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 Our family adopted our sweet dog, Maeko, from A Forever Home 8 years ago.  He was 8 years old at the time, and had had a difficult life.  He was very shy at first, not even lifting his tail to wag for the first two weeks.  His gait was stooped, and he would walk as if he didn’t want anyone to see him.  I knew he knew how to play, because he came with a soft, stuffed toy.   Around the third week, I tried throwing the toy to see if he would get it.  He suddenly jumped up, ran to get it, tossed it in the air with his teeth, whirled around, ran back to his bed, and gave a happy bark!  He looked as startled as I did after he did that, and didn’t seem to know where the bark came from!  I was curious to find out “who else was in there.”  He continued to progress, beginning to lift up his tail and wag it as he walked.  Over the following years, Maeko grew more and more social, would approach strangers to sniff them when they came in the door, would let my music students who came to my house pet him, and he loved to be carried around and pampered.  He kept some of his independent streak, but overall, became a “lap-pooch.”  He had such a sweet disposition.   At the beginning of March 2022, he became very sick.  This was not the first time as he was beginning to age.  He passed away at the age of 16.  Our family was blessed by his presence and saw him as a gift from God to be enjoyed for a season.  We are thankful that we were given the opportunity to have this sweet pup as part of our family.

In March 2007 my Daughter and I adopted our 10 week old puppy, named Hailey from AFH. We chose her first name, “Olive” Hailey. The cute pup was alone. Held back and separated from her four WV litter-sibs due to a mild illness. AFH described her as a Blue Merle Aussie Shepherd. This baby was meant for our home. The tiny dog with oversized ears, grew to be a Pembrooke Cardigan Corgi! Olive, incredibly smart, was often described by others as a “person, not a dog!” Olive loved to run with her herding instincts. From the start, Olive hid her treats to savor them at a later time. Olive loved training sessions with toy rewards. She trained in her younger years to run “Agility” for fun. Her favorite game that delighted everyone was “hide-and-go-seek” with her toys. We would hide a toy, she waited, on command, would go find her toy! Olive loved hiking and her most favorite activity was swimming to retrieve her favorite bright green floating ring. She would bark and swim with excitement, not stopping, till Mom made her rest. Olive was a water dog and even loved her baths especially the towel dry, followed by towel bundling in her dog bed. Olive was trained in Good Citizenship with AKC. She listened patiently to children reading. Olive traveled many places with Mom by car and flying, in-cabin, to share love with relatives with disabilities and health issues. Olive shared love and joy with so many people. She will always be loved by myself and her family. Olive is my “girl”, my “baby”. I miss her many communicative nudges, such as, to remind me to fill an empty water bowl, her bark of excitement or alert, her eye contact to signal her needs, her kisses, her snuggles, her play, my hiking partner, my bed buddy, my steadfast love. I miss Olive. Olive passed at 14 ½ years. I thank AFH for saving my Olive Hailey and allowing me to have her in my life. Olive will forever be in my heart.