Tilley-Formerly Known As Asal
Adopted 24 Apr 2017 by Cameron family- Peterborough, Ontario, Canada
Maxwell (Bruno)
Adopted by Laura and Jim McIntyre – Jan 2016
It has been nearly a year since Maxwell joined our family in Chicago. He is an energetic youngster who has developed a sweet relationship with our blind, older Australian cattle dog, Taz.Maxwell loves: chasing his squeaky toys and tennis balls, barking at trucks and buses, trotting around the house with our shoes, sneaking onto the sofa, doggie daycare, nature walks, getting brushed, and meeting anyone and everyone who visits our home — human or canine.
He has been the perfect infusion of energy and silliness into our lives! He makes us laugh every day and has breathed new life into old man Tazzy. We are grateful for the people at VAFA Shelter and Chicago Canine Rescue! Thank you for your hard work on behalf of animals.
Ripley (Violet)
Ripley (Violet)Adopted by Dani Johnson & Ben Sarb – Oct 17, 2015 – Seattle, WA, USA
Ripley (formerly known as Violette) joined our family in October of 2015. We had wanted a dog for a long time, but we both worked full-time with 8-10 hour shifts and didn’t think it was fair to bring a dog into our lives until that changed. Lucky for us, Ben changed careers and ended up with a schedule much more conducive to raising a dog. Even luckier, Ripley ended up in the Seattle area right when we started our search for the perfect dog.Ripley was 7 months old when we adopted her; she had a lot of energy back then (and still does), but one thing that stood out to us from the beginning is just how calm and confident she is.
We don’t know much about how she came to be at Vafa, and prior to adopting her I expected that she might be easily startled or fearful of new things considering her background. But much to our surprise there’s very little that phases Ripley. Coffee grinder? Nope. Blender? Nope. Loud dryer signal? Nope. Vacuum? Occasionally, but as she’s barking she’s also play bowing, so I think she might just want to play.Ripley is very smart and a quick learner; she seems to really enjoy training, especially agility classes. She loves anything that squeaks but has never really figured out how to play fetch—she’d much rather just play “keep away”! Ripley still has a lot of energy and loves to play, but she is also surprisingly mellow and is just as happy napping on the couch as she is running around outside. We trust her implicitly with our cat and rabbit and is wonderful with children.Ben was unexpectedly diagnosed with cancer last fall, and while we were initially worried that Ripley might get a bit stir-crazy being at home with Ben all day while he undergoes treatment, we needn’t have worried; it might sound a bit “new agey”, but it’s as if on some level Ripley understands what’s going on. Ever since Ben started treatment she’s been extra cuddly and affectionate with him; she also seems to know when he’s having a bad day and will just nap and entertain herself until I get home from work. Ripley has brought so much joy to us over the last 15 months and we are more grateful than ever to have her as a member of our family. There’s no doubt in our minds that she is the dog we were meant to have (and that we are the people she was meant to have) and we will be forever grateful to all of the courageous and kind-hearted people at Vafa who work so hard to help these incredible dogs.
Nader
Adopted by Carina and Dave – November 2014 – Snohomish, Washington, USA
I had been watching VAFA postings provided by Farah Ravon for some time when I saw Nader’s picture and the urgent need for him to have a temporary foster home when he arrived in the Seattle area. We already had 2 senior dogs and had recently moved from a 2 bedroom condominium to our dream home on five acres.
I could not imagine being the reason for Nader to not have a temporary home that would allow him to come to the United States. He had quite the journey traveling via Germany and landing in Vancouver, Canada. From Vancouver he was driven across the border to Seattle where he spent the night with his companion Nazli. Dave brought Nader from PAWS in Lynnwood to our home the next day. Nader was very tired and sad…until he saw Rover and Bailey and realized he still had a pack to belong to.
We were very worried the first night that Nader showed his teeth, guarding his food when the other dogs came near. This was the only time that Nader showed any aggression and who can blame him after all he went through.We had a terrible time getting him used to being in a kennel at night. I never heard such feral noises coming from an animal. We tried everything – leaving him downstairs alone, in our room with the kennel covered, uncovered, and facing the other dogs. Eventually we could not bear it and put the kennel outside and left Nader in our room with our other two dogs.Nader loves our dogs more than he loves us. Rover only likes Nader when he does not have to share him with us.
I have caught them playing outside or laying under a tree together. Bailey has been a bit of a surrogate mother to Nader and he looks to her for companionship first. Nader has started to love Dave and I more and can often be seen laying next to Dave in our bed…taking over my pillow. Despite him being so long he still believes he should be Dave’s lap dog.Even though Nader has free reign of our property, he spends one day a week at a local Doggy Day care so that he can socialize with other dogs and burn off some of his never ending energy. He knows when it’s time to go and you have never seen a happier dog.We’ve had lots of laughs with Nader.
Despite having food available for him all the time, he prefers to pull bread or other goodies off our kitchen countertop. His most recent acquisition was a wrapped package of apple, cinnamon rolls that friends had given us for Christmas. We do our best to keep things out of his reach – but were quite surprised to catch him standing completely on our kitchen island. The funniest thing that Nader does is burp. He will look straight at us with a serious stare and let out the loudest burp you could ever hear.Thank you for blessing us with Nader. When you have an amazing dog come into your life – it seems like it has always been there. He makes us laugh and smile every day and we are ever so grateful that you entrusted his well being to us. We utterly love him.
Tara
Adopted by Leone and Jack Samilson – July 2014 – Blairstown, NJ
As you know Tara joined our family in July of 2015. Originally scheduled to be a foster, Jack and I took one look at her soulful eyes and fell in love. When she joined us we had two German Shorthair Pointers, Chica age 14 and Scarlett age 6. Sadly Chica crossed the rainbow bridge in September.
Tara is bonded with with her new sister Scarlett, as well as all her cousins both in NJ (Max, Molly, Tux and Delilah) and in Florida (Ruby and the black dog brigade).Since she has joined the pack she has traveled from NJ to Washington DC in one trip. Down the east coast to the florida keys and then along the gulf coast of the US. She has now returned to the Keys, survived her first set of winter visitors and is waiting for all the others who will be along soon. She and Scarlett go CRAZY when we ask if they want to go for a ride in the car and then jump in and go to sleep. I guess its a dog thing.Even with her heavy coat she seems to really enjoy our long walks and doesn’t seem at all sad to be missing the cold and snow in NJ. (she told me so this morning!). She is continuing to work on NOT barking, and NOT jumping. And loves to be loved. Although she sometimes has a tough time with new dogs and people in her own yard and house, she loves to meet and play with everybody in all the dog parks we visit.
leone
Sibby
Adopted by McCormick Family – Sept 5, 2015 – Delta, BC, Canada
Sibby is doing very well and has fit into our family exceptionally. We did keep her name as it suits her and she responds to it (most of the time – unless distracted by the falling rain drops that she seems to love!)We discovered that she loves the water! She often showers with my daughter, even if just to sit at the end of the tub catching drops.
When it rains outside, she searches out every puddle to play in. I have never had a dog that enjoys the water so much! We always laugh when she puts on her ‘turbo boosters’ to run through the puddles:)She gets along very well with our other two dogs and even our cats. We do have to watch her with the rat as she tends to nip at him but he is in his cage most of the time anyway. She just gets very excited when he is out.She really enjoys her walks and loves to visit all the dogs at the various off leash parks we visit. Sometimes I think she is a little sad that she can’t go all the places our other two dogs go, but she does what she can.We are very grateful to have her and my daughter is doing a great job caring for her. Sibby sleeps with her every night (the other two dogs sleep in a crate together, but Sibby gets special treatment as she is my daughters). My daughter sewed her a new big fluffy pillow and made her a squeaky toy as well, so it has been great to see how she has taken on the responsibility.
McCormick Family & Sibby
