My Fire Hydrant

Sandra found a little Small Paws angel to help heal the hurt of loosing a long-time fluffy friend.

She was Annie2, now she's Katie

I lost my little angel fluff (Little Sandy) after 19 years. She gave me a lot of love and I miss her so very much. She died in my arms and my whole world turned upside down. After a couple of months my love Don gave me a Christmas card, which said I’ll buy you anything you want for Christmas. Well I had been online with Small Paws Rescue for some time by then–yes, you guessed it. There is where I found little Annie2, a three year old little Fluff that needed a forever home. I requested an interview and was accepted. She was in Texas and we were going through there in January in our 5th wheel. We picked her up and I held her in my arms and knew right away she was the one for me–all 7 pounds of her. I now have had my little angel ever since January 8th, 2011. She is the smartest and sweetest little girl and I love her with all my heart for the rest of her life. Thank God for Small Paws Rescue and Robin. Oh, by the way, I did change her name to Katie. She loves it. Love and all my prayers go out to all the other little Fluffs that still need a forever home.

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Tyler says, Small Paws is helping little doggies every day. Even me! They found me, kept me alive when I was full of parvo, and found me my furever home! Do you have a few dollars you can give?

Anne is a very enthusiastic support of Small Paws Rescue–as you can tell by her story!

Lupina, Jeter, & Giana

HI , I WOULD LOVE TO SUBMIT A PICTURE AND PHOTO OF MY 3 SIMPLY SPOILED AND LOVED TO THE MOON AND BACK. I HAVE 3 LUPINI, JETER (AS IN DEREK JETER, ON BEST & CUTEST SHORTSTOP ON THE YANKEE’0and that is why my mommy, especially named me after him…she is crazy in love with him…BUT LOVES ME MORE….I AM REALLY A SEXY BICHON!!! OH AND THEN THERE IS MY LITTLE SISTER GIANA. SHE THINKS OF HERSELF AS THE PRINCESS, A DIVA…SHE IS SUCH A GIRL, SHE WIGGLES HER CUTE LITTLE BUTT, AND PRANCHES AROUND, AND EVERYONE THINKS SHE IS SO SWEET…DON’T GET ME WRONG, SHE IS MY SISTER AND I LOVE HER AND PROTECT HER..BUT I THINK SHE HAS PMS AT TIMES, BECAUSE SHE CAN BE SWEET AS AN APPLE PIE..AND THE NEXT MINUTE SHE WILL MAKE THIS HUGE GROWLING NOISE, THAT CAN”T POSSIBLY COME FROM THIS LITTLE ONE…BUT IT IS HER, AND THEN SHE SCARES ME AND MY BROTHER…MAYBE SHE IS POSSESED….I AM NOT SURE, BUT SHE SCARES ME SO SOME TIMES, THAT I PEE IN MY PANTS…LOL…HER DADDY, ALSO THINKS SHE IS THE PRETTIEST FACE HE HAS EVER SEEN…& LITTLE DOES HE KNOW SHE HAS HIM WRAPPED AROUND HER PRETTY LITTLE TOE NAILS….I DON’T WANT TO SEEM JEALOUS, BECAUSE WE LIVE IN NISAYUNA, IN UPSTATE NY, AND WE DON’T WANT TO TELL ON OUR MOMMY & DADDY….BUT BOY ARE WE SPOILED….WE ARE SOOOO LOVED, AND MOMMY & DADDY DO SUCH FUN THINGS FOR US..OUR DADDY, GRILLS US THE BEST HEALTHY & YUMMY MEALS …EVEN WHEN WE HAD 3 FEET OF SNOW, HE WENT OUT & FINALLY LOCATED THE GRILL AND MADE US LEAN , MEAN SIRLOIN…..OH AND OUR MOMMY HAS MADE THE MOST YUMMMMY  YUM HOMEMADE TREATS …SHE BAKES THEM IN THE OVEN, AS WE DROOL, AND WAIT FOR THE FRESH BAKED TREATS TO COOL DOWN…..
EVERYDAY, WE SIT IN THE FRONT DOOR, AND WHEN PEOPLE GO BUY , THEY STOP AND SAY,,OH HOW ADORABLE…AND MANY STOP AND TAKE OUR PICTURES, BECAUSE I THINK WE ARE PRETTY DARN ADORABLE….WE ARE TOLD THAT WE ARE THE MOST FAMOUS POOCHES IN OUR TOWN…!!!!!
WE GET TO WATCH SO MANY PEOPLE WLKING ALL DIFFERENT COLORS & SIZES OF POOCHES ALL DAY, IT’S LIKE A PARADE….SOME BARK AT US BUT WE BARK REALLY REALLY LOUD…WE 3 RULE…WE ONLY WISH THAT EVERY WHITE FLUFF COULD BE AS SPOILED AND LOVED AS WE ARE….AND WE ARE SO VERY GRATEFUL TO ROBIN…BECAUSE IF SHE DIDN’T START SMALL PAWS, WE WOULDN’T HAVE BEEN ABLE TO BE ADOPTED, BY OUR LOVING DOTTING MOMMY & DADDY…OH WHEN WE WERE JUST WEEKS OLD, WE GOT TO FLY FROM TULSA TO NEW YORK, AND THE CAPTAIN WANTED US UP IN THE COCKPIT WITH HIM….WOW, ARE WE LUCKY OR WHAT….THANK YOU SMALL PAWS…LUPINI, JETER & LITTLE GIANA

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Tyler says, Small Paws is helping little doggies every day. Even me! They found me, kept me alive when I was full of parvo, and found me my furever home! Do you have a few dollars you can give?

Here is the story of another Small Paws member who failed Fostering 101.

My name is Linda, and I am a new volunteer for Small Paws Rescue.  I picked up Miles to foster on January 9th, 2011 in Indianapolis.  I had been told he was approximately 7 years old, had seizures and was on pheno twice a day.  He had been picked up at a shelter by Sara, our Team Leader for Indiana and Illinois.  He was going to be euthanized the day Sara picked him up.  She found someone to adopt him originally in December of 2010 but they returned him back to Sara saying that it wasn’t working out due to the seizures.  Well, to make a long story short, I failed fostering 101!  My Husband and I adopted him in February.  He is still having seizures…but that doesn’t matter to us.  He is such a sweet boy and since we have three other rescues with an unknown background, what’s one more?  He is adjusting well to his life here and seems to be very happy.  I have attached a couple of pictures… he looks more like a Poodle than a Bichon in these pictures.  Sara had informed me when she had him groomed they cut him like a Poodle!

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Tyler says, Small Paws is helping little doggies every day. Even me! They found me, kept me alive when I was full of parvo, and found me my furever home! Do you have a few dollars you can give?

Sam the Man was not with Small Paws member Sandra for very long. But he made a lasting impression. Grab a tissue….

A little fluffly white hurricane swept through my heart and home for three action-packed, wonderful weeks, and I’ll never forget him.  Sam the Man was a 15-year-old nearly deaf and blind old man whose family turned him in because he had broken potty training.  (Pfffftt)  He sniffed, explored, rejected all the squishy beds I offered him and ate huge meals.  He was a fluff of strong opinions, unwilling to compromise unless it was food, and then he would eat anything.  When I stroked his back he immediately rolled over, belly up, his legs waving in the air.  He loved the fenced back yard and roamed it for as long as I’d let him stay out in the cold weather.  But I had to watch him because there were some plastic bags in the corner of the yard to be picked up and he loved tearing plastic.  If I came out and found him going at that plastic, I’d run over and pick him and he’d be growling and those little legs would be running in the air.  I’d set him down inside and then we’d repeat it the next time he went out.  Then I discovered he loved the plastic waste basket liners and rummaging in the trash.  He would leap up and grab the overlapping edge with his teeth and then swing back and forth until it would topple over and he could graze.  Lord I wish I had taken a picture of him swinging back and forth in the air. StM had many health issues, and he was in a lot of pain, so it was with a very heavy heart and a lot of tears that we helped him to the bridge where he would be happy and healthy again. So good-bye Sam the Man and rummaging in the trash.  You managed to make yourself felt and loved and you lived your life with vigor despite your pain and the loss of your family of 15 years.  He was only with me for three weeks, and I’ll never forget him.

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Tyler says, Small Paws is helping little doggies every day. Even me! They found me, kept me alive when I was full of parvo, and found me my furever home! Do you have a few dollars you can give?

A Bichon wave is sent out to all of us from Don, Donna, Chloe, Sophie and Taz  in Mebane, NC! Here’s their story:

My daughter Robin bought a Bichon for her family in the summer of 2005 and they named her Joci. This began my love affair with Bichons. My children surprised me at Christmas that very year and gave me a 10 month old little Bichon cuddle bug that I named Chloe. Chloe became such a blessing in our lives. I felt strongly that Chloe needed a little sister so I began my journey. After searching many websites looking for a sister for Chloe…..some of the sites made me pause as I found myself looking into the activities of puppy mills which I did not even know existed. Continuing to look for Bichons I came upon the Small Paws website. Immediately I felt at peace about this site. I began scrolling and reading the many stories of the Bichons that were rescued by this organization. Everybody in my life got involved in the selection as we looked and looked for the perfect little sister. We decided on a little girl that was named Summer Sophie. She was a puppy mill survivor and was 2 years old. She came to us in September 2006 a very very scared little girl. As time passed she began to trust me and no one else….and now almost 5 years later she let’s everyone pet her. Words can never express the joy I feel in watching her interact with people. Experiencing the joy that Sophie had brought into my life I wanted to be able to help other Bichons find their “forever homes” and to support this organization with a monthly donation that I continue to do to this day.

As time passed I knew that I had to have a third bichon. As Sophie’s foster mom, Wendy Ball had once told me. “Bichons are like Lays Potato Chips….you can not have just one.” Even my husband, Don agreed that we had enough love for one more. Naturally I went straight back to Small Paws and found our little Idella which we now call Taz. We adopted her in January 2009 and we call her our little princess. It is as if Sophie and Taz understand that they both came from the Small Paws family. They have become very bonded and never stray too far from each other. What joy they give us.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to share a wee bit of our story and I hope that you raise a lot of money for Small Paws Rescue.

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Tyler says, Small Paws is helping little doggies every day. Even me! They found me, kept me alive when I was full of parvo, and found me my furever home! Do you have a few dollars you can give?

This Small Paws story comes from Marsh, a Small Paws rescue dog who is being fostered with Sandy. I wonder if Sandy is about to fail Fostering 101?

Bald is Beautiful!

My name is Marsh.  I was 6 years old when Small Paws rescued me from a commercial puppy mill in North Carolina this past summer. I had lived in a very small cage all of my live.   I was shaved to my pink skin, I had a million and one fleas and my belly was full to the top with worms.  Small Paws stepped up to the plate and took me into their care.  They found me a foster family that had a Bichon named Simon.  Small Paws got my health on track with a vet visit, some good food and lots of love from my foster family.  I had to learn how to walk on the floor and on the grass, grass I had never seen grass.   I had never had a toy or a treat in my life. I had to learn to trust humans.  Simon showed me how to live in a house with humans and how to sleep in a big bed, lie on the couch and let someone love on me and rub my belly. Simon also showed me what trees were for. Simon had to show me how to walk up and down stairs and in and out of doors.  I was forever running into a closed door. I love to go walking around the block with my sister, Kensi. She walks me every day. Kensi told me how to walk on a leash and how to sit. I’m always wagging my tail to let everyone know that I am happy to just be free from my cage and to be healthy and live in a loving home.

I am now housetrained and adjusting very well to my new life with a big thanks to Small Paws.  I still have a few problems with my stomach sometimes and the vet thinks that it came from the puppy mills worming me too much

Thanks again Small Paws for all of your help.

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Tyler says, Small Paws is helping little doggies every day. Even me! They found me, kept me alive when I was full of parvo, and found me my furever home! Do you have a few dollars you can give?

Today’s Small Paws tail comes from Barbara. It’s a beautiful story, but be sure to have a tissue handy.

My love of Bichons did not come about until our family acquired its first dog in 1992. We had many discussions about a family dog in the past but I refused to have a dog that would live outside in our sweltering summer heat. Since I had some allergies we had to systematically eliminate many of the breeds from the list. Over and over the subject was dropped as we were busy with our small children.

When our youngest was 10 she begged us for a dog and we promised her that if she could get straight A’s we would find her a dog. Sure enough the next grading period she presented us with a perfect report card.

We found an ad in the paper for a Bichon puppy. We looked up the breed in the encyclopedia and decided to visit the home where the puppy was. From the moment I saw the mother dog with her 10 week old pup through the glass door, I was hopelessly in love. My husband later said that he knew that we would be leaving with that dog the moment he saw my face. Beau, as we named him, sat between two girls in the back seat, curled up and promptly went to sleep.

As he grew up, Beau became a grumpy sort, but he and I were a “bonded pair”. Until that time I never understood that one could love a dog the way I loved this little man. (I needn’t go into detail here; everyone reading this explicitly understands the magic of a Bichon on a human being!).

When Beau was 11 years old we downsized and moved to a smaller home. I worried that the transition would be difficult for him, but since the front yard was fenced and the house had a large front porch, he quickly found his “throne” at the top of the porch steps. This was a dog neighborhood and Beau delighted in visiting the neighborhood dogs through the fence.

It was then that we learned about breed rescue from a friend; we wanted another Bichon but refused to buy from a pet store and didn’t necessarily want a puppy. After some research, many phone calls, interviews and home visits we adopted Mimi, a three year old female. Beau was thoroughly affronted, turning his back to us and sulking, but after a few weeks he was like us; completely won over by this smiling skipping exuberant little girl.

As Beau became a geriatric dog and started to decline, Mimi was there to guide him on his walks. As long as he could sense her presence he could follow and still enjoy the things that make a dog happy. When months later, when we could see that his quality of life had waned to nearly nothing, we had to make the difficult decision to euthanize him. We were grief stricken and the sadness of our loss seemed unbearable. It was then that I decided that I couldn’t possibly go through this grief again. When I confided in my rescue friend that there would be no more dogs in my life she unhesitatingly told me that I needed to get over my loss and adopt another dog, that there were too many homeless dogs in this world to let myself feel that way. I felt as though someone had thrown ice water in my face. I gasped, and when I caught my breath I realized that she was right.

A few days later I found the Small Paws rescue site and sat with tears streaming down my face looking at the pictures of all of the Bichon and Bichon mixes up for adoption. How could we possibly decide on which dog we should adopt, they were all so adorable and needing a home. I sat for hours looking at pictures and reading descriptions. Then, there he was; a little fellow with a sad face. There was something about the way he looked out at me from his picture that reminded me so much of Beau. I know that this may sound strange, but I had the odd feeling that Beau was sending us this sad pup because he needed us as much as we needed him. When I talked with his foster family they told me that Rob was a Bichon Poodle mix rescue from a puppy mill who had spent the first six years of his life in a cage being used as a stud. They said that he was shy and ran away when approached. We filled out the requisite paper work and two weeks later Rob was on his way to us from Ohio.

The day I picked him up, Rob was a wreck; scared to death from his journey; the loud noises and strange people peering into his crate. He immediately slinked into Mimi’s bed refusing food or water. I knew that he would need time to acclimate, but after many hours of refusing food or water I began to worry that he might become ill from lack of nourishment. He was obviously hot and panting at intervals. I found an eye dropper and dropped some water into the corner of his mouth and I continued this during the day. He still flatly refused to eat anything until I placed a cube of cheese on the edge of the bed and left the room. Five or so minutes later I returned and to my relief, the cheese was gone. I repeated this a few times and was overjoyed when each time the cheese disappeared. We had survived our first day!

That night we put him in the bed with us and he stood stiff and still. He was so tense that he reminded me of a concrete yard statue. We turned out the lights and he remained standing. When I awoke thirty minutes later he had lain down next to me and had rested his head in the crook of my arm. I didn’t move the rest of the night and neither did he.

Going outside was the next obstacle. Rob was so frightened to go out that he would hide and we had to search for him. I was constantly worried that he would find a small space to squeeze through and escape. I knew that if that happened the possibility of our finding him would be slim.  Those first few months we spent hours going over the fence and lattice making sure that there were no holes or weak places. Getting him to come in from outside was another challenge. The threat of our standing at the door was an obstacle too great for him to overcome. If I stood back until he came in, he would run back outside when I moved toward the door. After much trial and error I found that if I lay on the floor face down near the door he would come in and I could slowly move my arm out and close the door. This took fifteen minutes at a time.

My husband had to overcome a great deal of frustration when he had to remain at the front of the house when Rob was eating. If he so much as heard Jim’s footsteps Rob would run away.

Rob had no idea that dogs walked on a leash. He was so frightened to go outside of the yard that he trembled uncontrollably. I felt so bad for him that I fashioned a sling and carried him in it when we walked Mimi. This seemed to be a great comfort to him and he could observe the world around him while safe in his wrap. Gradually he was even comfortable enough for people we met on our walks to approach him and pet him without him cowering in fear.

We didn’t think that he could bark. Rob never uttered a sound until several weeks after he came to us. We were in the pool splashing and fooling around and I commented that I heard a strange dog barking. Our guests informed us that it was coming from the house and when we investigated we saw that it was Rob! Previously he had been terrified of the pool and refused to come out when we were swimming. Now he was barking to let us know that he wanted to be a part of the commotion! Over the next few weeks he delighted in barking at blades of grass, birds, cats, other dogs and even the wind, experimenting with the tone and pitch of his bark as though he was trying to find his own signature voice.

One day when he seemed particularly relaxed, I noticed something about Rob that had been missing; his little bobbed tail was up and ever so slightly wagging. For some reason that seemed to be a signal to me that our patience would pay off and that things would be alright.

Today, almost two years since he came to us, Rob has become a dog. He has studied Mimi’s behavior and learned so many things like how to kick the dirt after going potty, chasing a toy, running in the yard, riding in the snoopy boat in the pool, shaking hands for a treat and best of all, being stroked and petted. The high point of his day second to mealtime is bed time when he can snuggle under the covers and be petted and stroked to his heart’s content. He will never know how watching his metamorphosis has been the salve to soothe our sadness over the loss of our first Bichon love, Beau.

Now, when he sees the leash and harness he barks excitedly running in circles grabbing at it with his teeth. He has learned not to be afraid of rustling leaves, crunching gravel or the barks of other dogs. He sniffs and leaves responses to his “pee mail” every few feet. He has even become comfortable with people coming up to him and stroking him. On occasion he has been known to jump up and sit next to visitors waiting to be petted.

Rob has taught us so much about ourselves, especially how much patience we have, but most importantly, how crucial it is to leave the past behind and move forward. After this experience I truly believe that anyone who has not rescued a dog is depriving themselves of learning how much potential we have to learn, love and grow.

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Tyler says, Small Paws is helping little doggies every day. Even me! They found me, kept me alive when I was full of parvo, and found me my furever home! Do you have a few dollars you can give?

Jaxon Small Paws in his foster home in Ohio

Jaxon is an older Fluff who’s former owner died. The family wanted to put him down, but he was rescued when a friend brought in Small Paws Rescue. He will signal when he needs to potty by lifting his paw. But he doesn’t mind wearing a belly band–just in case you don’t notice that lifted paw the first time. He has a little bit of separation anxiety, so he needs to be crated if left alone. And he’s a stinker! If you leave food or drink within his reach, he’ll steal it! He especially likes caramel lattes. He is a snuggle-bunny lap dog, just ready to deliver some fluffy lovin’!

Is Jaxon the right pooch for your lap? Find him on Petfinder!

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Small Paws saves dogs! Can you give a couple bucks?

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Billy Boo Small Paws

Little Billy Boo is another Small Paws Bichon who was rescued from a commercial puppy mill. He needs a home where there’s a socialize pooch already in residence who can show Billy Boo how to be a family member.

He has had some skin problems, and needs special food. And he’s working on the house training thing. But he walks well on leash. And he likes to sleep in his crate at night.

Once he gets to know you, Billy Boo is a sweetie! He loves to play chase with other dogs and he enjoys the company of cats. That’s a pretty special dog!

Billy Boo is waiting for you at his foster home in Illinois. Find him on Petfinder!

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Small Paws saves dogs! Can you give a couple bucks?

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Today’s Small Paws story comes from Maxine and Ron.

Jojo, Jeep (formerly Charlie), Arfie (formerly Alfie), Jacque

These are our kids,on a camping trip. From the left is Jojo , he came from San Jose to be a friend for our collie Sadie. He was 10 months old and came from a kill shelter. We have had Jojo for 10 years. He loves to dance for his treats and run on the beach .

Next in line is Jeep, his name was Charlie when we adopted him from SPR and he was a mill puppy. He lived in a nasty cage for the first 10 months of his life. He has little short legs and is almost 10 also . He and Jojo were bonded almost from the beginning.

After we adopted those two we signed up to foster and help Small Paws Rescue, so the next two on the sofa are Arfie and Jacque. Arfie had kind of a raspy voice and came with the name Alfie but we changed it to Arfie. They were senior dogs and after we had them for several months we failed foster, we adopted them. They gave us so much love. We lost Arfie 3 years ago from several major health issues and finally a heart attack and we just lost our little Jacque 2 months ago from bladder cancer. He bonded to Ron from the beginning and went everywhere with him including in the semi as we found out he had separation anxiety.

A new foster pooch about the find a furever home....

 

My mom lived on our property and was in charge of critters during the day. We raised llamas, had angora goats , cats, chickens, peacocks, but the day we found out it wasn’t enough entertainment for Jacque was a day mom had to go to the doctors and he decided to wiggle out of his yard. One of the neighbors saw him heading to the airport and called me at work because Jacque would not come to him so I headed home, called friends at the airport and a couple of other friends were up in the air and saw him go the length of the airport and into town, but he must have sensed I was on my way home because just as I rounded the corner her came flying up on the porch and he looked like he had been playing in the mud all day and he was showing me his toothy grin… He went with dad on the truck from that day on.

Adopting older fluffs brought us a lot of love and enjoyment. We have fostered successfully and are fostering right now but she sure fits in…..

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Tyler says, Small Paws is helping little doggies every day. Even me! They found me, kept me alive when I was full of parvo, and found me my furever home! Do you have a few dollars you can give?