 Have a Happy
Ending?
Send us
your
Happy Ending Story
(we love getting pictures)
stfrancisaar@gmail.com |
May, 2008
Well, it has
been officially one year since we were blessed
with Lexi and could not imagine life without
her. She is an integral part of our family and
we know it was fate that led us to her (and your
pet adoption day). I have attached a couple of
pictures so you can see how happy (and large)
she has become. We think she is a cross between
a Saint Bernard and an English Hound.
Regardless, she is the best!
We mainly
call her Lexi or Pretty Girl but the more
appropriate name is ‘Lucky Lazy Lady Lexi’.
She spends most of her day either lying in the
sun or near us in our home office. She enjoys
her walks and is a very social girl. Her ‘best
friend’ is a yellow lab named Emma just across
our fence and when we go for a walk Lexi thinks
everyone needs to stop and pet her. She is a
frequent visitor to our son’s baseball games and
if we don’t bring her to a game everyone is
disappointed. Everyone thinks she is the
sweetest dog and wants to know where they can
find one just like her. I, of course, tell them
St. Francis has many wonderful dogs (and cats)
to choose from!
Thank you to
everyone in your organization for rescuing,
fostering and caring for such amazing animals.
You truly make a difference in the world.
Please add
this to your ‘Happy Endings’ page as a testament
to the success and amazing opportunity to adopt
a rescued pet.
Thanks –
Dave & Lori
and family
 
April, 2008
Hey Everybody!
Thank you for rescuing me (ID 42553.) My new home
is wonderful. I am the only pet but she takes me to
my cousins' house for play every couple weeks.
There are four dogs there. I love my new home. I
have more toys than I can play with. I take most of
them out of the bucket and wait for mom to put them
all back in and then I take them all out again. The
only problem here is the food. Mom wants me to eat
health food. I won't eat those healthy treats
without peanut butter on them. I will show her!!!
Since I am the only pet, I get all the lovin'. We
cuddle every night after she gets home from work and
I fall asleep when she watches TV. With the weather
warming up, we have started taking walks. Those are
so fun. We walk to the park or to the pet store.
Occasionally Mom lets me pick out a chew bone to
take home. Mom takes me to all her relative houses
also. Not many dogs but it is fun to get all the
attention. I got tired when Mom was painting at her
grandma's house and jumped up on the bed in the
room, moved the plastic covering the blankets and
slept on the pillows. Those pillow cases were fresh
and clean. Mom said when I was taking a nap my tail
was wagging away on the blanket. She thought
someone kept knocking on the door.
Thanks again
love
Cyd Johnson
January, 2008
HI!
In October of 2007, about 6 weeks after my
precious 16 year old cat, Chelsea, went to
the Rainbow Bridge, I was at the PetSmart in
Maplewood with my friend Ellen, and after
making some purchases we decided on a whim
to just look and see what was in the
Adoption Center. Her 22 year old cat,
Paddy, had died the year before.
I'd
already decided on the name Ciara for my
next cat--and when I looked at the Adoption
Center--there she was! Only her name then
was Kimmy. This sweet little torti tabby
kitten was sharing a kennel in the Adoption
Center with another gorgeous kitten whose
name at the time was Ann. They were playing
together and grooming each other--and I
didn't have the heart to separate them by
only taking one and not the other.
Yep--whoever put them together sure knew
what they were doing!!! Well, while I was
deciding this, Ellen was being charmed by
an all black male kitten whose name then was
Dollivor. He was in a kennel above where
the little girls were, and he reached out a
paw and was patting Ellen's face--too sweet!
Kimmy
is now named Ciara, Ann is now named Claire
(I also call her Claire Bear--she's a
gorgeous fluffy gray kitty)--and Dollivor is
Conor. They all get along great! Here's a
photo of them snoozing on my bay window seat
shortly after they were adopted. From top
to bottom is Conor, Ciara and Claire.
My
other critters (dogs Simon & Schuster,
rabbit Cody, and guinea pig Cinnamon) had
all been adopted from a typical animal
shelter. Believe me, I can definitely tell
the difference between those poor creatures
kept in kennels versus those raised in
families as fostered pets.
Ellen
and her family had adopted a sweet little
dog, now named Phoebe, a year ago who'd also
started out with a foster family from your
organization. Both Ellen and I have
recommended St. Francis of Assisi Animal
Rescue to all our pet-loving friends.
In
November 2007, the Saturday after
Thanksgiving, my beloved 14 year old border
collie/lab mix Simon went to the Rainbow
Bridge. He and Chelsea had shared a
special bond--they adored each other!
Having the kittens helped to perk him up for
his last weeks--and they helped me with my
grieving process for both Chelsea and
Simon.
Schuster, my female lab mix, will be 14 in
May. Chelsea never bonded with her like she
had with Simon. However these kittens
absolutely adore Schuster! After snuggling
with me, they'll go over and rub against
her--I can hear their purrs from across the
room!
Thank
you to the humans who so lovingly
fostered these kittens!
Mary
M
December, 2007
Hi friends,
On December 1st of 2007, my husband and I made a
quick stop at PetSmart in Maplewood for a new dog
bed for our elderly dog. It was 3:00 p.m., and your
team was just winding down from an adoption event.
We had not known the event was happening, and were
not out looking for a new companion, but there were
two cages that had not yet been packed away, and we
took a peek. What we found was a delightful black
kitty named 'Wilbert', who I knew instantly was
meant to be a part of our family. My husband was
not quite as certain until I handed him the kitten,
who proceeded to curl right up in my husband's arms
and go to sleep. Love.
Wilbert changed his name to Java, and brought
sunshine, laughter and love to our home. He adores
our other cat and our dog as well as any human he
meets. At night, he usually sleeps next to 'mom'
with his head on her pillow and his paws on her
face. He is bright, curious, funny, energetic and
loving.
Thank you for the important work that you do. We
can't imagine our lives without Java now. I have
attached a few photos - please feel free to post
them on your website.
Warm regards,
Lorrie and Randy F
 
December, 2007
I adopted Locket from you on March
17, and wanted to check in with you to let you know
how she's doing (very well!). Perhaps if
you're going to be at the
Maplewood PetSmart for an Adoption Day, we could
come visit?
Wendy L
November,
2007
We wanted to let you know that Simon is a gem and
he has fit in so well
with us. He's just adorable, has the best people
skills of any cat I've had,
just no behavior issues with him at all. He's
getting braver by the day. It
took a while - we wondered if he even had a voice
- but he's meowing to us
now. He fetches better than almost all the
retrievers we've had. His
favorite toy is the glitter ball, followed by a pipe
cleaner spider. He has
at least 10 glitter balls, most of which are lost
somewhere in the house.
Every once in a while he brings us one that we
haven't seen for weeks. He
loves to ricochet around the house and you have to
get out of his way
because he's a pretty hefty 15 pound missile. While
he hasn't lost much
weight, he looks trimmer because he's turned some
fat into muscle and he's
one strong, healthy guy. We have several bird
feeders outside our windows
and he's decided his main job is keeping an eye on
the birds and squirrels.
Most days when I'm working at home, he sleeps in a
box on my desk under a
desk lamp.
We're so glad we found him.
Michele Burlew
October 19, 2007
I adopted "Shrimp" two years ago in October. Her
name is now Nani, and she really has to be the best
dog ever (apologies to all those who thought their
dog held that honor....). She has never met a
person, dog or cat she didn't like. She goes to
work with me, hangs out with the neighborhood dogs,
and cuddles with 'her' cats. Ralphi raised her...
And Nani is raising
Andy, one of our new rescued kittens. Andy was
trying to nurse from her here! I was going to
submit this for your calendar, but I'm not going to
make the deadline. I hope this makes you all smile
anyway.
Thanks for all the work
you do!
Carol
Houliston
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October,
2007
Attached is a picture of Jaz and
her brother Dublin for you and her
foster mom Vicki.
Jaz has been a great kitty, and has
never lost her kitten-like energyor her "tortitude"!
Mike & Sarah Hanson
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October, 2007
Joomla was surrendered when she was one day old with her mother,
who happened to still be in labor, when her owner gave them to
St. Francis. Her brother, Mambo, was born several hours later
at their first foster home. Luckily, the family dog alerted
Gail, the foster mom, that something was going on in the kitten
room. She came down to discover a new kitten with some issues
with his rear legs. He couldn't have been born in a better
place--Gail is a physical therapist and she worked with Mambo,
massaging his legs regularly. The muscles strengthened and the
legs worked themselves back into a more normal position,
allowing him to walk almost normally.
Mambo and Joomla were our second set of foster kittens and we
had every intention of finding them a good home through St.
Francis--we just didn't expect it would be ours! After a few
weeks of playing, cuddling and caring for them, we couldn't
imagine them being split up into separate homes. They were so
happy being with each other and they had adjusted to our other
cats and our big dog. We were also worried that Mambo might
need surgery on his hips later and we couldn't bear the
thought that someone else might not be willing to provide that
for him. So, we talked about it and decided to make them part of
our kitty family.
Mambo, a dusty yellow tabby, is our cuddler and clown. He loves
to be carried around in your arms, enjoys head rubs and
massages, purrs loudly and can sleep in almost any position. He
particularly enjoys spooning up to our standard poodle and
tucking his head under the dog's fuzzy ears. He also climbs up
to our tallest cabinet and poses like a Sphinx, eyes half closed
and paws hanging down over the corner of the cupboard. He is
fondly nicknamed the "melting cat" because when he's being bad,
he's almost impossible to pick up. He just lets his muscles
relax and slips out of your grasp.
Joomla is his dainty and more finicky Torti sister. She enjoys
affection, but on her terms, and she doesn't like to be picked
up much. She will tolerate it if you rub her head, but then
she's off and running. If you are sitting still, she might
climb on your lap and headbutt you until you pet her, but she
definitely insists on having things her way. She is crazy for
the dog and will rub her face all over his curly paws and ears
when he's napping on the floor near her, rolling on her back
from side to side until he finally can't take it anymore and
moves away from her.
Every day is an entertaining day for this brother-sister team!
We're looking forward to many happy years ahead!
Mike & Kelly
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October, 2007
Just wanted to give you an
update on Gracie (Grace). She's been with us since August
2006 and is doing well. The food aggression is almost
overcome, she still gets a little grabby when her rawhide is
done and her sister is still eating hers, but what is a girl
supposed to do? She does 2 mile walks with ease and loves
the romps in the backyard. This years heartworm test was
positive, so we spent an anxious 8 weeks undergoing
treatment and trying to keep this energizer bunny quiet. It
was tough, but she made it. We are waiting for the test in
December to make sure the heartworms are all gone. As you
can see from one of the pictures, if she thinks you need a
kiss, nothing stands in her way - she sure loves her
"grandpa". Her enthusiasm and zest for life are contagious
and watching her, one cannot help but smile.
Jenni B.
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October, 2007
Hi, I haven't
updated you about Hannah (formerly Hiawatha) for some time.
She is a hunting fanatic, with boundless energy. She has tremendous
instincts and is doing extremely well in spite of my limited
training ability. I have shot several grouse and wood cock, over her
points this year. She is better than my son's English pointer, that
has had almost $2,000.00
worth of training
and is a very good dog. She is my
wife's baby though and she spoils her terribly. She sleeps on my
wife's bed each night.
What a life. I am so glad we found her. I think it was meant to be.
Thanks.
Jon L.
Hi, this is Jon’s wife, Barbara.
I have this picture on my desk. She doesn’t
look quite this good now because of all the burrs she gets hunting
that we have to comb out, so she is a little blotchy at this point.
But this is my baby. She is the most incredible dog. As Jon
said, she sleeps with me and we cuddle on cold nights. She would
forgo just about anything to go hunting. I have to accept that
fact, though I hate to. I am always telling Jon she is my dog, but
during hunting season she is definitely his dog.
We love her so much, I know it was God’s
will that we have her. And, she is definitely not spoiled. Take
this from someone who is very objective on this point! LOL
Thank you and God for giving her to us.
Barb L.
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