09.30.08
Posted in Uncategorized at 10:24 am by lsstlar
Hi there! My name is Taz. You’re probably wondering which one am I in the picture. Well I am the brindle & white one being held by our dad Scott. The other gray dog being held by our brother Dylan is named Turbo (aka Toto). Don’t we look like a perfect family! There is a wonderful story behind this picture and I would like to share it with you.
We must go back about 3 years to Louisiana. That is where I used to live. It was 3 years ago this past month that forever changed my life as well as many others. I think everyone who reads this story will know what I’m talking about when I mention “Hurricane Katrina.” Yes, I was a victim of that horrible storm that destroyed many lives. I thought it was going to destroy mine! See, I was abandoned during that storm and left to fend for myself. I don’t guess my first family cared enough for me to get me out of there. Instead I had to face that monster of a storm all by myself, lonely, scared, starving and in pain! I had a broken leg so I was in a lot of pain. I can’t remember how I broke it but it must have been during that storm. That whole night was a blur. I was found by the local SPCA and they took me in and gave me food, water and shelter. I was then taken in by Lonestar Shih Tzu & Lhasa Apso Rescue in Houston and given a name. My name was Colmes.
I was seen by the vet and given all the proper care and had my leg all fixed up and FINALLY I was told that I would be put into a foster home. I kind of wondered what that was since I never really had a real home. I overheard a lady named Teresa talk to another lady on the phone about me. I guess she was trying to find me that foster home. I heard her tell the person on the phone that I was a sweet, small Lhasa. I was starting to wonder if she was talking about me since I didn’t think I was very small. Sure enough the lady she called came and picked me up to take me to her home, my new foster home. My foster mom is named Sherry and when we first met, well, I’m embarrassed to say that I didn’t make a good first impression on her. I don’t know if I was nervous or what I was thinking, but I took a potty break at her feet. I could tell she was not too pleased with me and I thought for sure she wouldn’t take me home with her. I was surprised that she still did.
Since I was still healing from my broken leg I had to be put in a crate most of the time except on potty breaks. I didn’t care for that too much. I would try to get my foster mom’s attention by barking non stop. I could tell that irritated her but I couldn’t help it. I wanted her attention and I wanted out! I didn’t know it at the time that being put in the crate was for my own good & safety. I continued to bark at her all day long and then one day from nowhere I was being hit with a squirt of water. I couldn’t figure this out. I would bark, then I would get squirted with water. Every single time this would happen. It was so strange and I did not like being squirted with water more than being in that crate so I learned quickly not to bark because when I barked, this mystery squirt of water came out of nowhere!
After my leg got better, I was let out of the crate but again, I started to act out without even knowing it. I would run around the house like I was racing the Indy 500! I thought it was fun buy my foster mom wasn’t too thrilled with my behavior. She said I didn’t have any manners and that I needed to be taught some. I knew nothing of being house trained or having manners. I didn’t realize I was even being bad. I could tell my foster mom wasn’t too pleased with me. I started to think to myself that I better straighten up and listen to everything she says or I will be a goner. So that is what I did. It took some time for me to understand how to be a good boy but in time, I became a good boy and my foster mom started to show me all kinds of love. Finally, I figured it all out and was able to progress from there. I didn’t have as many accidents, I stopped treating the entire house like a race track and I stopped barking for no reason. I even make my mom laugh now instead of getting upset. She laughs at me when I do run around because I’m a bit of a klutz and trip over my own legs sometimes! I love to see her smile. I really got attached to my foster dad. He would always love on me and play with me. He nicknamed me Moose since I was so big and sturdy. I started to really feel like part of the family as much as I loved my foster home, I longed for my forever home.
In the months I was with Sherry, there were a few people interested in adopting me but I always somehow became the runner up. I started to think no one would want a big ol’ klutz like me. One day Sherry asked me if I wanted to go on a little ride to visit with some people. I was excited about this and so we went to visit with the Krugers. I did not know we were visiting a possible forever family for me or I wouldn’t have done what I did. Yes, I had an accident on their dining room floor as soon as I walked into their house. I don’t know what I was thinking! I had been such a good boy up to that point. Maybe it was nerves or a new environment but whatever it was, it was not a good first impression…again. I thought to myself, I blew it because they seemed like such a nice family and they had a son that loved to play with me. Oh well, I thought to myself. It was all my fault and hopefully I would do better next time.
Well, surprisingly there was not a next time. The Krugers called up Sherry and despite the “present” I left them, they wanted me anyways! I was so happy and so thrilled. I was with Sherry for only 3 months before going to my forever home. What was more exciting was at the same time the Krugers adopted me, they also adopted Turbo. He was also a Lonestar dog. He was from Dallas originally and fostered by Teresa. His name under foster care was Toto but the Krugers gave us both new names. I’ became Taz and Toto became Turbo. Me and Turbo have something in common. That is we were both “difficult” dogs. Turbo had problems with aggression and possessiveness of his toys and food. He didn’t like me coming near his toys or food and it made me nervous when he would snap at me. I just wanted to be his friend. I didn’t think me and Turbo would ever get along but it took some time and a lot of patience, love and training from mom and dad. 2-1/2 years later we finally get along just fine and now we are one happy family.
Something else exciting just happened too. Mom and dad have decided to take in yet another Lonestar dog but this time, they will be fostering not adopting. I just love new playmates so I hope he likes me.
Sometimes I think back to the day after Katrina hit and I wonder what would have become of me if I was not picked up. That awful storm ruined so many lives but ironically it saved mine.
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08.26.08
Posted in Uncategorized at 11:35 am by lsstlar
Well Hi There! My name is Tiger. I know I don’t look much like a Tiger but my mom says I am strong like one. She says that because of how bad of shape I was in when they found me and how strong I was to overcome it. I’ve come a long way and had a rough start in life as you can probably tell by my one eye. Is it okay if I tell you my tale? I gotta warn you though, it’s not very pretty….
My life started out pretty rough like I mentioned before. It was 6 years ago this past April that I was found wandering around a very busy intersection in Dallas. I don’t even know how I got there to be honest. I just know I was very small and the world seem so very big and scary especially with the cars zooming by. Thank goodness that someone saw me and I was picked up by the animal control officers and taken to a safe place away from all the dangers that I was surely going to encounter.
I was taken to the Animal Shelter in Dallas. I overheard one of the officers call someone on the phone and tell them that they found a small female shih tzu. I was looking around wondering who he was talking about since I was not a little girl, I was very much a little boy and I’m not sure how they didn’t know that but I just let it be. I was anxious to meet the person he called since this person told him they were going to pick me up. The next day I got to meet that nice lady. She was with a rescue group call LoneStar Shih Tzu & Lhasa Apso Rescue. Who knew there was actually a group out there to save little dogs like me. When that lady saw me she almost cried. I looked at her wondering why she wanted to cry. Was it because I was not what she wanted or was I bad??? I didn’t know why at the time she wanted to cry but then I overheard her tell the lady at the shelter that I looked terrible and that she felt sorry for me. It didn’t hurt my feelings though. I knew I looked bad and I sure didn’t feel too great and I know she didn’t mean it in a bad way because she was so kind to me. When she got me to her car that is when she realized that I was a little boy not a little girl.
See these pictures of me.
This was me when I was picked up. I was very skinny, my right eye was completely ruptured and it hurt so bad. My other eye was infected, my jaw was broken so my tongue just hung out, I had mange and so I was itchy a lot and didn’t have much hair & on top of all of that I was a puppy! Yes I was not even full grown. All of this happened to me before my first birthday. (See, I told you I had a rough start). Since I was so young I can’t remember how I came to be in such awful shape. The people with the Lonestar thought that maybe I was owned by a backyard breeder and that maybe I accidentally wandered too close with one of the bigger dogs and they attacked me and that is how I got my injuries. They also think that whoever owned me just threw me out like garbage since it would have been too expensive for them to get me well and they didn’t want to pay for it. When I heard all of this I wanted to cry. Here I was in all of this pain and I looked horrible and I was so scared and this was happening to me all because someone didn’t want to bother with having to take me to the doctor to make me well, to ease my pain. I wondered how could anyone be so cruel to not want to help me? I don’t remember my first owner and I’m sure glad that I don’t. I was just happy that someone was willing to give me a second chance. I realized pretty quick that not all people are so cruel and there are actually some very nice people out there. These people didn’t even know me and wanted to take care of me. I knew right then and there good things were going to start happening for me from now on.
After I was picked up by the nice lady I was taken all the way down to Houston. It wasn’t that bad of a drive. I actually liked it very much despite the pain I was in. It was there that I was all fixed up! I was put on many medications for all my little problems. Before long the worms were gone and the itchy’s stopped and my hair started to grow in. They fixed up my jaw too but because it was so damaged my tongue just hangs out now. My eye on the other hand was still in bad shape. I heard talk of removing it. That made me nervous because I didn’t know if anyone would want me with just one eye but the doctor said that I would be much better without it since it was so damaged. It was left alone for a little bit. I guess they wanted to see if it would heal. So between having only one good eye and one yucky eye, hardly having any hair, skinny beyond belief and my tongue hanging out all of the time, I really didn’t know if I would ever find my forever home. I mean who would want a dog looking like me?
While I was recuperating I stayed with a lady named Teresa. She showed me a lot of love and attention. She reassured me that I would get adopted but I had a hard time believing her. I mean look at me. I know I wasn’t very pretty. One day I heard Teresa talking to a lady named Julie. Julie told Teresa that she was looking for a dog. I got excited! Then I found out that she was looking for a female. DARN… Strike 1. She also wanted an older dog. MAN! That’s Strike 2. I was getting depressed. I figured it would be an immediate Strike 3 once she saw how pitiful I looked so I didn’t get my hopes up.
Then one day Julie came by and I got to meet her. I thought to myself, I may not be able to win her over with my “looks” but maybe I can win her over with my charm. So there I went to work on Julie. I tried my best to show her that I was a good boy and that I would make a great companion despite my looks. You know what…. It worked like a charm. It wasn’t hard to love on Julie. She was so sweet to me and I want to say that it was love at first sight for the both of us. I heard her tell Teresa, “Yep, he’s the one.” I was so elated!!! So very excited! I am going to my forever home. My tail couldn’t stop wagging! I was ready to leave but I was still recovering so I was told that I needed to stay with Teresa just a little while longer until I was all better. That was cool with me. I think knowing that I had a home waiting for me helped me heal all the better.
After I got better I went home with Julie. I was still very small and my right eye was still messed up but Julie took care of me. Once I gained some weight I was told that it was time to have my eye removed. I was a little nervous when I was told they were going to totally remove my right eye but I trusted Julie and the doctors when they said it would make me feel so much better and it did! Here is a picture of me after my surgery.
I was officially adopted my mom, Julie in the summer of that year! My mom says that I am a wonderful little boy and she is always showing me how much she loves me. She is always buying me toys which I love! I can play with my toys all day long. Mommy thinks it’s funny how I try to get her attention to play with me. I will put my toy in front of her and I will look at her, then the toy, then at her and I’ll keep doing this back and forth until she plays with me. She never disappoints me. She loves playing with me. I have had many foster brothers and sisters over the last 6 years. We always have fun. I get along with all the foster dogs that come in and out of our house. A lot of the new doggies are nervous when they come home with us so I try to reassure them that it’s okay and that Julie will take extra special care of them. That seems to help calm them down. Mommy says I’m easy to train and so she got me into agility! There are not many small dogs like me in agility and I get a lot of attention when I do it so I do love it. Mommy volunteers with Lonestar and so she goes on many home visits when new people want to adopt or volunteer and so she takes me most of the time because she says I’m such a good boy. I think she likes to show me off too since I look totally different now than I did when I first was rescued. She says I’m a good Ambassador for the rescue when people see what I started out like and how I look now. Wouldn’t you say I cleaned up nicely…
I never thought that this is what my life would turn out like. Mommy tells me all of the time that I’m the best thing that has ever come into her life but you know what… I really think she is the best thing that has come into mine.
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08.20.08
Posted in Uncategorized at 9:24 am by lsstlar
How do you do? My name is Mr. Harold Rothchild. Isn’t that a nice and proper name but hey, you can call me Harry. I would like to tell you a little about myself. See last week something very exciting happened to me. Can I tell you about it? I am just dying to talk about my adventure. Last week I was officially adopted! Can you believe it! After 2 years of being in foster care I finally found a home. Above is a picture of me and my new family. I’m the white and brown one with a big grin on my face. My new daddy is Matthew Levine, my new mommy is Julie and she’s holding my new sister. Her name is Coco.
You’re probably wondering how I ended up with Lonestar Shih Tzu & Lhasa Apso Rescue when I clearly don’t look like a Shih Tzu or Lhasa. Let me backtrack and tell you a little bit about myself and how this all occurred….
It’s been about 2 years now that I used to live on the streets. I don’t remember how I got there but I know I was very lonely and frightened. I was so little that I was scared to be on my own but that is the way it was for me and I made the best of it. I found a home in a construction site. I don’t know why I picked a construction site but it is where I chose for my home. I tried to keep to myself and not make any trouble for anyone in fear that I would be caught and taken away from my only home. I gotta tell you, it was scary to be on the streets with no one to look after you especially when you are as little as me.
Well one day as I was minding my own business I noticed a lady and her friend watching me from a distance. I didn’t pay much attention to them at first but then I started to notice them coming around everyday. I got kind of scared because I thought maybe they were the doggie police and I was going to taken away to doggie jail for living on that construction site. I’ve heard of those places. I didn’t want to be in doggie jail, or a dog shelter, as I have heard them being called. Plus I didn’t mean any harm by living at the construction site even though I know I wasn’t supposed to be there. I just needed somewhere to call home and I really did mind my own business and tried not to bother anyone.
I tried to keep my eye on that lady and her friend and did a pretty good job at avoiding being caught until one day it happened. Yes they caught me! I can’t tell you how scared I was not knowing where I was going or what was going to happen to me. I said goodbye to my little home on the construction site and waited for the inevitable… DOGGIE JAIL!
So I got to ride in the car with the lady and her friend. That was my first car ride and it was fun. The lady and her friend were very nice to me. They talked very sweet and consoling to me and even gave me a few pets on the head. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I’ve never had that before. I thought to myself, maybe the Doggie Jail won’t be so bad because these Doggie Police were pretty nice to me. So I just sat back and enjoyed the car ride to jail.
When the car finally stopped I got nervous again. I just knew I wouldn’t see those nice “policemen” again and I was worried the next person I would meet wouldn’t be so kind. Boy was I wrong. I met a lady named Teresa and she was ever so kind to me. She even gave me pats on the head too. I overheard her talking with the lady that caught me and it ends up that Teresa is with a doggie rescue group called Lonestar and that the lady and her friend were not the doggie police and the best part… I wasn’t going to Doggie Jail! I heard the lady tell Teresa that her husband worked near my little home at the construction site and he was worried about me getting hurt or starving so she immediately wanted to get me off the streets and get me some help and a new home. She said a little guy like me could have been seriously hurt on the streets let alone a construction site. I didn’t know she was so concerned about me and wanted to help me. If I had known I would have gladly went up to her and her friend and let them pick me up in stead of running away like I did.
See the picture of me above? That was me after I was picked up by that nice lady. See how bad I looked. I’m glad I don’t look like that now. The nice lady, Ms. Rothchild (yes this is how I got my name), contacted Lonestar because she thought I was a shih tzu and that is how I came to meet Teresa. I was thoroughly checked out by a vet and it was determined that I had all sorts of problems. I had two kinds of mange, sarcoptic and demodex. That explains all those itchy nights and my hair not growing in like it should. I had all types of intestinal worms and on top of that I also checked out heartworm positive which I heard was not good. I had to undergo various treatments and be on many meds. I was one sick little guy and if Ms. Rothchild hadn’t come to my rescue I would not be here today to tell you my story. Lonestar saved me despite not being a Shih Tzu or Lhasa. All they cared about was that I was made well.
On a cool Thanksgiving Day I moved from Houston to Louisiana. It was there that I met my new foster family. I was told that is where I would stay until I got adopted. My new foster mom was named Laura. I immediately fell in love with her as my new mom. My foster mom says I am one sweet charming guy and sometimes I am full of myself. Hahaha. I know that is true. I loved being in my new foster home. I appreciated all the soft beds that I got to lay on and the belly rubs I would get. I was deprived of all of the finer things when living on the street. I even enjoyed my bath! Not many can say that. I guess because I was the center of attention during bath time and I LOVE to be the center of attention. I loved all the toys they would give me. I would even hide them in my bed. I wanted to be wherever my family was- be it in the backyard, going on walks, family gatherings…heck… I was even content sitting on their lap in front of the TV.
One of my most favorite things to do was to sit on the bench in the backyard. I got a lot of peace and enjoyment out of that. See the picture of me above. My foster mom Laura took that picture of me sunbathing on my favorite bench. It was my favorite spot to relax.
I was very happy with my new foster family but I did know it was only temporary and as much as I loved Laura and my foster family I was anxiously waiting for my real home. That day finally happened this past Saturday.
I have been with my new family for almost a week now and so far it has been wonderful! My new family is very active and they take me and my sister CoCo on two long walks every day! I get a lot of love and attention by all of them. I am settling in well and look forward to all the adventures I will have with Matthew, Julie and Coco.
Just think… I went from the streets of Houston, to a Foster Home in Louisiana to a wonderful forever home with the Levine’s in good ol’ Dallas Texas! I may be a Levine now but I will always be Mr. Harold Rothchild. I can honestly say that I am One Lucky Dog!
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08.13.08
Posted in Uncategorized at 11:20 am by lsstlar
Hello Everyone! My name is Buddy. Isn’t that a cute name? My mommy, Stephanie gave me that name and I love it! I have actually had 3 names. Before I was Buddy, LoneStar gave me the name of Eeyore but my mommy thought I looked more like a Buddy! Before I was Eeyore it was actually E-gore. Yuck! I hate that name. I don’t know why my first mom named me that. I always thought I was much cuter than E-gore. I also didn’t care for that name very much because it was given to me by my first owner who did not take very good care of me. Having that name reminded me of her and that awful life I used to have. See these 2 pictures above. The one at the top is when I was rescued and the one at the bottom is of me now. I have come a long way from a year ago.
Do you want me to tell you about it?
Well, basically I was kept in a crate all day and all night, never let out to play, go potty or anything. I lived in a small apartment with my owner and her 2 kids. You would think the kids would have at least played with me but they didn’t. I sat in the crate so sad and desperate for any kind of attention. I sat there many nights wondering what I did wrong to deserve this. I even wondered why in the world my owner wanted to keep me if she was just going to keep me locked up. Nothing made sense to me. So there I laid day in and day out, laying in my own waste because they never let me out. The ammonia from the waste even burned my paws and face. I felt so miserable and was so embarrassed because I smelled bad. I decided to face the fact that this is how my life was going to be and wondered if any others were out there suffering like me.
But one day everything changed. Some people came to the apartment and took my mom’s kids away. I overheard them say that she was neglected them too. I had no idea and maybe that is why they didn’t play with me. Maybe they were not allowed to. I felt sorry for them. Well, that is when they found me. I was in my crate like usual and I was in the closet. Yes, my mom stuck my crate in the closet. It was dark and stuffy in there and I felt so lonely. I was so happy when the closet door was finally opened and some light was let in. And guess what…. They took me away too. I said goodbye to that stuffy apartment and never looked back! I was only 16 months old when I was rescued.
I was then taken to a big building with concrete floor and a lot of barking dogs. I have to admit it was kind of scary at first because of all the noise but it beat being in that smelly crate. Despite being scared to my new environment I wanted to love on everyone! I wanted to show everyone I met that I was a good dog and all I wanted to do was kiss you and show you how much I loved you but everyone said I was stinky and a mess so they didn’t care to hug on me or love on me but I understood because I could tell they wanted to. I wasn’t there long though. The shelter called LoneStar Rescue which is a place that takes in little stinky sick dogs like me and gets them well and ready for adoption. I was excited because all I wanted was a new home. A nice lady named Maureen picked me up and took me straight to the doggie doctor called a vet. Unfortunately I was there for a while because I had so many little problems. I didn’t even know I was that sick. I apparently had something called Demodex Mange and Leptosporosis (whew! that was a big word). I also had tick fever and a really bad bladder infection. They gave me plenty of medicine to get me all well. While I was at the vet getting well that is when I met Stephanie. She came by to take pictures of me for the Lonestar Website. 
See the picture above. That was a picture that was taken of me while at the vet. Once she saw me she decided to tell me a secret. She told me in her sweet voice that she was going to be my new foster mommy. I got so excited that I started kissing her all over. She said I was such a sweet little boy. That made me feel good. No one has ever told me that before. I wanted to go home with her right away but the doctor said I had to stay for a few more days to get a little better before Stephanie could take me home. I was sad but knew it was only a matter of days before the nice lady with the camera would pick me up and love on me.
So I patiently waited and just a few short days later, my new foster mommy picked me up and I got to go live with her and her 3 dogs. Mommy’s dog Chloe did not know what to think of me. I don’t think she liked me too much at first. She was the head of all the dogs and maybe it’s because I was getting all the extra attention from mommy that Chloe didn’t care for me at first but she got used to me and started to treat me like I was her little baby. She would clean my eyes and ears and love on me. She was good at acting like mommy.
There was a lot I had to learn in my new home. Since I lived my entire young life in a crate I didn’t know the difference between pottying inside the house and pottying outside. Mommy new I didn’t know better and so she was patient with me and even though I had some “accidents” she still loved on me. I started to learn the rules with the help of my new foster sisters. I also learned to eat good food and to take my medicine like a good boy. I have no problem taking my medicine. Mommy always rewards me with yummy treats when I take my medicine so I get excited to take them! My foster daddy is such a good daddy too. He loves to play with me and gives me all kinds of attention. Do you know what I love the most? I love it when Mommy would carry me around the house like a little baby and I especially love it when she would give me hugs and many kisses. I am a big kisser and love to give anyone kisses, especially my mommy and daddy. They spoil me so much. They are always bringing me toys from my favorite store, Petco. I have so many! I have learned so much and I even sleep in my crate, as long as I can see mommy and daddy. I don’t care too much for being in there when no one is around. It brings back bad memories. My potty training is right on track now. All I have to do is ring a little bell to the back door when I need to go potty and mommy takes me out. It wasn’t that hard at all to learn and it’s kind of fun to ring the bell. Mommy says I’m so smart. I think I am too and I have to say I’m proud of myself to have learned so much.
This life I all of a sudden had was unreal. I felt like I was in a dream. Then one day another lady with Lonestar told mommy that I am well enough to be listed for adoption. I was a little scared when I found out. I got so used to my foster family that I was scared to leave. I wanted to stay so badly. So I would love on my mommy and daddy especially hard to try to hint to them that I wanted to stay. You know what… it worked like a charm (hehehe). Mommy sat down daddy and told him that I needed to stay. I heard Daddy laugh and tell mommy that he knew it was a matter of time before mommy would tell him that and he felt the same way too. He says he could not imagine their life without sweet little me in it. YIPPEE!!! Mommy says she has committed foster failure 101. I’m not sure what she’s talking about? She is far from being a failure! She is my hero!
I have lived with my new family for almost a year. I am so happy to have the fairy tale ending. The beginning of my life looked very bleak for a while but boy have things turned around for me. I wish the very best to all the doggies out there that need rescue too. I hope they find much happiness like me.
The rest, as they say, is history!
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08.07.08
Posted in Uncategorized at 10:05 am by lsstlar
Howdy! My name is Quigley or “Little Man” as my mommy likes to call me. My foster mom, Sherry is the one who named me. She named me after her favorite movie, if you can guess what that is. Do you see me with all my ribbons? I’m so proud of that picture. There is a special story behind those ribbons. I would like to share it with you.
My story begins on the streets, Literally ON THE STREETS! I was found by my foster mom in her neighborhood and because I liked to wonder around and didn’t know how to get to my home, I was almost hit by her car! She didn’t see me and why should she, I’m small and shouldn’t have been wondering the streets anyway. She even swerved to miss me! I felt so bad that I scared her like that but so grateful that she saw me in time. She was so sweet. She picked me up and took me home with her. She seemed upset at the people that owned me even though she didn’t know who they were. I overheard her say she was going to have a serious talk with them about not keeping an eye on me once they post a sign that I was missing. So she kept me with her and waited for my owner to post signs for my return. But guess what… they never posted any signs for me. That made me sad in a way because that means they never really loved me. Maybe that is why I kept trying to run away. Thank goodness for Sherry and LoneStar.
So I officially became a LoneStar dog! I felt so proud to be one and to be able to play with all my foster brothers and sisters. I love being there but I didn’t have good manners and was sometimes difficult. Sherry was patient with me though. I think she has dealt with difficult ones like me before. Not too long was I with her before I ended up meeting my new mommy & daddy, Karen & Phil. And guess what…She had 3 BIG dogs! They were so much bigger than me but it didn’t scare me. I just wanted to play with them so much. It didn’t take Karen & Phil long to make the decision to be my new parents and take on the challenge of training me.
I loved my new home. There were a lot of trees and a pond and I saw a bunch of squirrels that I wished I could chase. In my new home there were BIG doggie beds in every room and tons and tons of toys. I felt right at home but I had a lot to learn. I had bad potty manners and was kind of all over the place. It took me some time but with the help from my new siblings, Kenya, Jesse & Willie, I learned quickly and became part of a wonderful family. Kenya was around my age and so I got along with her the most. I loved playing with both Kenya and Jessie. Jessie kind of took me under her wing and taught me the ropes and Willie is the oldest and although he doesn’t play much he looks after us. I love my siblings so much and they have taught me a lot. I learned by their example that if I was good and did what I was told that I got lots of love and praise and even treats. My mommy loves to keep busy so every single morning we get to go on walks. On the weekend daddy takes us all to the park where we get to play and even go on longer walks. We get to go for car rides a lot and I just love car rides. When we can’t go outside because the weather is bad we get to play indoors and mom always makes up fun games for us to play. She and daddy spend so much time with us.
One day I started to notice mom taking Jesse & Kenya to some sort of class. It was called “agility class.” I wondered so much what that was about and I think mommy could tell that I wanted to go with them because one day she asked me if I would like to go. Boy I was so excited! So after Kenya’s private lesson mommy thought it would be fun for me to run around the agility field on my own to play and wear myself out. Little did they know that I was born to do agility! I didn’t even know it myself until I got the chance to play on the agility field. So guess what… mom started training me for agility with Kenya!
It must have been a sight to see little ol’ me training with the big boys but I loved it. It was so much fun. Four months later she said she was taking Kenya to her first agility trial and boy oh boy did I want to go too so I practiced real hard to catch up with Kenya. I wasn’t sure if I would make it but my hard work paid off because about a month before they were supposed to go mommy decided that I could go too! She said it would be good practice for me. Well…. I really showed them because at my very first agility trial and in just one weekend I got my Novice Agility Standard (NAP) and my Novice Agility Jumpers (NAJ) titles! Everyone seemed so impressed with me especially my family. I was told that I could probably go to the Nationals one day (whatever that means). My mom says it is my calling and you know I think it is because after I started to learn agility I stopped having my potty accidents and became much more settled. Best of all is I never get in trouble anymore! Mommy is even considering me to become a therapy dog like Jessie. I think that would be neat. Jessie gets to visit sick people and cheer them up. I know Jessie loves to do that. She always comes back so happy so I think I would like that too and I know Jessie will show me how.
So now you know what all those ribbons are for and how I got here. This is my life and I love it! I am one busy little guy and I just love all of my jobs but I especially love my mom, my dad and my brother and sisters. I don’t even remember my former life before going to Sherry’s. I’m so ever grateful for her not hitting me that day with her car and taking me in. Who knows where I would be now. Instead I am sitting tall and pretty with my new family and they always call me their best ever “Little Man.”
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07.31.08
Posted in Uncategorized at 7:52 am by lsstlar
Hello. I was asked if I would mind telling you my life story and how I came to be the happy well adjusted doggie that I am today. I feel very honored to talk about myself, I do love the attention but it used to not be like that. Let me see, where do I start? It sure has been a while.
Oh yes… I remember now. It was about 2 years ago that my life changed forever. I used to live my whole life in a backyard with no attention, no love. All I was used for was to breed and make puppies for my owner to sell. They didn’t even have a name for me so that tells you how much attention they gave me. I was pretty lonely and very very scared especially at night when I had to sleep on the grass or on the concrete in the dark. I didn’t have any manners. I didn’t even know what those were until later on. I would run around wild as I could be. When people came near me I was especially petrified! I don’t really know why I felt that way. I guess because I was not used to human contact.
Well, a nice lady named Sunny came to visit me around that time and she decided to take me with her. For the first time in my life that I could remember I rode in a car. I didn’t even know what those were and it was very strange. Sunny was very kind and tried her best to gain my trust but I was just so scared! I didn’t know what was going on. She took me to a doggie doctor called a vet and they said I was in pretty good shape despite my teeth were kind of bad. After that I thought I was going back to my home in the backyard of the lady who didn’t give me a name. Nope, instead I went home with the nice lady and guess what… She gave me a name. I’m very proud to say that My Name Is Emerson!
Boy that sounds nice! She even let me in the house and I got to walk on something soft called carpet. It was strange. It wasn’t like grass at all. My new surroundings were so different and I just knew I was safe with her but still so very frightened. Everytime she picked me up I would just freeze and shake. Everytime she tried to pet me I would cringe. I don’t know why. She was just trying to show me love and I wasn’t used to that. She had other dogs there that tried to be my friend but I didn’t want to be near them.
I eventually started to trust my new mom and I would follow her around and stay by her side. At night she would put me in my little bedroom that she called a crate but I hated it. I just wanted to be with her but I got used to it and realized later on that it wasn’t so bad. After a few weeks I was making progress and started to learn to live my life. Then one day I met another nice lady. Her name is Susan. My foster mom took me over to her house to meet her. I have to say I was pretty nervous and scared when I went over there. I just didn’t know what was going on but Susan and Bill were ever so kind to me. I got to meet their other Shih Tzu Barkley too. I really didn’t want to play with him or anything. I was too concerned about everything around me. When we left Susan gave my foster mom some toys and treats for me. See, I told you she was kind
Well, Susan and Bill ended up being my new mom and dad and Barkley became my new brother. It wasn’t a good start at first just because I was so extremely terrified when they came to pick me up. I ran from them and when they finally got to pick me up I was as stiff as a board. I’m really not a bad boy. I wasn’t trying to be bad, I honestly was just so scared of everyone. It took me a while to get used to my new home and my new family but 2 years later I am one happy boy! Can you tell in my picture. I LOVE my new family and my new home! My mommy says that I’m such a good boy and as difficult as it was in the beginning for all of us, she says that she and daddy have not once regretted adopting me! That makes me feel all warm inside. OH and I just love my brother Barkley. We get along so well. I don’t know how I ever got along without him! We run and play and steal each other’s toys. I always find it fun to steal his toys when he’s not looking, hehehe. We even sleep next to eachother. Mommy says that we are cute together. I have been told many times how much I’m loved. I can’t imagine what my former life was like anymore. I rather not remember it too much. I grew up not being loved and I just thought that was normal although I felt something very wrong about it. Now I know that Everyone, Everything, Every Person, Every Single Doggie in this world deserves a chance at being loved.
I know many don’t get this chance but I’m one of the lucky ones and I’m so very grateful for LoneStar, for my foster mom Sunny and for my parents Susan & Bill who took the time to show me love and happiness and how to be a dog again. I feel happy and carefree and I wouldn’t change my life for anything in the world!
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07.24.08
Posted in Uncategorized at 8:58 pm by lsstlar
Hello. Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Armani. My foster mom, Carmen, or as we like to call her “Mama Carmen”, asked if I would mind telling you a little bit about myself and my foster sister Natasha. I am the black and white one in the picture. Natasha is the one with her hair all done up in a ponytail. She thinks she is one little hottie. The girls holding us are Natasha’s new human siblings. They are sweet girls. Natasha is very lucky.
We are what they call “Puppy Mill Survivors.” Do you know what a Puppy Mill is? A lot of people don’t know what they are. This is why we were asked to tell you about our story so we could help others to see what a horrible place a Puppy Mill is. To be truthful it’s quite painful for me to talk about it but we know our story must be told.
Both Natasha and I came from a Puppy Mill in North Texas. A Puppy Mill is not a nice place but it’s where we called home for 2 years. For our whole lives we lived in a cage, no bigger than us. We didn’t smell very nice since we were never bathed and were not given much attention. I don’t think we have ever been petted, held or talked to. We never walked on grass or on carpet. We were not allowed to play with eachother or play with toys. We were there for a purpose and only one purpose and that was to make puppies for our owner so she could sell them and make money. It’s very selfish and cruel if you ask me. What was most sad for me was to see the little ones get taken away from their moms after they were born. I know the mama’s were very sad. Although I can’t remember as far back as being a puppy, I’m sure that is what happened with me and Natasha since neither of us knew our mom’s.
But it wasn’t just us having to live like this. There were several of us so it was quite noisy and quite stinky at times. We were lonely and starving for attention. We were itchy and always felt bad. Most of us were sick. We were very skinny too. But this is how we lived and we just dealt with it the best we could and prayed that one day things would be different. Finally that one day had arrived & our prayers were answered. It was a cool day in October 2007 when someone came and took us all away! That is when we met Mama Carmen. Boy was she a nice lady. She talked to us in such a sweet voice and tried to reassure us that we were in good hands now and that everything was going to be okay and although we didn’t know her very well, her voice reassured us that it would be just so. So began our adventure into a new life.
Mama Carmen became our foster mom. Living with Mama Carmen was different. At first we didn’t know what to think of living indoors. Walking on carpet was strange. It was soft unlike the wire on the cage floors we had lived in. It felt good on our paws. Oh and her house had so many different sounds. I mean it was quieter than our first home but she had different sounds in her house. It took me and Natasha a while to get used to the dishwasher or the telephone ringing. OH BUT WE LOVED THE GRASS! Boy oh boy was that a treat. It was weird at first walking on it since we had never walked on grass before but we just loved it! We ran and ran and rolled in the soft sweet smelling grass. Oh we felt so free. There was so much to do and so much to learn. We were curious about everything!
Mama Carmen says that I have a tender heart and she gives me plenty of hugs and kisses. I love it when she does that. She says Natasha is a comedian and she is right about that. That girl loves to show off and makes all of us smile. One of her favorite things to do was to play and that was with or without anyone else. If no one else wanted to play, she would just entertain herself with her stuffed toys. She was very outgoing and even feisty. Mama Carmen even gave her a nickname. We call her Little Firecracker! Boy isn’t that the truth.
One thing still scared the both of us and you may find this strange but we were afraid of men. I was so terribly frightened of them. I don’t really remember when I became so fearful of them or why. Even the sound of a man’s voice would send me into a panic. I would sometimes have accidents on the floor from being so afraid. I was so ashamed when that happened and I thought I would get punished for it or that my foster mom would not love me anymore but Mama Carmen was so sweet to me and she loved me none the less. Natasha was afraid too but not as bad as me. Carmen worked with both Natasha and I and she was so patient with us. I thought no matter how hard she tried both of us would not be able to overcome our fear but you know what…. We did!
It wasn’t long after living with Mama Carmen that both Natasha and I were adopted by our forever families. I went to live with my new mom and dad-Cindy & David. I was scared of my new dad at first but they didn’t give up on me! Eventually I came around and am closer than ever to my new parents. I love them so much and they are so great to me. I still get to see Mama Carmen and that makes me happy. She babysits me when mom and dad are gone. That is such a treat for me. I am finally leash trained although it took a while. I didn’t like it at first but now I know when they get the leash out, it’s time to go for a walk and I love walks! I even snatched the leash out of my mom’s hand the other day because she was taking too long. They thought it was funny although I should know better. They even let me take a hold of my brother Lance’s leash and let me walk him. I feel so grown up when they let me do that. I have one other sibling named Abby. I have a wonderful new family!
I miss Natasha though but I do get to see her some. She went to a great home with 2 little girls that love her so much. They treat her like the Princess she knows she is. I hear they dress her up in clothes and treat her like a baby. Boy I know she loves that. She has overcome her fear of men and loves her daddy Jeremy very much. Oh and she has another doggie playmate named Alexa too. I hear they are very close and even take naps together.
Well, this is our story. I know it’s rather long but there was a lot to say. Both myself and Natasha are ever grateful for the ones who came to our rescue. Our lives are now whole and even though the first 2 years were rough, we still have many many years of happiness to come.
We hope by telling our story that we can educate people on the horrors of puppy mills and maybe, just maybe help stop these horrible places from existing.
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07.09.08
Posted in Uncategorized at 8:01 am by lsstlar
Hi! My name is Smitty and boy do I have a story to tell you. See that big grin on my face? Well, there was a time where I thought I would never be happy again.
See, my first parents didn’t take very good care of me. They neglected me and never paid much attention to me especially since I was one of five dogs and when the baby came along they just didn’t have time for all of us. I tried so hard to be a good boy so that they would love me but nothing seemed to help. I was miserable and very unhappy and I thought it was always going to be that way. That is until someone rescued me and on that day it forever changed my life!
A nice lady from Lone Star Shih Tzu & Lhasa Apso Rescue rescued me along with my brother. My condition was not great. I had fleas pretty badly and had been living outside. I didn’t have all my shots either. But despite how I looked the nice people at LSSTLAR were so kind to me. They were the first ones in my life to show me any attention or love. But I was very shy.
My foster mom, Kim, took me in and gave me a nice warm bed, great food which I loved so much that I tried to eat it all before my foster brothers and sisters would, she would give me toys to play with and lots of belly rubs. I love belly rubs but being so shy I kept to myself mostly. Slowly but surely I came out of my shell and started to realize that I didn’t have to be afraid anymore.
The most exciting thing happened to me just a few months ago. I found my forever home! Finally I have a real home. My mom’s name is Christy and she adopted me back in January. Boy is she a wonderful mommy! She shows me so much love. I never knew anyone could be capable of loving me so much. I feel so special. I was scared when I first got to my new home because I missed my foster mom and I wasn’t used to my new home. I even hid behind the chair! I don’t know why I was so scared but eventually I came out and ate and explored my new home. I realized very quickly that I was home, yep I’m finally home.
I love my new mom. I follow her around everywhere. I love my new daddy too. He treats me like a King. My new parents always tell me that I’m a good boy and they give me tons of belly rubs which I love! I also like to look out the window and see what’s going on. Mommy plays a game with me where she try’s to touch me and before she can get me I run around as fast as I can and then I run around the bed and hide from her. I love that game. We watch tv together too. She laughs at me because I like the commercials with my doggie friends in them. I’ll run clear across the house to see them on tv. I wonder how they became so famous???
Well, that’s my story. I am one happy camper.
I live to make my mom and dad happy and so far it seems like I’m doing a good job of it.
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06.19.08
Posted in Uncategorized at 5:19 am by Administrator
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