As an independent, nonprofit humane agency which receives no government funding, and being reliant on service fees and donations, we are especially pleased and touched when our friends include a note about their experiences
with an adopted APL animal and the wonderful life that guardianship has
brought to both human and animal alike!

Fanz aka Trouble aka Boswawa

My name used to be Franz a long time ago.  Last June, a big, scary dog found me curled up on a porch, skinny, scared, and starved. The people with the big scary dog brought me some boiled chicken and rice, but every time I ate, just a little bit, I got sick. I only weighed about 5 lbs. They thought I was dying, so they called the City Kennels to come and get me to see if they could help. But those people kept thinking about me, and called the Kennels the next day to see if I was okay. I had already been transferred to the APL where I got the name Franz. The people called and called about me, and found out I could be adopted because I was feeling better after some good care and food at the APL. The day after my picture was put on the APL's website, the lady with the big scary dog came down to adopt me. At this time I only weighed 7-1/2 lbs., but I felt better and wasn't so scared of everything any more.  I love my new house and I love to cuddle with my Mom and Dad. I get lots of love, good food, walks, and have lots of toys to play with. I think I even like my new name, "Trouble".

My nickname is Boswawa, because I'm Boston Terrier and chihuahua, and that big, scary dog I told you about is an Australian Shepherd named Foster. He's not so scary now, 'cause he's my big brother and my best friend!

Thanks APL, for keeping me there 'til my new Mom and Dad could find me.
Oh yeah...I'm a whopping 14 lbs. now!

-Trouble

Oscar - He wasn't just a dog. (MAY NEED A TISSUE)

It is now 2 weeks since I held my dying friend in my arms and said goodbye.  The cancer didn't show signs until it was too late.  We miss him so much.  Any strange noise, any morsel of uneaten food, or a few floating hairs makes me sad.  I've never lost someone this close to me before.  I refer to Oscar as a someone because he was somebody.  He was our son, our brother, our baby, and our friend.  He wasn't just a dog.  That is an insult to him and his spirit. 

Our family is not whole anymore.  Yesterday my daughter found one of his treats that he would take back by his bed.  He would sometimes save them if he didn't want it right away.  We laughed then cried together. 

Although this letter sounds sad, it was sent to you out of love and admiration.  I am sending this to say thank you.  Thank you for your services that brought happiness to our home for almost 10 years.  Without you we wouldn't have had the honor of not owning a dog, but opening our home and our hearts for a friend.

Oscar was a black and tan Coon-Hound with some Shar-pei mixed in.  He would have been 10 years old this July.  We got him from your shelter when he was 6 weeks old.  You had just put him out for viewing that morning.  We were there when the doors were opened and saw him right away.  We knew he was new because we were there the day before and he wasn't.
That was the beginning of our friendship.

Thank you,
Ernie Finch

Lil aka Misty - Hanging out with the girls

Just dropping an update to you about Lil aka Misty. We adopted Lil one year ago. She is an Australian Cattle Dog/Blue Heeler that we saw on Channel 5. She is doing very well as you can see by the photos. These pictures were taken at Christmas when she was hanging out on the couch with the girls. She is getting along good with her big brother Doc who she harasses daily trying to get him to run with her. He outweighs her by 65 pounds but she doesn't care! She still feels she needs to steal his toys and try and get him to chase her. She is enjoying her two acres, loves my wife to death and is also very protective of her. She has taken well to everybody but the cats. She does tend to find anything that stinks and proceeds to roll in it on a weekly basis. She is the cleanest in Columbia Station. She is getting ready for her yearly check-up at Dr. Fox's. Just thought we would send you an update and some pictures.

-Chris

Cheyenne - Happy birthday in a happy home!

Hello - 13 years ago today, Cheyenne came home with me from your shelter. We were told she was 3 years old at the time, so today we celebrated her 15th birthday! Today she's a little arthritic, doesn't hear so well, and naps a lot, but is happy and healthy and loved dearly.

A year and a half ago, she underwent surgery to remove a cancerous section of her lung, and has bounced back wonderfully and has been cancer-free since then.

She's been nothing but a joy in my life and we wanted to say "thank you" for bringing us together.

Kathy Patton

Octavia - found her kingdom!

Hi everybody, it's me Octavia, remember me?  I was staying at the APL for a bit while I was looking for my perfect family.  You know, a family that recognized my regal being, a family who would treat me as the Princess Octavia that I am.  Well, so far, so good!

My mommy, Courtney, loves me more than I could have ever hoped.  She is always making sure that I have everything a puppy with my obvious royal lineage should have.  I get to play fetch almost as much as I want to, we go out for long walks everyday and I have even gotten back some of my girlish Princess figure.  We go to the puppy park to play for hours and sometimes we even take my Uncle Tobey.  I get to go everywhere with my Mommy when she is not at work, we go visiting, shopping, to the laundry,  I like to curl up with my Mommy when she reads a book, watches a movie or works on her knitting.  My Mommy and I just enjoy spending all our time together.

Uncle Tobey, he truly understands what a Princess Octavia deserves.  He lives with my Grandma and I go to stay with her a few days every week while my Mommy works to buy me more food, treats and toys.  My Grandma loves to have me come to visit and we play games and usually Uncle Tobey loses.  He lets me play with all his toys, chew all of his bones and if Grandma isn't watching, eat all his food.  He loves me a lot and I love him, too, but just don;t tell him.

I just wanted to write to you to thank you for letting me stay with you for a while and for taking good care of me while I was there.  My Mommy is very happy and thankful that you took good care of me, too, because now she has me to give all that love that she was saving up to.  My Mommy, my Grandma and even my Uncle Tobey tell me all the time how  lucky they are that I picked them to go home with.  I have sent you some pictures too, I even am sending you one of Uncle Tobey so he doesn't feel left out.

~ Princess Octavia ~

Lola - The smartest in the house... or at least the second

We had been looking for a dog from some time and were getting discouraged when we happened to find Lola in early November.  It didn't take us very long to see how sweet she is, and she's been a blast ever since!  Even though she hadn't been there long, the APL was right on about her size and temperament, which was very helpful.

Lola has turned out to be shockingly smart, probably the second smartest in the house after my wife, who has trained her to run along with us and do about a dozen great tricks.  In fact, she learned to roll over the first time!  She's is all energy all the time, which makes for a lot of fun.  Most of her day is spent looking out the window at the squirrels, and then trotting little laps around the house.  Once we discovered that the only thing Lola loves more than squirrels is food, we've figured out how to keep her calm (sometimes).  When she's not at the window or trotting she's sleeping, but mostly she just loves to be where we are as much as possible - we're still working on 'personal space.'  Thanks, APL, for taking such good care of Lola until we found her.

The Jeffers