It is so wonderful to get updates on dogs adopted from our adoption events or through our efforts. We received an incredible email from a couple who adopted Kontiki (now Spencer) a year ago. It’s wonderful to see people who dedicate themselves to their new family member and experience the transformation of a shelter dog into a loving and appreciative family member. We hope you enjoy their words below and Spencer’s pictures as much as we did. Have a great life Spencer.

“We adopted a small white haired bischon mix named Kontiki who we lovingly renamed Spencer just under a year ago. First of all, we both want to say thank you to everyone at the Animal Advocates Alliance. Spencer has been a wonderful addition to our family and we can honestly say we can’t image our lives without him.

Since we adopted Spencer, he has gone through quite a remarkable transformation. Not only did he get a style makeover but all his anxieties with people and other dogs have almost disappeared. He is now excited when people come over, greeting them at the door and a social butterfly at the dog park. He is also quite the little dog model. We recently posted our coffee table for sale on craiglist with Spencer in the photo. To our surprise Apartment Therapy during their Los Angeles scavenger hunt picked up the ad and featured it on their website directly calling out to our adorable pup. We wanted to share this news with you and extend our gratitude for providing us with the sweetest, cutest, most wonderful dog ever.”

See the Apartment Therapy post by clicking HERE.

Diesel was 10 hours away from being killed at the shelter. Fortunately, we came across this gem of a dog and new that his life had to be saved. Diesel was rescued by AAA and after spending a couple of weeks at the vet and at cage free boarding, we are beyond thrilled to report that he has found his forever home. The following is a short paragraph from Diesel’s new family:

“We LOVE Diesel! who we think we’ve now named Dutch He seems really happy, and is getting really comfortable with us. He gets excited and wags his tail when he sees us, and follows Alex and I individually around wherever we go in the house. He LOVES his new huge round squishy bed, we bought at Bark n’ Bitches… I lay in it with him and snuggle all the time. He’s so sweet. I’ll send you photos soon. We also go on 3 long walks everyday after he eats, and when I lag behind at all, he stops looks back, and waits until I catch up and starts to walk again. He wants his whole pack together He’s a great dog and extremely intelligent, and a gentle soul. We love him so much ”

Our dreams have come true as sweet Monica (now “Easy”) has found the absolute perfect home! This poor soul was found on Santa Monica and Vine in the hands of two homeless people. Fortunately they realized that they could not provide for her as necessary and they relinquished her to a AAA volunteer and saving her from certain death in the process. Since then, Easy has been incredibly lucky to find an amazing foster home with Christy and now she has found true bliss with her new forever parents. We can only wish that every dog finds a family just like Tamar’s. Read Tamar’s very kind words of appreciation for finding Easy:

“We had tried out three rescue dogs the past two years, but none of them worked with my cat.  Then we found the Animal Advocates Alliance where there were accurate descriptions, gorgeous photos AND VIDEO of many dogs.  Immediately, we saw a dog that could be ours – not just based on her beauty in the photos or sweetness in the video, but because of the way she was described.  AAA described her to a tee with complete honesty and intelligence – they really understand the personalities and needs of each dog.  We are happy to have welcomed Easy into our life.  She’s Easy like Sunday morning, just like it was to find her waiting for us on the Animal Advocates Alliance site.  Working with Phillip was a dream and the whole experience has made our lives fuller.”

We will let the pictures above and the words of Tilly’s mom below tell the success story of this little, once forgotten, creature.

“I volunteer with Animal Advocates Alliance, and have become the ‘small dog wrangler’ at our mobile pet adoptions. So many sweet, deserving dogs end up at the shelter through no fault of their own, and a handful of fortunate ones get out to our adoption events in hopes of finding new, forever homes. Tilly was one such pup. She was found as a stray in Baldwin Park, and that shelter became her temporary home until the wonderful team at Animal Advocates Alliance chose her as one of a dozen little dogs to come to a pet adoption event in April. I immediately noticed how loving and responsive she was with people and the other little dogs. I have to admit, she became my personal favorite, and I really made a point of trying to find a great home for her that day. Sadly, the event had a low turn-out, and many dogs did not find homes. Because of AAA’s involvement with the County shelter system, we were able to transfer 5 little ones at the end of the day to the Agoura shelter. The Agoura shelter has more resources, fewer animals and a hardworking group of employees and volunteers who are always willing to help the overcrowded shelters.  I felt that Tilly would find a suitable home once in their care. Well, not 24 hours later, I could not stop thinking about that little character. I kept seeing her little head, tilting as she listened intently to my every word, and the adorable way she would just fall over on her back, as if to say: ‘I surrender, and I know this cute act will get me out of any trouble I might get into.’  I told my husband about her and without hesitation, he said: ‘go get her, we can always foster her if the other dogs don’t accept her.’  I rushed to the shelter after work, and scooped up Tilly and took her home to meet her ‘sisters.’  They seemed to sense that she was immature, and patiently forgave her lack of social graces. In the past month, she has blended in perfectly, learning new behaviors from our other dogs and adding so much joy with her outgoing, carefree and ‘live in the moment’ spirit. She helped fill an unhappy void left by the recent death of our beloved 15 year old Pomeranian, Teddi.  So, even though I am a ‘foster failure’, Tilly is the beneficiary. She will have a long, happy, beloved life, thanks to Animal Advocates Alliance and a very soft-hearted husband named Attila, who by the way named her after himself within an hour of her arrival home.”

Just give them a chance people!

We are just thrilled to share Van Gogh’s success story.  Van Gogh entered our lives when another dog at an adoption event grabbed his ear and tore off a portion. This poor little abandoned boy had to leave the adoption event as we had to rush him to the vet. AAA decided to rescue him.  We are now just beyond excited to share the words of Van Gogh’s new parents. We hope you enjoy their description of life with Van Gogh as much as we did.

“Hello there!  We are the Cetin family.  Bonnie and Chris are the very proud parents of Van Gogh.  He has been such a joy and a blessing since he came into our lives.  His favorite pastime is to jump up on the back of the couch so that he is within eye level and within huggable range.  We believe he is a very “mooshy poochy” and we love that about him.  He has met all the neighbors and their dogs and is the hit of the block.  He also has many “adopted” aunts and uncles, cousins, and nieces and nephews and will soon meet his big brother and sister-in-law. With all that he has been through to get to us he has adapted wonderfully.  We do believe that he is part mountain goat because we often find him leaping to the back of the couch and on top of the coffee table.  He has also been known to try to scale the front gate (to no avail).  He’ll turn to you when asked what do you think you’re doing and he gives this face as if to say “aahh nothin’”.  He loves to be outdoors and basque in the sun on our patio.  He is not quite sure about car rides yet and begins to drool as soon as he gets in the car until the time he exits.

We love Sunday mornings because we wake up, have breakfast and a walk and then go back to the master bedroom to all three laying down for a nap.  Van Gogh loves to cuddle in between us laying on his back because he gets his belly rubbed and falls fast asleep. Van Gogh has absolutely healed our hearts from the loss of our Wilbur (12 year old Beagle who passed away from a canine oral melanoma cancer).  We are currently establishing a blog called “On the Gogh” which will chronicle the daily life of our Van Gogh.  We would truly like to thank Stephanie, Ani and the Animal Advocates Alliance for bringing such a wonderful joy into our lives.”

Bernie started out with all the cards stacked against him. He was a forgotten soul at the Baldwin Park shelter and near death with a terrible URI and multiple other ailments when we came upon him at an off site adoption event. Fortunately, as a result of the persistence of a few volunteers, Bernie was rescued by AAA. After receiving many months of attention and love by a very caring foster and volunteer (Lisa), Bernie has now found his true family. The following is  an email we received from Bernie’s new mom.

“As I type this little note, there is an adorable little white munchkin with a flashy new red collar sitting by my desk, blowing hot air on my feet :p So far, I think his favorite spot is in the hallway…but he’s still surveying his options and getting the lay of the land. This morning I brought him up in bed with us for a snuzzle, and he rubbed his face into me and the sheets.

I am blown away at our good fortune in the gift that is my Bernie. Thank you both, and thank everyone along the way who brought our boy home to us at long last. It is my intention to spoil him rotten, to make up for some of the treatment he endured in his beginnings…we started with a little roasted chicken mixed in with his dinner. ;o) Life is good. And it tastes like chicken.

Please stop by anytime…he is receiving visitors for the foreseeable future…we’ve had 3 neighbors request an audience thus far with the newest superstar of Burbank Boulevard.

And all my love and prayers to those still in need…”

Simply amazing

We are so incredibly happy to announce that Coco’s foster parents have fallen in love with her and decided to adopt her! We think her brother, Cooper, did some convincing as well. We hope you enjoy the following update from Coco’s new family and these new photos as much as we did! Have a wonderful life Coco!!!

“We feel so lucky and blessed to have found such an amazing dog in Coco. We couldn’t have found a better companion for our other dog Cooper. From the minute they met, it was love at first sight. Coco came to us a little timid and scared, but after some time, she has finally made herself at home. If she could have it her way, she would spend all day cuddling and getting belly rubs. We were new to the idea of rescuing/fostering a dog and Animal Advocates Alliance was amazing in working with us every step of the way. I never thought I’d be raising two pitbulls but now I can’t imagine my life without them. They are the most loyal and caring dogs and I’m thankful for organizations like AAA for the work they do. If it wasn’t for them, Coco may not be here with us today. Thanks Coco for selecting us to spend the rest of your life with!”

While the hard work of helping and advocating for animals can be physically and emotionally challenging, there are also times when we can experience great joy and pride in the fruits of that hard work.  The Big Sunday event at the Baldwin Park shelter was one such opportunity.  Through the incredible work of volunteers, residents of the community and shelter staff, as well as the support of local businesses, non profit organizations and the Department of Animal Care and Control, we proved that a united community can significantly and positively impact the forgotten companion pets in our cities.  We hope that this event takes us one step closer to creating a society that promotes adoption, spay/neuter, responsible pet ownership and a greater respect for animals, because their lives matter!

We hope you enjoy the video of what was accomplished at the Baldwin Park shelter and feel inspired to help animals in need.

While volunteering at the Big Sunday event, we couldn’t help but step in and help a tiny Canada Goose find a better home away from the shelter. Fortunately for this little creature, a wonderful AAA volunteer decided to save the little goose and drive the little one from the Baldwin Park shelter to the California Wildlife Center in Malibu (818.222.2658). Remember this wonderful place if you every come across a little creature in need of help. Safe travels baby goose!