We love happy endings! Do you have a happy tail to share? If you’ve adopted from the Escondido Humane Society, we’d love to hear from you! Please e-mail us at [email protected].
Cassidy
My name is Jenni, and I am Cassidy’s new mom. We adopted her just three weeks ago today. Now (with a lot of training) she is my service dog. She is still in training to be my guide dog.
I am only 46 and have macular degeneration. This disease is causing progressive blindness to both of my eyes. I cannot drive at night, and within one year I will not be driving at all. Cassidy is being trained by a program called “Shelter Dogs To Dream Dogs.” Cassidy will be passing her “Therapy Dog” test in August and a few months after that she will be completely trained to safely walk a blind person anywhere.
As you might already know, a “Service Dog” is not required to pass a “therapy dog” test. “Shelter Dogs To Dream Dogs” and Catherine Sacks insist that all dogs who go through their program must be able to pass a “Therapy Dog” test. This means Cassidy can visit people in hospitals and nursing homes.
I have Lupus and get sick often. Cassidy goes to all of my doctor’s appointments. She always cheers people up when they are sitting in the waiting room. She has even been to the Emergency Room with me because I got very sick one night. She behaved perfectly and charmed the doctors, nurses and patients with her sweet eyes and gentle kisses.
My husband, John, and I want you to know that Cassidy is a great ambassador for the Escondido Humane Society. She has and is proving that service dogs can come from a shelter. Service dogs can also be part if not all pit bull. Thank you so much for taking care of my angel dog Cassidy long enough for us to find one another. She is not only an extension of my body’s needs, but she is an extension of your shelter’s love to anyone who comes into contact with her.
With tears in my eyes I say this to you: My husband and I will be forever grateful to the Escondido Humane Society. Barbara, Linda, the vet, the staff and all of the amazing, angelic volunteers. I (we) could never put into words what it means to have my life back thanks to a little stray pit bull mix named Cassidy. With all of the gratitude a heart can hold, we THANK YOU ALL!
John, Jenni and Cassidy Gaines
Callie, Duffer and Kinky Tail
My husband, son, and I adopted three cats from your facility between August and September 2008. The way to make a long story short is, “Never bring three people to the animal shelter to pick out one cat.” They were from separate rooms and had never “met” before. They did not all get a long at first, but became friends and have distinctly different personalities. Now 3, 5, and 7 years old, they are loving healthy indoor cats who have had a calming effect on us, besides making us laugh a lot.
We are so very happy with them, we later brought in two different people who each adopted the perfect cat for them. One such adoption was yesterday by my best friend, Marilyn, and she is thrilled. Your website was a great help in pre-selection-it is very well done.
I was reminded of how generous, clean, and well-run your facility is. The cat selection is amazing. We always ask for our adoption counselor, Barbara, who makes it so much easier to choose. I will continue to recommend the Escondido Animal Shelter to everyone.
And now, we would just like to show off our beautiful cats Duffer (middle), Kinky Tail (bottom) and Callie (top).
Thank you, JILL, ROBIN & JAKE
Pepper and Bailey
This is a doubly happy story about a rescue and an adoption! Pepper was in horrible shape when he was found by animal control officers. He could barely walk due to severe matting of his fur and painful arthritis in his hips. At 11 years old, he was really hurting. When the gentle folks at EHS shaved off the matted fur, they found festering wounds inflicted by some cruel person who, we believe, tried to kill Pepper by clubbing him to death. It looked like the kindest thing for Pepper was euthanasia, as his quality of life was definitely at zero.
A rescue group, Second Chance Dog Rescue, asked the EHS vet if they could try to nurse him back to health, and two months later, Pepper came into our lives. He’s not fully healed emotionally, and may never be. But we accept him just as he is, and every day we see him trusting and relaxing, actually believing it’s okay to just be a regular little dog again. Pepper appears to be healed physically, though his back legs sometimes can’t hold him up so well. But we’re going to take the best care of him ever, because we want to give this little guy the happiest years of his life. When his legs don’t hurt, he bounces around like a puppy and he loves his new brother! Yes, that’s the second part of this double-happy story. Bailey, initially named MooShoo at EHS, captured our hearts even before we learned about Pepper. Prior to moving to California, a cat named Tanka was our companion of 12 years. He got sick suddenly and died two days after Christmas, 2001. It was devastating. Finally, after years of scrimping and saving, we were able to afford a larger place and welcome a new cat into our lives. We walked through EHS to see if anybody connected with us, and there was Bailey. He looks so similar to my sweet Tanka, he could be Tanka’s grandson!
But Bailey had some health issues that had to be resolved, so we waited for him as patiently as we could. Bailey had ear mites, some kennel cough and a few other problems. He got excellent care at EHS and how he’s home with his brother Pepper and having lots of fun! Pepper and Bailey chase each other around, but they have no aggression toward one another beyond simply playing. Pepper’s fear of Bailey’s claws diminishes every day, and Bailey doesn’t look quite so indignant anymore when Pepper sniffs a greeting at him.
We are so thankful to the Escondido Humane Society and Second Chance Dog Rescue for helping us find the perfect pets for us!
Molly
Paw Club Memberships may b On March 1, 2008, I went to your shelter to look at a dog I had heard about on the radio. As it turned out I saw another dog, Sarah, and fell in love with her. Now, on our nearly third month anniversary I just had to write and tell you how wonderful she is.
Her personality is more of a Molly than a Sarah, and on day two, she became Molly. After only 3 months, it seems like we’ve been best pals forever! Molly is such a sweetheart, so full of love. Her tail is always wagging! I’ve had a lot of dogs in my life, but I have to tell you thatMolly is truely the best one I’ve ever had! She is so well trained and friendly it’s hard to believe that no one claimed her before I found her at your shelter. I just want to thank you for the work that you do! I tell everyone to check out your website and visit the shelter if they’re looking for a dog or cat.
My heartfelt thanks to all of you and a big kiss from Molly:) It was meant to be that we all crossed paths!
Terri Carroll, Oceanside
Charlotte
My husband and I came in just over a year ago and adopted a pretty little black kitty with piercing green eyes. She was called “Happy” at the shelter but we thought she needed a more distinguished name, so she now goes by “Charlotte” (named after Jane Eyre author, Charlotte Bronte!)
She is ‘mama’s little girl’ and follows me nearly Charlotte everywhere, and she always finds a spot to nestle up beside me in bed. She now has a ‘brother’ who she wasn’t so sure about at first, but who she thinks is okay now! She is a very calm little girl who will brush against any hand that is hanging down, and jump into any box or laundry basket left on the floor. Charlotte is mostly an indoor cat, but she sure loves to go out on our balcony and ‘sight see’ or just take a snooze on the chair we have out there. Her favorite things are chasing her laser pointer, lounging on her cat tree, giving licks, and eating “Greenies” treats! She also loves the movie ‘Homeward Bound’ (she tries to hop into the TV screen every time it’s on!). Her least favorite things are car rides, being pestered by her brother, and pets on the tummy! She is loved very much in our home, and we couldn’t imagine my life without our pretty kitty!
Shannon and Aaron Eastham
Bonita
First of all, I wanted to thank all the staff and volunteers of Escondido Humane Society for helping me and my family find a perfect pet for us. The first time I saw Bonita from your website, I was immediately captivated by this cute dog. I immediately went in EHS to adopt her as soon as I can. I’m almost afraid that somebody might come earlier and adopt her before us. It was great that when we finally arrived, she was still there. My family immediately fell in love with her. At first she seems “too excited” she was jumping and running relentlessly, but when we finally arrived home, she transformed into a sweet, cuddly and loving dog.
Bonita is such a good and delightful dog. She likes to cuddle and sleep in my lap and comfort me. Everybody is so fond of her and people always comment on how “cute” she looks. She gots along with everybody and she even likes to play with my neighbor’s dog. In addition, she is also very smart. We love her so much and we are grateful that we found such a sweet and loving dog.
Sincerely yours, Kirstie Magalang