In 2011, we adopted a scruffy, happy dog named Tenchi from A Forever Home.  He was 5 years old at the time and had apparently had a disagreement with his family’s toddler.  We’re so glad his former family allowed him to be re-homed.  We had no toddlers – just 4 kids who loved this dog.  We had no desire to have a puppy.  Tenchi was smart, well trained and a perfect match for our family.  He loved treats and walks and chasing bunnies and retrieving dirty socks.  Several years ago, while watching the Westminster Kennel Club Dog show, we spotted a dog that looked just like him.  We decided that he must be mostly Portuguese Podengo.

Unfortunately, his big heart gave out. He still wanted to be 5 years old but at 13, congestive heart failure was causing him too much distress.  We helped him cross the bridge to the land of endless bunnies and dirty socks.  It was the hardest thing we’ve ever had to do.

Thank you A Forever Home for giving us this wonderful dog.  He was loved and will be missed.

The Meyer Family

Hello, first of all I would like to say thank you to A Forever Home for allowing me to foster then adopt my sweet girl Charlotte. She was one of many dogs rescued 10 years ago from a puppy mill in Missouri. She had lived her first five years in deplorable conditions without love and kindness until a kind women rescued about 100 dogs and A Forever Home agreed to bring them to Virginia for a chance to live a normal life. She was my first rescue/foster dog and I can honestly say she was the most broken soul I had ever seen. The first three days she would only let me hold her and cringed at any movement. She was underweight with horrible teeth and skin. I ended up adopting her and can honestly say it as the best decision I ever made. Over the 10 years since then, she lived a wonderful life filled with love and kindness. Although she had baggage that stayed with her she learned to be loved and give love in return. Everyone that met her over the years were so impressed with her ability to look at the bright side of things. She taught patience and understanding to my family but most importantly she brought so much joy to our lives. The last several years were hard for her. She had a horrible heart, IBD, Chiari Malformation, and at the end liver cancer and seizures. Through all that she fought each battle with courage and determination and all her doctors were amazed that a tiny 11 pound girl had so much strength and made it through so many hurdles. At the end I had promised her and myself that she would never suffer as she did in her first five years and made the heartbreaking decision to let her go with arms wrapped around her and love in my heart. I miss her more than words can express but I am so glad I was chosen to be her mom for 10 years.

Judi M

Hard to believe it is almost Halloween! Come out and see some of our available dogs this weekend. Our adoption event is Saturday Oct 26th from 1-4 at the Weber’s Pet Supermarket in Chantilly (14508 Lee Rd # G, Chantilly, VA 20151 – Intersection of Route 50 and Lee Rd near the Route 28 overpass.) Come out and meet find your forever friend!

All dogs and puppies listed below will be attending: List coming soon. (This list is updated throughout the week so check back often.)

Don’t see a dog you are interested in meeting on our list? No problem. Just e-mail info@aforeverhome.org and we will put you in contact with the foster parent for that dog.

Ella and Maddy, GS Troop 5433, recently did their Girl Scout Silver award project to make people aware of homeless animals and how rescue helps them. They chose AFH to be the beneficiary of their work as Ella’s family adopted from our rescue and they have also volunteered with our rescue. (We were especially grateful for their help on what turned out to be a very very busy and hectic event this Saturday. They were life savers!) As part of their work, they advocated for adopting and not buying and for supporting local rescues. They conducted educational presentations with younger scouts about how animals can become homeless, how rescues find them homes, and the importance of proper identification/microchips for pets. They had the scouts make fleece blankets for our doggies and raised money for AFH by doing bake sales and chores! They also used these bake sales as a way to educate the larger public about the importance of adoption and rescue work. We are very grateful for their generous donations and help!

This June, Alice from Troop 5484 did her Silver Award project with her fellow scouts Jenny and Madison. Their project was called Toys4Joy where they taught kids how to make animal toys like a chew toy, treat toy, cat scratcher, and more. They came by our adoption event to drop off some toys and of course, play with puppies! Thanks ladies! 

We are sad to report that we received a very sad message from one of our adopters. Their dog Nala, one of Angel’s 12 puppies, passed away, leaving only one surviving sibling, Tinkerbell.

Angel was a Husky who lived her whole life on a chain until she broke loose and ended up at a shelter, very ill, thin, and pregnant. At AFH, we nursed her back to health before she gave birth to 12 beautiful puppies. Sadly, they soon began to pass away. We eventually learned that they had contracted Parvo II in utero which damaged their hearts. The few that survived past 8 weeks of age were expected to pass away before they ever got to a year of age. Despite this horrible prognosis, a number kind, brave families chose to adopt them anyway.

Nala’s family was one of those who decided to take their pup home despite the likely outcome. They did all they could for her–she regularly saw a cardiologist and had been taking heart medicine. Sweet Nala passed away at only 2 1/2 years old. Even though she beat the odds, her story is so heartbreaking. We are so grateful to Nala’s family and the others who chose to love their pups anyway, knowing sadness would just be around the corner.

Last Spring we joined the National Park Service at Prince William Forest Park for their annual Paws in the Park. Pictured here are Cecilia with Joanna Kay, Lori with Vanessa Blaydes, Daisy with Lisa Alberti, and Freya with Debbie Ewald. We also had one of our adopters show up with Joey from the New Kids on the block litter. He was adopted from us 8 years ago!

AFH has been the recipient of some very generous donations from Color the World. Since 2016 we have received donations totaling over $6,000 from their sale of high-quality lipsticks that are vegan, cruelty free, and natural. They have never asked for anything in return, but such an amazing company deserves our support. Please support this wonderful company.

Purchases of the “Huntress, Give A Dog A Forever Home” color goes directly to supporting our work.

This summer has been a rather busy one as you can see in our newsletter this quarter. In this issue we introduce some of our latest fundraisers: Puppy N Planks, Falls Church Distillers, Marsco’s Pizza, Another Awesome Quilt Raffle, Our first Flea Market, and Juice N Pups Anyone? Our volunteer highlights are Deb Bartram, the Dutton Family, and Kristina Robertson. We also Spotlight Cecilia and Chloe, give an Update on Trevor, and say goodbye to some of our dear friends. Read all about here!

Want to get on our newsletter mailing list? Just send an e-mail to maribel@aforeverhome.org.