Apr 13, 2017
Adopted by Susan Arnett, September 2012, Seattle, WashingtonIn September 2012
I was a volunteer dog walker at PAWS Animal Shelter. One Sunday evening I was returning a dog to it’s kennel and overheard one of my co-volunteers in the kennel next door trying to coax a new dog out for a walk. She wasn’t having any luck, so I thought I would give it a try. I peeked in and say a very nervous Sheltie mix with big ears and dark brown eyes. I went in and sat with her for awhile, inching a little closer and offering her hot dogs. I could tell she was very frightened but also wanted to be loved because she let me pet her legs, then her tummy and head and eventually she took a hot dog off my knee.
After a short walk and some tummy scratches, I was pretty much in love with her and could tell she had a gentle spirit and sweet disposition, despite her fear and shyness. At that time I knew nothing of her origin or that she had just arrived from a 20 hour flight. I thought the supervisor was joking when he said she came from Iran. I couldn’t believe how much had been done for her to get her to Seattle and to a forever home. I felt very lucky when I was able to adopt her from PAWS a few days later.
Shabi has come a long way in 7 months. She’s learned to walk on a leash (without planting herself down in fear anytime a car, person, bike, etc. goes by), ride in a car (without hiding on the floor of the back seat), ride in an elevator and walk up/down stairs and how not to have a barking fit when she sees her reflection in a mirror. She loves dog parks, rolling in the grass, laying in the water, soft toys, treats and most of all, she loves coming to work with me each day. The confidence and joy she exudes when she runs into the office amazes me compared to how timid she was when she first arrived. Her best friends at work are Pierce, a bichon-frieze/poodle mix, Oola, a golda-doodle and Sadie, a dachshund. She loves to wrestle with them and happily shares her toys. She can now sit, lay down and shake. If she’s really excited, she’ll shake with both paws!
I’m so grateful to have her in my life. Shabi’s sweet, funny personality, her resilience and her continued courage in new situations inspires me. I’m so thankful to all those at VAFA and PAWS who worked so hard to rescue her, care for her, transport her and bring us into each other’s lives. Shabnam, my azizam, is my forever friend and will forever have a home in my house and in my heart.
God bless,Susan
Apr 13, 2017
Adopted by Catherine & Ken and their 3 kids Andrew, Courtney & Kimberly – Mississauga, Ontario – Oct 21, 2012
“Chesmak” was one of four female puppies who were brought to the shelter early summer 2011. They were only a month old. The staff was told that their mother was killed but how much of that was true, it’s unclear. Either way, since they were very little and the shelter wasn’t really a proper place for them, Zarrin family accepted the responsibility of caring for them. Cheshmak, along with her sisters, spent a few months there and after they were a bit bigger and had their shots they were transferred to the shelter. It didn’t take long before they were on the adoption list. Chesmak came to Torento on the first of September, 2012 and after a few months of living with a foster family, she found her permanent family and lives happily with them now.
Cheshmak is settling into our home in Toronto. She has a huge backyard, complete with her own fenced in ravine and forest to play in and to explore. She is learning to play and loves to play ball. We will probably find the woods full of tennis balls in the spring as she buries them or hides them in the snow – and she loves the snow!! Cheshmak is also very playful in the house and enjoys a short playtime and cuddle on the bed in the morning and at night.
She is making friends with the neighbours, both canine and human and eagerly goes to visit them for treats. She is still a bit timid when she leaves her own property but is working hard, with lots of help from all her new human family members, to understand that the world doesn’t have to be scary. She even goes on the paper rounds with the young human child in the family and is regularly going to doggie camp so she gets to meet new people and dogs.
Cheshmak met up with her sisters Mahtab and Shabtab when they arrived from Iran a few weeks ago. She was so excited showing them around her new home and property – the three of them played happily together.
Cheshmak really is a treasure and an added blessing to our family.
Apr 13, 2017
Mahtab (now Debbie), Adopted by Anne Marie and John McCusker – Mossley, Ontario, Canada – Feb 24, 2013
Debbie (Mahtab) has been with us for over two months now and we could not imagine life without our sweet girl. She is best pals with her new brother, Geordie who she runs and plays with especially when they have neighbors to bark at! When she came to us she was very shy and scared of all things new even us wearing sunglasses! She is still easily spooked but only for an instant and is no longer afraid of the vacuum, the mop or sunglasses. She is very amusing and loves to lie on her back inviting belly rubs from anyone who is willing.
Debbie is a fun dog whose antics make us laugh all the time whether it is the way she appears out of nowhere and spooks us or the way she flops down beside me when I am cooking or doing anything around the house. She has a personality that melts the heart of everyone she meets. She is also very calm and we are so proud that she is now able to ignore the neighbor’s dogs when they bark at her through the fence.
She loves being outside whether it is sunny, raining or snowing. She rolls in the snow as though it is the best thing she has ever seen and runs around in the rain happily for ages. On the negative side, it takes three big towels to dry her off when she comes back in the house!
I’m sure we will have lots of stories to tell in the future and we hope Debbie is loving being with us as much as we love having her in our lives.
Apr 13, 2017
Adopted by Parisa Salehi & Burk Finley – Feb 06, 2013 – Washington DC
Surf’s arrival from Vafa was not only to have a dog accompany us as we go through life, but to have a piece of a place I once called home nearby. It was also a way to contribute to my Mom’s tireless efforts to make an impossibly harsh life of some of the animals in Iran a little less harsh.
She came to us afraid of city life, fire trucks specially and men particularly. She was six months old and as I write this she is 11 months old. She has made big strides. And she is still learning to trust us and all around her in the world.
She has many dog friends. Some men friends (including her dog walker) and city life while is not yet second nature, it is tolerable. She has a few horse friends and even a ferrel cat friend.
As she learns, she teaches too. Her real lessons are to be determined. But for now she is teaching me how to take pleasure on the very moments I seem to forget I am alive.
And Burk says he is learning that patience and kindness over a long haul produces good results! We are lucky to have her in our lives and hope to continue providing her a bright beginning.
Parisa & Burk
Apr 13, 2017
Adopted by Reza & Cheryl Saffarian – Saginaw, Michigan, USA – Feb 24, 2013
Dear friends; My name is Captain Jack formerly known as “Nakhoda” and here is my “Happy Ending Story”.My story begins as a stray dog living on the streets of Northern Tehran/Iran. I don’t know how I became an amputee losing my left leg, but I ended up at Vafa animal shelter when I was six months old. While at Vafa shelter, Reza Saffarian and his wife Cheryl who live in Saginaw, Michigan saw my Bio on Vafa’s web site and adopted me. As a two year old dog, I arrived in U.S. on Feb/17th/2013 in Boston, Massachusetts and what an arrival that was. While I was in my crate being transported from the plane to the terminal on a conveyor belt, wind knocked my crate down, the crate broke, but luckily I escaped unharmed,,,,only….HMMM……well…..emotional trauma. You might want to avoid that airline for your next trip; they have no clue how to transport animals!!!! Just kidding!!
After spending a few days with a foster family in Boston, I was transported to Michigan by volunteers at Liberty Train. Finally on Sunday Feb/24th I was handed to my new family in Ann Arbor, Michigan. After a two hour drive I arrived at my “Forever” home in Saginaw TWP.
Let me be honest, I did not leave a great first impression on my parents and here is why. As I entered the house, my mom let me out to the snow covered backyard. The first thing I came across was a large fish pond. The dazzling dance of the gold fish combined with the tranquility of the water fall mesmerized me to the point that I jumped in the pond. Well, the pond was much deeper than I had assumed, so I could not get out. Did I mention that I’m not a good swimmer because I’m missing a leg? Anyway, all I could hear was my mom shouting “Reza, Reza, Captain is drowning”. My dad who was on the phone with Vafa to report my “safe arrival” to my forever home jumped into action and dragged me out of the pond. Shortly after, I was in the bath tub being washed and cleaned. Pretty impressive first impression, wouldn’t you say?Later that day, I was introduced to my older dog brother named “Carter”, three cat siblings Buddy, Jinxy, and Dusty, and a parrot named “Kiwi” who are all rescued animals. Since that first day, my life has been relatively uneventful except for the corrective surgery that I received in March. My stump was too long, useless, and often bleeding and infected. Therefore, I underwent a corrective surgery to shorten the stump which has significantly improved my quality of life.
These days my hobbies include going for a walk/jog with my parents in the evening. I also like to wrestle with Carter and chase squirrels in the back yard. You know, Iranians have a pretty strong background in wrestling and yours truly is no exception. Actually, I have invented a move of my own which I call “Bite the Neck” move or “BTN” for short. The BTN is a very effective move,,,,well,,, let’s say I’m still working on it. It is similar to the move that “Mike Tyson” put on “Evander Holyfield” biting his ear off. However, I stop short of biting my opponent’s neck off. Carter and I often wrestle to kill the time and my parents enjoy watching us competing for their attention.
I know all the dogs in our neighborhood and let me tell you, I “can’t stand” them. I know, I know, that sounds pretty strange coming from a dog who shared a shelter with over four hundred dogs!!! In fact, there are two things I resent “other dogs” and “children”. Hm, perhaps I don’t want other dogs around because I want my parents to only love “Me”. Does that make sense??? It does to me,,,a pretty good psychological analysis from a dog wouldn’t you say? However, I’m not sure why I don’t like children. I don’t want to be presumptuous, but perhaps my fear of kids stems from being treated ,,,,um,,,, how should I say ,,,um,,,, unfairly by some kids on the streets of Tehran,,,who knows??
My parents thought putting me through a “training class” for K9’s would help me to overcome my fears of children and other dogs, but little did they know, nothing would help. I failed & failed miserably. They enrolled me in a class that was taught by none other than my “Vet” who performed the “corrective surgery” on my limb, “Hello”. Well, it suffices to say that every time I attended the class, I thought I was going to “lose another limb”, LOL. Therefore, I became so fearful of those sessions that I would lay down through the entire time, did not obey any commands, and at times vomited out of fear. Finally, my parents got the point and stopped taking me to those classes. What a relief, I’ll tell you!!! I’m not a prissy dog and don’t need any classes to learn how to behave. I am “Street Smart” and I think my parents finally came to the conclusion that they should “love me for who I am not who they want me to be”. Did someone ask about assimilation to this culture??? Well, I gotta tell you about some of my early challenges living in a house. You may find this strange, but I did not know how to navigate steps, didn’t know how to ascend or descend. My dad had to train me by carrying me almost all the way up the steps and letting me climb the last couple. And, he did the same thing when descending by carrying me almost to the bottom of the stair case and letting me finish on my own. After a few tries, I became a master climber. Now, I can write a book about it and will call it “Steps for dummies/doggies”!!!!
I love my new parents and the new home. When my parents leave for work, I “whimper” and when they come home at the end of a long day, I “Twirl” and whimper even harder. The jubilation that I feel when I see them is indescribable. They have to pet me for minutes in order for me to settle down. Perhaps I’m fearful of being “abandoned” again,,,,you know,,,, I’ve been there and know how it feels.
In summary, I couldn’t have written a better ending to my own life story. My parents and other animal siblings love me and I love them back. My dad and I are inseparable. I lie down next to him and put my head on his lap while he keeps petting me. When he stops, I give him a nudge and a dirty look, and he gets back to petting me again. He keeps repeating this sentence “you can get a dog out of Vafa, but you can’t get Vafa out of a dog”. Vafa means devotion and loyalty, do you dig it???
This is my happy ending story and I wish the same for all my friends at Vafa.
Please adopt a dog from Vafa or donate to their cause. My friends at Vafa need your help.
Thank you,Captain Jack/ Nakhoda
