When Bulleit was just a small puppy, he and his brothers were rescued by Vafa. Lucky for us, he soon arrived in America and we had the opportunity to meet him.
We met him at a dog park when he was four months old. We were happy to see that he was a very good natured and playful puppy, especially with his foster family. Best of all, he seemed to really like us! It was an easy decision to adopt Bulleit and to bring him into our home.
In recent months, Bulleit has become the center of our family. We can’t imagine a home without him! He has such a great spirit and we can see in his eyes that he has lots of love for us. At home, his favorite activity is to play fetch with a stuffed mallard. Out of doors, he is a superstar in our neighborhood and is always greeting old and new friends.
Although he had a rough start in life, we always tell him, “This is your home now, Bulleit.” And he loves us and his new home, having the blessing of constant food, shelter, and attention.
We truly appreciate all the different acts of kindness from all over the world that finally brought Bulleit to us.
…and here is a few words from Bulleit (then Borna)’s foster mom in the US:
Bulleit was a joy to have around! He brought tons of energy and play to the house, and he was a superstar at the dog park.
He wanted to play and interact with all of the dogs and people.
Borna (now Bulleit)’s original rescue story posted here: http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150124272938522
Adopted by Barbara & Matt on June 11, 2011 – Pescadero, CA
We had been looking for a dog for several months when my husband Matt saw a sign for a dog adoption fair in Half Moon Bay.
I visited the adoption fair webpage and looked at the dogs that were going to be at the fair and decided to stop by. Immediately I knew the dogs that I had come to see were not going to be a good fit for our family.
Then saw my silly boy laying on his back on the asphalt parking lot asking for belly rubs. Since he was so adorable and I had not seen his picture on the rescue webpage, I thought he belonged to someone who came to support the rescue group.
I was so excited when I learned he was looking for a home that I immediately called my husband and asked him to take a break from his job so he could come to the fair to meet Hapoo. We agreed we thought Hapoo would be a great dog for us.
Then we were surprised to learn Hapoo had traveled so far to find a forever home. Matt immediately made plans to build a fence so we could bring Hapoo home. Hapoo made himself at home the very first night he spent here.
The cats disappeared for days after Hapoo decided they could make good playmates. Hapoo quickly learned the command “Drop the Chicken!” after one snuck out of the coop.
We also had to get a secure lid for the garbage can, learn to keep butter as far back away from him as possible and along with many other Hapoo rules.
However, cuddling is a must in this family and he loves to cuddle. Although stubborn and independent, he is always silly, sweet and loving. Then one day at the dog park he started limping on one of his rear legs.
I had seen him do it several times before, but his limp usually lasted only a few seconds. This time he didn’t stop limping. After taking a few X-rays the vet told us Hapoo had an old injury, he suffered a broken leg near the hip joint when he was a very small puppy and the injury had not healed correctly.
Poor Puppy! As if it weren’t enough he suffered severe mange as a puppy.
He had surgery a week later and after a few tough weeks our boy was back on his feet and racing the fastest dogs he could find at the park.In the mornings he comes with me to take care of the chickens and plays with our pet goat in the backyard.
He still is completely confused by the cats, who believe they are above playing with him. Hapoo has become a California Beach Bum.
He fills his days with running in the sand, digging for sand crabs, investigating tide pools, and playing tag with the waves. Hapoo is obsessed with car rides, loves to go on vacation, if I leave the door open he will just jump in the car and take a nap.
He obeys all commands whenever he feels like it, none when he does not. We’re still working on that.
Even though Hapoo has only been in our lives for four months we can’t imagine not having him around. It’s amazing to us that he found his way into our home.
Hapoo is such a happy dog and he always starts our days with a smile by lying on his back and asking for belly rubs.
Adopted by Dartnell Family – August 27, 2011 – Belmont, CA
Friends, do you remember the story of the mama dog and her puppies rescued by a kind gentleman (from Germany) in Amol near Caspian Sea? Leo is one of the lucky puppies who survived and made it all the way to Northern California , now living with his forever loving family.
Here are a few words from his foster mom who looked after him and trained him when he first arrived in the US:
“Leo came to our home as a 3 month old puppy, and all of us including our dog, Buddy, fell in love with him immediately. He is such a well tempered, smart, sweet, loving, energetic and funny dog. We feel honored to have been his host family while he searched for a perfect, loving home. He found a wonderful forever family and is now one popular dog in our neighborhood. We get to see and spend time with him once in a while, and he remains Buddy’s best friend forever! ”
Maryam Kamali
And a few words from his forever loving Mom:
Leo has brought new life into our house since his arrival. He is not only the cutest puppy on the block, he is a loving, mischievous, smart, and funny dog. He loves to play soccer with the kids and cuddle with them at night. Leo is our families constant companion. If we are working around the house, he is right at our side. If we are cooking, he is our shadow. He learns new tricks every day. One look into those beautiful eyes of his just melts your heart. We feel so lucky to have such a wonderful soul in our home.
Adopted by Dunham Family on Oct 20, 2011 – Vancouver, BC
On October 20, 2011, I flew all the way from Iran to Vancouver Canada to meet them. At first I was really scared….of everything! I didn’t want to come out of my kennel for a long time and when I did I was faced with stairs!
Thankfully, my new family was really patient with me and even carried me up and down the stairs for 2 days so that I could sleep in the same room as them. I was also scared of going for a walk in the dark. I learned that the strange noises and lights were cars but it took me a couple of weeks before I was feeling comfortable enough to walk beyond the neighbours houses. Now I’ve learned that going for walks is when I get to see other dogs – that is my favourite thing in the whole world, nothing can get me going like the possibility of meeting another dog on our walk. I’ve got my morning buddies that we see everyday, some of them are older and don’t want to play but others will let me run around and be all puppy playful with them. It’s the best! There is also a big forest behind our house with lots of interesting smells, my mom said there are bears, skunks, racoons and other critters in there…..thankfully we’ve only seen some skunks and when we did my mom pulled me hard the other way even though they were coming towards me and I was very curious about them.
At home there are 2 little people that I love. I listen to Jessica better than anyone else, she’s 4 and she gives me great ear and belly rubs. Josh keeps telling me how cute I am, and pats me on the head, he’s also started giving me a special treat…piggy ears! They have lots of stuffed animals that I grab and trot around the house carrying. My mom tells me to drop them and play with my own toys but I just can’t help wanting to play with theirs too. I have a favourite stuffed squeaky elephant and I adore fetch with my rubber chicken in the backyard.
After I totally destroyed the bed my family had gotten me, they got the message that I’d rather sleep on a chair. They tried hard for a couple of days to stop me from going on there, but I was very determined and finally got my way. This is my quiet spot slightly away from the kids but still in view of the kitchen (just in case food falls on the floor) and of the front door. I’m working on getting onto the couch too but mom and dad are even more determined to keep me off of there, oh well, I’m slowly giving up on that one.
Life is great here, it’s just coming up on 2 months that I’ve been with my family, but we are really starting to figure each other out, they’ve been patient with my having to learn a new way of life, and I’ve been working really hard to learn my commands and house rules. I think it’s a great match, I’m one lucky boy!BillyPS – we are one lucky family too Billy, your calm disposition and gentleness with our kids is more than we could have hoped for adopting a 6 month old puppy.
Love Deb, Chris, Jessica and JoshBilly and His sister , Emili
Adopted by Conyers Family on June 29, 2011 – San Jose, CA
A few words from Marlee’s foster mom in Iran:
Marlee (then Nelly) came to us like a stuffed little cute toy, she was adorable, stubborn and full of character. She loved to play and friendly to everybody. She was a beautiful dog and everybody loved her.
She was among lucky puppies supported by Vafa Shelter staff and supporters and we defiantly enjoyed her stay with us. I asked my husband to add few sentences about Nelly and he said he has already mixed up what and who fostering all the dogs and puppies last years but he does remember some highlights; funny things and their character and Nelly sure is his favorite puppy, full of life and very smart one!
Armine Charik
…and a few words from her foster mom in US:
That adorable little Marlee (then Nelly) came to our home when she was 9 weeks old! She was a strong minded girl who needed some training. Thanks to Ms Kamali who taught us how to get her to be responsive to commands. By implementing her teaching in a short time we got Marlee to fetch, sit, down, no bite, and so much more. And I learned that to be a really good foster parent you need to have a big heart and willingness to learn a few new tricks. She even learned, for most part to ignore my jealous and at times unfriendly dog Shazdeh. I have to say, that one of my regrets in life is that I could not keep her for ever.
I think, her smarts, sweetness, lovingness and companionship would have added a lot to my life. I am just so happy that a deserving and amazing family has the pleasure of having her. She turned out to be the best and got the best. Thank you Faranak jaan for the trust you had in me/us to foster a vafa dog.
Fereshteh
Marlee’s forever loving mom says:
Marlee came to us via an Angel…we were actually looking to adopt another Vafa puppy. Literally, after our home visit, Farah called and asked if we would foster another pup for the weekend. Without a 2nd thought, I said ‘Yes!’. Marlee never left our home since….little did we know, we were destined to be blessed with Marlee.
Marlee has such a gentle spirit…mischievous, at times but very gentle. She loves to play, especially with Daddy (Jason), Brother (Dominic) and cousin (Marcel). Mommy (Zoraida)and sister (Faith) just loves hugging Marlee. Marlee LOVES to run..and it shows when we take her walking/running and when she goes to the dog park. Nothing else matters when she is free to run without fear….Marlee is finally home….Zoraida
Adopted by Zubin Mobedshahi – Morgan Hill, California – Sept 18, 2011
We had posted Jenny’s picture and her story on our facebook page back in August 2010:Jenny is very kind and she seems to be a great protector! She was found with terrible scabs when they brought her here.
First she was very scared. the lady who had found her, had kept her in their bathroom for a few days, but since she couldn’t keep her, they brought her to the quarantine house. We have no idea what the poor girl had gone through, both her ears were injured badly but we don’t think it’s from the scabs. She came around after a few days, and started playing with Rocky . We bathed her everyday and put special lotion on her, and the scabs were gone rather quickly–but her ears took longer to heal.
We were approached by a wonderful lady who lives in the US who offered to sponsor Jenny and get her to USA. Here’s a few lines she shared with us:As I was looking at Vafa’s site, I thought about how unfortunate our animals have lived for long centuries. I was Looking at the pictures closely and absorbing each dog’s look with all the love in their eyes.. I saw a new hope and a new light that is about to break though their dark and miss-fortunate past with Vafa’s help.
I took one look at Jenny’s and I fell in love with her. Her ears and tail were cut off. With all the pain she went though, she still looked Stunning. I had tears in my eyes for all of them when suddenly a brilliant idea made me smile.” I will help Jenny come here and find the best home she deserves.”In no time we raised her travel expenses and in a few months she was brought here with the help of Vafa team and Faranak (my role model and a fighter for these animals)
Now, not only Jenny was not alone, she had her own supporters.
Jenny has never met me but I know her life was drastically changed just because one eye noticed her and another one decided to give her a warm home and a soft pillow to sleep on. I heard Jenny’s life is full of love and adventure. I go to bed many nights thinking about Jenny and what would happen if each one of us would save one animal like her? And I smile!!I LOVE YOU JENNY!
Marjan
And here’s a few lines from Jenny (now Juney’s) forever loving dad:
Jenny, now Juney, has adapted quickly and splendidly to her vast new environment. Living on a ranch, she follows the humans on hikes and helps catch mice on the farm fields. Her excitement every morning comes from chasing the loitering deer away from the compost piles, though they always get away. She is resting in her bed crate, door open, catching her first nap of the evening. she will later, as always, sprint outside before the lights go out for the night, hoping to surprise a covey of quail, who will flutter down the long valley or into higher, safer brush. At her first checkup, the doc said she looked like one of the healthiest dogs he’d ever seen. Well exercised, happy, and trusting. Welcome to California, Juney.
