

Rhiarna, Melinda, Ellie and Rocky Noe

We adopted a beautiful yellow labrador from your shelter just over two months ago and we wanted to let you know how well she has settled in with us at home.

She was a stray with no record of a name so we have called her Bonnie which seemed appropriate given her cute looks and happy go lucky attitude. Without knowing anything of Bonnie’s background we were pleasantly surprised to find her house trained, friendly and totally fearless. She is a very affectionate dog and likes nothing more than a good cuddle or belly rub. In true labrador style she loves the beach, retrieving balls from the water, running around the park and sniffing out food scraps wherever she goes!. We have attached two of our favourite photos which show her first day in her new home and one of her high energy modes at the beach.

You will be pleased to hear she is gradually losing some of her excess weight and her eye has healed up well following the cyst removal. We consider ourselves very lucky to have found such a great dog and thank you for letting her come home with us. Thanks also to all the AAPS staff for the advice you have given us over the last month or so.

Lindsay Henderson

Hi all at AAPS,
Thought we would write as it's been 6 months since Zahli has been at home with us. She was called Inga while she was with you.

She has settled in well, the usual hick-ups to be expected.

We don't believe she had ever met Chooks/Ducks/Horses or cats before. Obedience has much improved exept she still tries to eat our 4 cats. We expect that in another 6 months she will be ok with them as she is improving all the time. She loves to run at the park and horse paddock. She gets along really well with our Rottweiler "Romy" and their antics together often have us in fits of laughter. Amazingly she has grown. She was 4 cm smaller than Romy when we took her home and now she is 5 cm taller than her. This was a little surprising as she was 2.5 years old when she came home. Unfortunately because of this she is still getting used to her legs being a little longer. Zahli loves nothing more than to lay on her mat by the wood fire in her pj's with her teddy bear.

Regards, Iris and Shaun.

Hello! My name is Scruffy, and I’m a Jack Russell x . I have white fur with brown blobs. I went home in March 2007 and I’m loving my new house!

Jac Jac and Stewie and their niece, Lulu brought me home to keep Jake (the 12 year old border collie x) company. They got me a new basket to sleep in as well as a dinner bowl and a walking lead. When I arrived at my new home, I ran around the backyard for ages! Jac Jac needed to sit down just watching me! Later, I went for a walk with Lulu holding my new lead. It is bright orange. Stewie held on to Jake's lead. We walked to the park and around the streets. When I got back to my new home, I finally stopped running around and lay quietly in my bed.

One week later, I love my new home. Two months later I know Jac Jac and Stewie can’t imagine their home without me! I have learned a lot in my new home. Especially trips in the cars and running on the beach.

Thankyou for all your kind help at the A.A.P.S. and making sure that I got a new forever home.

Lot’s of love, Scruffy, ( with Louisa Bonning aged 9 )

I came across Soxy (the black and white cat) whilst looking at your shelter for a dog. We had just adopted one cat from another shelter and I was searching for the right dog to fit in with her, our young boys and free range chickens.

I didn't find a dog that day but I took a wander in the cat section and found the gorgeous Soxy. He is a real treasure in our house and absolutely adores our other cat Charlotte (the tabby). He's not too fond of the (then) puppy I eventually brought home but he keeps her in line and tolerates her boisterous behaviour. My son Damien loves him to death and he sleeps on his bed at night.

Rest assured Soxy is having a fantastic life, as are all my animals. Thankyou so much to all at the Keysborough shelter you do a fantasic job.

Regards,Dawn Bird.

Billy was adopted in Febuary 2007, and he settled in to our family straight away. He has the most placid nature and is very affectionate. He likes to be held like a baby, and this is his place in the family. Here are some pictures of our baby Billy.

From the Fulton Family

We adopted Lucy in late April 2007. She was one of a litter of pups from a purebred Kelpie and purebred Coolie (yes I didn’t know what one was either, but it makes a good conversation starter in the park!). Although we had previous dog experience (our beloved 16 year old kelpie Chippa), Nicky at the shelter was anxious that we should choose a dog that would be suitable for our young family. In a few weeks Nicky emailed to say she may have a suitable dog, and to bring the children down to test Lucy’s reaction. The rest is history.

Nicky predicted Lucy would be easy to train and very affectionate, two traits she has shown in abundance. Being only nine months old she is very exuberant and in a flat out race at the park, few dogs can match her. Lucy has learnt to chase a ball and performs the most amazing aerobatics. Her ‘focus’ with these games is actually very intense showing her working dog heritage. At obedience school she excels, and has been promoted in record time. Come the evening however she is a really cuddly snoozer. Is there anything as nice a dog stretched out in front of a fire?

If you are contemplating adopting a dog, remember a few things:

It is a serious undertaking - listen to the staff and their suggestions about suitable breed and temperament for your situation. Be prepared to put the time in, especially for a younger dog. Your time and affection will be repaid many times over. You will meet all sorts of interesting and lovely people on your daily walks.

Follow the above and a dog is pretty much guaranteed to make any ones life a richer experience!

Roger, Donna, Jamie, Chris, Georgia and Lucy

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