Success Stories
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Jackson |
I have been in my new house for 2 weeks now. The
time has flown by! I have been such an amazing
boy. I sleep at night on my bed next to mommy &
daddy's bed, I go into my crate when I need to
without complaining at all, I barely bark and
they love it when I snuggle with them. They gave
me a new name, I like it a lot and am already
learning how to respond to it. My new name is
Jackson. I've been learning how to sit and I'm
starting to learn how to stay and play fetch
with a cool new soccer ball.
The cat doesn't seem to like me too much, but
maybe that's because I chased him a couple of
times. I know not to do that now.
I had trouble at first walking on a leash and I
was really scared of cars and trucks. I've been
walking a lot though and I'm not too scared
anymore.
Mommy & Daddy tell me they love me all the time.
Thanks for taking care of me before I found my
home.
Tell everyone at the Humane society hello for
me!
Love,
Jackson |
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SweetPea |
Three years ago, I had to have my 17-year-old
beloved cat Click-Clack put to sleep. Her
kidneys were failing, and I knew it was not
right to let her suffer. My husband and I both
took it really hard, but we knew from experience
that the best way to heal was to save another
kitty from a shelter. I went to Gloucester
Mathews Humane Society and found myself gazing
into a cage that held a solid black mama cat
surrounded by a group of little black kittens.
However, one of the kittens who happened to be
asleep in a little hammock was a gray
tabby/white kitten who was different from all
the rest. I picked her up and she snuggled up to
my neck and I knew she was mine. SweetPea is
doing great today and has two other cats to play
with (both rescued). She is my husband's special
favorite and has brought us such joy. He has
trained her to fetch with her purple mouse, and
she is constantly amusing us with her clownish
ways. I am enclosing a picture with this email
so you can see how beautiful SweetPea is today.
I encourage everyone who is planning to find a
pet to go to a rescue shelter. It is
unbelievable how many fine and beautiful animals
are just waiting to make our lives richer.
Thank you, GMHS, for all the good you do in the
lives of animals and people.
Sincerely,
Sharon Ganzhorn
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Casey |
I’m not sure readers will
remember me, but I use to write an advice column
for The Hugapet, Casey’s Corner. That’s right,
I’m Casey and I’m still waggin’ my tail.
I was adopted back in 1995 at six weeks old.
I had the best care at GMHS and just dazzled all
of the Shelter workers. Luckily, I went on a pet
therapy visit to a nursing home with volunteers
and one of them just fell in love with me (must
have been my blonde eyelashes!!!). That crazy
lady couldn’t resist me and to this day, at age
15, I’m still enjoying life with my family to
the fullest. We moved to Naples, Florida about
five years ago. I love it down here but I still
consider myself a "Virginia" dog (way too many
foo-foos downs here, if you know what I
mean!!!). I’ve seen more crazy doggie hairdos
down here than on Animal Planet (my favorite TV
show, next to American Idol).
Recently while searching out various web
sites in my spare time, I came across some
photos of the NEW Gloucester-Mathews Humane
Society. Well, let me tell you, it took my
breath away and if I had been wearing socks,
they would have been knocked off too!! What a
fabulous, fantastic place - - a real dream come
true. I know that none of this would have been
possible without the help of some very great
people. I think there should be a very special
"BOW-WOW award given to all of the Building
Committee, especially Ralph Jackson, Cam
Williams and Peggy Bowditch. I’ve even heard
that some of the volunteers that were there some
15 years ago, are still pitching in stronger
than ever - - Cheryl Walker, Jean Crowder, Tonya
Higgins, Sara Delo, Joyce Richter (I know there
are others, but please, give me a break - I’m
15+ years old and my memory isn’t as good as it
once was). All of these wonderful people deserve
a big round of "ALL PAWS."
You have all done some truly magnificent
work. If it weren’t for the Gloucester-Mathews
Humane Society, I would never have had the
chance for the great life that I have enjoyed. I
am so enthusiastic about the possibility of
giving all those other "Virginia" Dogs the same
chance that I had (oh yeh, cats too!!!)
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Cookie |
Two years ago in October, we had
to put our Golden/Spaniel, Sammy, to sleep. She
was 14 years old and very sick. We thought we
were finished with animals. Our children were
grown and gone and so were the pets. That
Thanksgiving, as is our family custom, we
exchanged names. We include all adults and
children in the exchange. This way we only buy
one major present. Then, some time between
Christmas and New Years we have a big dinner and
exchange our presents. Well, early that December
at our daughter's birthday celebration, our
oldest son, 39 years old, told me that he picked
my name and he had my present. He presents me
with the cutest 1 year old beagle, Sprite. Our
son got her from the Colonial Heights Shelter.
What could I do? I fell in love with her.
Sprite, now Maddie, and I took a dog obedience
class and an agility class. She loved it.
Then, a year later my husband
and I were on our way to Newport News and
stopped in at the old shelter to deliver
shredded paper. While I was inside the trailer
he stayed in the car and saw this black Lab/
Hound mix staring at him from behind the fence.
All the other dogs were barking and the Lab was
just staring at my husband. When I got back in
the car he said, "Carol, I gotta have that dog."
So we talked it over and then fostered the dog,
Pookie, for a week, to see if the beagle and the
lab would get along. Sure enough, they loved
each other. So, we adopted Pookie, now Cookie.
After she got over the eating shoes stage she
has turned out to be a terrific dog. Cookie and
I also took a dog obedience class and are now in
another agility class. She loves going on long
walks, loves playing fetch and LOVES agility
class.
Carol McCormack
Friday morning Front Desk volunteer
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Gus |
Over 4 years ago I adopted Gus
from the humane society. He was an Australian
Cattle dog mix and was about twelve weeks old. I
remember looking on Petfinder and seeing his
picture and falling in love! He was there with
three of his brothers and sisters. The next week
I went in to the shelter to see if he was still
available, and as luck would have it he was. All
of the puppies were so adorable; it was really
hard to choose. I picked him because he was the
one who snuck out of the kennel as the door was
closing. I picked him up that afternoon. I was
so excited! He was an energetic puppy and never
liked to be left alone. We have taken Obedience
classes and also trained in Agility. He has
actually begun competing in agility. Last fall,
he competed in his first weekend of UKC agility
trials. He earned his AG I title and earned two
legs for his AG II title. Out of 8 runs that
weekend, he won first place twice and second
place four times. He even got a perfect score! A
very good showing for his first time. Also, two
out of the four trials that weekend he won the
award for the highest scoring mixed breed in the
entire trial! . We are getting ready to start
AKC trials this spring and hope to get a lot
more titles to brag about!!!! I can't say enough
good things about this dog. I will always be so
thankful to the Humane Society for bringing him
into my life! Thank you for all you do for the
animals.
Jessica Rhodes |
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