Hi Guys!
Just wanted to drop you a line and let you know that little Charli (aka SOX) that we picked up on Saturday is doing so well, in fact better than we could have imagined and that’s testament to you all down there. She was brilliant the minute she got in the car for the long 2 hour trip home. Once inside she marched past the dogs with a look of “Right, out of my way, where do I eat” jumped up on the kitchen table and waited for the human slave to tend to her needs. Unfortunately whilst we were picking this little cutie up from you guys, our other little cat was bitten by a snake. She spent 3 days in hospital, but Charli is helping in nursing her back to health and I can tell they are going to be great mates!! Thanks so much for giving us the opportunity to welcome such a wonderful little girl into our home. We promise to keep you updated!!

Jacqueline, Matt & Tahlia …and animals.

I would just like to inform all at AAPS that our beautiful girl who we have named Mimi previously known as “Precious” tag number 14268 is doing great at home with us.
Not sure if you remember her as it has been 2 yrs since we adopted her from you.
When we came to pick her up she was very weary of human contact. Well I’m happy to say that she is now the lady of the house and demands a cuddle and a kiss every morning and gets them all day.

She also likes to cozy up near our feet while we're watching telly, and likes to be brushed and groomed, and has even been outside in the back garden which is an enclosure that we built for her and our other cat Sylvester (I’ll send photos soon of her outside)
It has taken nearly a year for her to feel comfortable with her new environment and with her new family but she has settled in very well; she is a very much loved cat.
As you can see from one of the photos of her she looks much healthier; she even looks after Sylvester and they always sleep near each other and groom one another.They follow each other everywhere. It’s so cute to see.
I would love you to share our story on your website of Mimi and hope it encourages others to adopt an older cat and be assured that they are just as friendly and do make great companions.

A HAPPY STORY ABOUT MAX THE BORDER COLLIE

Years had passed since our Border Collie, Prince had died. We were at Keysborough Animal Shelter interviewing a replacement Border Collie. In his pen he seemed a possibility. “Would you like to take him for a walk?” the assistant asked us, so off we went. He pulled like mad but licked me on the nose. Jacqui & I decided to give adoption a try & when we picked him up a few days later, we decided his name would be Max.
A week later, he settled down inside the house but outside, he was wild. He attacked fences & the dogs behind them. He was uncontrollable on lead. We wondered what his life experiences had been before he joined us. He was unsociable & we suspected that he had only rarely been out of his former backyard. We took him for longer & longer walks trying to tire him out but it didn’t work.
After 6 weeks of ownership, we were getting nowhere. We were incompatible. I seriously suggested we take him back to the shelter. My wife Jacqui made enquiries of several dog training organizations but they were not interested.. We then got in contact with Frankston Dog Obedience Club. The next Saturday, we met Janice & walked around the field while Max socialized with her dog, Sam. Janice put us into “Beginners One” training class. Over time, we learnt to heel & do sits & drops. Max didn’t like being corrected & would bite or nip me on the legs.
Many months of Saturday training passed & he was slowly improving, eventually being graduated to Beginners Two & was then regularly competing in Fun Day competitions where he has won a few ribbons with qualifying scores & even a CUP. Eighteen long months later, having passed through Blue, Pink, Yellow, Green & White Classes, he has reached the dizzy height of a “Novice Dog”
I am amazed at his progress. Max will never be a champion competitor, but he loves his training classes. He is now a happy, relaxed, sociable & friendly dog who is obedient on & off lead. We have great fun together, going for walks & swims in the sea. He is the mate I always wanted.
Max had been returned to the shelter twice because he was unsuitable so we were his third home. Max’s behaviour was typical of a very very frightened dog.

(Congratulations to Dave & Jacqui for having the foresight to see past the bad behaviour & continue to do training. They now have a wonderful companion dog who is very happy in his new home.)

Penny was adopted from the shelter about a month ago and I am extreamly happy to inform you that Penny is doing extreamly well. She has adjusted to life in Rosebud well and she loves swimming in the ocean and walking along it.
Thank you so much for providing me the chance to adopt Penny so quickly and I wish you all the best in the vital work that you are doing.
Sincerly

Enoka Ramanayake

Hi AAPS,
I was just reading a few of the amazing stories of dogs going to new homes & wanted to add ours!
We adopted Olly May 2006 and haven't looked back. He is a wonderful dog with loads of personality!
He will be coming back for a visit in the next few months when we make another adoption for a new brother or sister, only with Olly's approval - of course!
Thanks again & we will see you soon!
Brad & Lyndal

We adopted a little Chihuahua X male from you almost 2 years ago. He featured in a Herald Sun newspaper article about AAPS, with another (female) Chi around the time we got him. In the article, they nicknamed him "Goggles" because of his googly eyes.

He was a stray and one of the Special Needs dogs, thought to be about 10 years old. He had cataracts in both eyes, a heart murmur, suspected canine epilepsy and about 3 teeth left !!! He also appeared to have been mistreated prior to coming to AAPS, as he was extremely afraid, especially of men.

He had to have an operation to remove a tooth just after we got him, which we had done at the Vet Clinic at AAPS. He was very ill after the operation and twice had to go back to the Clinic for emergency observation for several days. We thought we might lose him but he pulled through slowly.

When we took him home, we tried out all sorts of names. Only one made him turn around and look at us - so he named himself 'Charlie'.

I just wanted to say "thank you" so much for taking Charlie in and for letting us adopt him. I have always loved animals but never been all silly and 'babying' of them until I met Charlie.

He is, without a doubt, the most loved and spoilt dog in the entire world.

My husband, son and I spend all our sitting-down-time with Charlie firmly on our lap. He jumps onto your lap before you've even quite finished sitting down!!! And he loves visitors and is fascinated by babies - he watches them from across the room and then gets a little closer and a little closer, trying not to scare them, until he is about a metre away and then he sits and guards over them, getting a little nervous when people go near the baby !!! Hilarious!!!

Every morning, my son gets up for breakfast, puts on his big dressing gown, picks Charlie up and puts him on his lap, wrapped snugly in the dressing gown and chats to him (this is a cool, blokey 16 year old boy we're talking about!).

My husband calls Charlie "My little guy" and cuddles him all the time - my husband always swore black and blue he only liked big dogs but got Charlie for me because I love little animals. Ha !!!

I have to say that my husband and son, despite their spoiling and loving of Charlie, are completely put to shame by me - I completely adore Charlie; he's my "little darling"; the best company, the funniest personality and the most beautiful googly eyes. He presses up against me, stares up at me with those gorgeous googly eyes and makes 'happy noises'- I can't possibly resist him !!!

Everyday when I come home, Charlie leaps about like a lunatic - all four legs off the floor and tail going madly - you wouldn't know he was about 12 years old. He barely acknowledges the boys coming home - they might get a raised eyebrow and a sniffle from Charlie from the comfort of his own doona in a corner of our bedroom.

We just want you to know that, just because you don't always hear back from people who have adopted your animals, it doesn't mean that they don't appreciate all the hard work you do.

I just wanted to say thanks again soooooooooooooo much - you have given me my little darling and he is adored and entertained by all who meet him.

Kindest regards,

Miranda, Andrew, James + Charlie

I've just been reading some of your success stories on your website and thought you might like to know how my recent adoption is doing.

It seems impossible that it is almost 12 months ago that I adopted "Clyde", now known as Dave, from your shelter. My husband and I had been looking for a second dog to keep little Ruth (a bearded collie x cocker spaniel) company. This was going to require a special kind of dog. Ruth suffers from fear aggression and is very timid. We needed a dog that was laid back and could teach her how to relax!

I can tell you my husband was very suprised one Saturday to come home from work to find I'd adopted Dave, an Irish Wolfhound x Mastiff. Dave is the most laid back dog I have ever come across, so I thought although he was large, he would fit the bill. Most days he's so relaxed we have to check if he has a heart
beat! My friends and family call him "The 3 Minute Dog", 3 minutes of energy then 10 minutes of lying down to recuperate.

Dave has proven to be a very helpful dog. He will often get the washing off the line for me, landscape the garden, (specialising in plant removal), help me cook, and lubes everything up with a good coating of slobber!
Despite this, Dave is the absolute most cuddliest dog I've ever come across. He wants to be cuddled 24 hours a day! If you don't take enough notice of him he makes a point of grabbing your arm with his mouth or his paw and putting it on his head!

He adores our little dog Ruthie. They play tug of war almost constantly with everything from a mop head to a stick. Their second favourite game is chasey. Ruth is the boss of Dave and people often marvel at this, given Dave's size. But Ruth's got it worked out. She nips his back legs until he falls over, or even worse, gets underneath him and swings off his jowls. Dave does not appear to mind, in fact, most times inciting this behaviour. They also love a good pash.

Although Dave is a scary looking dog (people actually cross the road to get away from him when we walk him!), his favourite toy is a pink teddy bear he's had since day one. He WILL NOT part with it!

We enrolled Dave at Australian Dog Training about 6 months ago and he is a different dog. He was easily trained just by using praise, which was lucky because unfortunately Dave is not the sharpest chisel in the box! We do believe he was trained by his previous owner as a hunting dog, so we have a few bad habits to break. He still has a penchant for chewing, but we're working on that, too.

Dave was 18 months old and about 45kg when I adopted him. He's now 2 1/2 and approx. just over a very healthy 65kgs. He is an absolute pleasure to have around and he is my permanent shadow. I'm very happy with my little family, and can thoroughly recommend a slightly larger than normal dog to anyone.
Thank you AAPS.

Nicole Windsor

Just a little over a year ago my owner was in search of a new friend.
She had been all over the Gippsland area looking for a dog that would accomodate the environment she was living in (at home with her family still). The new friend she was looking for needed to be as house trained as possible, friendly and affectionate -- and not to mention loyal.

My owner felt like she was ready to give up her search when she came across my brother, Devil and I at Keysborough dog shelter. I was extremely pleased to know that someone was taking a keen interest in me and I watched her curiously as she made the decision to take me for a short walk and a little visit in the mini gated yard. Despite the fact that I was a bit grotty from the rain and left mud prints all over my owner's pants, I could tell that she immediately fell in love with me. She knew also that the feeling was mutual as I covered her in friendly "kisses" I met her family as well, who seemed to be concerned about how I would feel separated away from my brother, Devil. They were so concerned, in fact, that they decided not only did they want me to become a loved member of their family, but my brother Devil, also.

Devil and I settled in very quickly. We were treated extremely well and my owner and I enjoyed taking long naps and playing cooperatively with the pompous cat, who is, by the way, one of my best friends.
Devil on the other hand took a very fast liking to the toy mouse that he runs after for hours upon hours and never tires of. Our home is one that is filled with mutual love and respect and nothing pleases both my owner and I more than the company of one another. We are best friends for life.

My name has since been changed from Pixie to Billie and we are all very comfortable with this. Thank you to Keysborough dog shelter for bringing us together.

We adopted skye (now Mousa) in November of 2006. Just wanted to let you know that she is doing wonderfully well and is the queen of the house. She definatley knows that she is number 1 and loves the attention she gets from everyone that comes around. She loves to sleep on the end of our bed and sometimes finds the warmest spot through-out the night in between us in bed. She took a while to warm to us but after a few days once she settled she really made us feel loved. She is very loving and loves a warm cuddle and kiss in front of the television at night. She is just adorable.

Kind Regards Kim Robertson

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