In Memory
Welcome to A Forever Home Rescue Foundation’s Memory Page. On this page we honor all of the wonderful dogs who have shared their lives with us. Although they are gone from our lives, they are never far from our hearts. Please email your tribute and photo to info@aforeverhome.org.
A donation …in loving memory of Zeus, adopted by Jess and Michael…Thank you for taking a chance on a couple still in college and allowing them to adopt that sweet puppy. He knew love everyday of his life. His life ended way too soon (cancer of the spleen) but everyday was a happy one for him (and for them!) He accompanied them to brunch, on hikes, on camping trips, and to the beach. He was loved by all who met him (family, friends, neighbors, and strangers on the street) and tears were shed by many when he went to the rainbow bridge. I’ve included a few pictures. Hopefully they capture the joy and love in his life. Kendra, Mike, and Shannon.
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.
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.
Hudson said his final goodbyes to us on February 3, 2022. He was just over 15 years old and we considered him to be our first child. My wife and I found Hudson at a puppy adoption event in 2007. He quickly adapted to his new home and made us part of his pack. Even when we accidentally left the door open after leaving the house, Hudson knew it was his job to wait patiently for our return—even if that meant waiting in the middle of the driveway for a few hours. Who’s a good boy??!!
Our first “human” child, a boy, came in March of 2008. Hudson wasn’t sure what this new cry-y thing meant to his house, but he quickly took on the role of protector: sleeping by whatever chair his boy was sleeping and his crib at night. They also had a bit of sibling rivalry to get into one of the parent’s laps or even when Hudson hip checked his learning to walk toddler. Ultimately, the child was admitted to the pack but clearly the pecking order was still up for debate.
When Hudson was almost 8, his second human sibling arrived. No one in the house was more excited when we brought her home. All four paws leapt off the ground trying to get a sniff when we first carried her in. He again took on the role of protector.
Hudson was the most gentle creature. He could have the most juicy bone in his mouth, but if you put your hand on it, he would let it go. He knew when you were sad and would come put his head on your lap. Only two times in his life did I hear Hudson give such a snarl, such a growl, such a bark that even I was taken aback: both were when he thought some other dog was threatening one of his kids. He was fiercely loyal.
He was a rare lab that didn’t gobble down all of his food, eating only when he was hungry. If a bowl was empty, he would paw at it to let you know to fill it so that he could sniff it and walk away. He learned to ring a bell to go outside and he loved to play fetch and adored running in the snow. It was running in the snow when he first tore his ACL. He didn’t like the “cone of shame” after the surgery, but he recovered well, but was a little more cautious in the snow after that. It was a snow storm a year ago that signaled his decline. He injured that leg once again at the age of 14 and a year later, at 15 and with arthritis, his health ultimately declined.
He was our first child. He was a lovely soul. He will always be in our hearts.
Hello Maribel, Just a quick note to let you know our beloved Peaches passed away last Thursday Feb 24. She was with us for 13.5 wonderful years. While we are presently heart-broken, we have so many wonderful memories of her during the short time she was with us to get us through her passing. Thank you so much for letting her join us!
Gary & Linda
I was the lucky one to adopt “sassy britches” from your organization 11 years ago. I should have known I was in for a wild time with this pup. I changed her name to Maggie Moo (see the resemblance in the photo) but always thought her original name captured her personality. To the people that were lucky enough to call her a buddy she was the sweetest dog who had a whole body tail wag that could practically knock you over. Some dogs have a smile and hers was one of the biggest. It would always brighten the day. She just wanted to be around us – whether it was a long hike or lazy afternoon. She will be missed terribly. Thanks to the organization that connected me to such a companion.
On a beautiful sunny spring afternoon in 2008, I met Ash for the first time. He was so shy and quiet, and I fell in love with him immediately. I grew up with dogs, and had always wanted one since I had moved out on my own. My oldest daughter, Lily, was born Oct of 2007, and I wanted her to experience growing up with a dog. Together Ash and Lily grew, until my youngest daughter, Abigail, was born Feb of 2011. He was immediately just as protective of her, as he was Lily. He always stayed by their side, keeping an ever vigilant watch of them both. He was always there to play with them, or to cuddle on the couch. He was always there to lick their tears, or great them enthusiastically whenever they came home.
Dear AFH…. I am a big fan of your organization, and have adopted a couple dogs from you over the years…. Emily….cared for Ovie ….until he became ill with an aggressive form of bone cancer. We had to send him over the rainbow bridge on Dec. 23. My Vet was unable to come to him when the time came, so we called Peaceful Passage, who sent a wonderful vet to us and helped Ovie pass at home. He was 14 years old, and was a wonderful protector/pet/soother to Emily for all of those years. Ovie was dog aggressive, but got along with his pal Holtby (seeing a name pattern here?), and didn’t get along with a lot of people, but those of us he loved, he loved fiercely. He was a wonderful dog, and I am glad my daughter had him and his loyalty for so long. I am sure that when she is ready to look for a pal for Holtby ( a stray found along the side of I270), she will come to you guys first. Thank you for all that you do.
It’s with the deepest pain imaginable that I notify you of the passing of my only son, best friend and companion. There are no words to express my sadness and desolation, I miss him every second 24/7. I adopted Nugget from AFH March 8, 2010. He was the Alfa of the twelve puppies named after the California Gold Rush litter fostered by Marilyn Christensen.
Thanks again for allowing me to take care of wonderful Nugget!!! 😭
We adopted Caroline (kept her original name) from AFH in February 2012 when she was 10 weeks old. Our daughter Tara (7 at that time) picked her out of the litter and just fell in love. Caroline quickly had us all wrapped around her paw and quickly became the ruler of the house. Shortly after we adopted her our daughter became ill, for which we later found out she had brain cancer. Caroline knew that Tara needed her and would be right there with her when she wasn’t feeling well. She let Tara use her as her pillow and stayed by her side throughout it all. We later added another dog to our family and Caroline quickly took over the mother role and showed Annie the ropes on how to do things. Shortly before Caroline turned 10 (11/20/2011) her back hips gave out and she was no longer able to move on her own. So with heavy hearts we had to let her cross the rainbow bridge on 11/22/2021. We miss her so very much but know she is no longer in pain. Thank you to AFH for bringing Caroline into our family.
Sadly, just shy of a year after the passing of our wonderful girl Ava, we said a tearful goodbye to her sweet brother, Moe, and welcomed him to the Rainbow Bridge. Moe has been a wonderful goofball of a dog, and became a large and strong boy we could cuddle with when we needed it. He grew tall enough to almost look us in the eye in his prime and on his hind legs. He loved to run in our yard, and play with his brother and sister very much. In his last few years, his back legs became a bit unsteady, but he still loved to accompany us on walks in the neighborhood even in his last days. He had no end to the love he gave to us, and was a devoted companion to Deb and I, especially during the pandemic when we could stay at home and give him and the other fur babies lots of love and attention. Just after Thanksgiving we brought him to our vet because of digestive issues and found that he had substantial cancerous tumors throughout his abdomen. We had some peaceful time with him, and told him we will always love his sweet face. Thank you, AFH for bringing Moe (as well as Ava and Shep) into our family.
In 2008 we adopted one of Sadie’s 9 pups. He was the last to get adopted and we were so glad that the best was saved for last. Moose has been the best dog from the moment we brought him home at 12 weeks. He has always been loving, calm and relaxed. He filled our hearts with unconditional love. He loved everyone he met. The love between him and his dog brother that we brought into the family later was also so amazing. Moose was such an important part of the family and we were sad to have to say good bye to him in October. Our hearts ache without him but know that his tired body needed to run free with his other dog brothers and sisters that left before him. Thank you AFH for bringing our perfect Moose into our lives. He will never be forgotten.
The Smith Family
After sixteen years with our beloved Holly, we have come to believe that the name “A Forever Home” should really say something about what our pets have become to us rather than what we signed-up to give them; something more along the lines of “Forever in Our Hearts”. Holly came into our lives in the Autumn of 2005 during an AFH adoption event at PetSmart in Chantilly Virginia and immediately became one with our family.
Side-by-side growing-up with our two sons, Holly became the third wheel with everything they did except watersports, far too risky behavior for this proper lady. When 34 guinea hens made their way into our life in 2013, Holly’s Border Collie instincts kicked-in and she was determined to set the boundaries for their free-raging activities and wouldn’t take no for an answer until they flew to treetops, waiting the coast to be clear of that strong-willed and determined dog.
Holly was an unscripted addition to our family, and we all became Holly-centric over time basing many of our family decisions and directions with Holly in mind. We were never without a wagging tail or a smile looking for a treat; Holly was always ready to play when we were (and even if we weren’t). Over the years Holly touched many lives and most assuredly was greeted by her grandfather on the other side whom she shared a home for almost a decade. We can almost hear him saying “Hello Dog”. Planting our garden will never be same without Holly’s pawprints in the freshly groomed soil but memories like those will stand the test of time.
Thank you to AFN for not only the opportunity to give Holly a forever home, but for the opportunity to have Holly in our family and memories forever.
Tom, Cathy, Barrett and Griffin Cosgrove, Georgetown Delaware
AFH, In the fall of 2006, we rescued Tyson, a beagle mix puppy from A Forever Home Rescue Foundation. Little did we know, he rescued us. He was the only black beagle in his litter and his mild temperament drew us to him. We are saddened to report that Tyson passed away on Oct 28, 2021. Tyson was a little over 15 years old and brought love and joy to our family every day in a way, only the best dog ever could. We miss him immensely. Rest in Peace, Tyson. July 4, 2006 – October 28, 2021.
Dear AFH,
My name is Maggie…I adopted a wonderful great dane/ airedale terrier mix from you about 12.5 years ago. She was an amazing creature, and made a wonderful family member. She was a great nana dog to my daughter, who is now 18. Unfortunately, I had to have her put down about 3 weeks ago due to multiple organ failure. Dr. Eeg came to my house and and we eased her over the rainbow bridge here at home. She is sorely missed.
Thank you for all you rescue work, Maggie – AKA Lola’s mom
We adopted Rocky (formally Benton) from A Forever Home in August of 2010. We knew immediately when we saw him, that he was our dog. Since then he was with us for every one of life’s big milestones; marriage, home ownership, the birth of our three children. He enjoyed every family vacation with us; we honestly didn’t go anywhere without him. He was a fixture in our community, everyone just adored him. He loved his food, walks, car rides, but most importantly, he loved his family. As long as he was with us, he was happy and content. He was the most loyal, sensitive and loving companion. Rocky was diagnosed with Cancer (Lymphoma) on his 10th birthday, June 16th, 2020. After receiving Chemotherapy, he enjoyed 8 months of remission, before relapsing. We lost him May 6th, 2021. The loss of Rocky was profound. He might very well have been the most loved dog, ever. We are so thankful to A Forever Home for bringing us together. He was our missing puzzle piece, and am intricate part of our family. We miss him greatly.
If you have a pet, show them some love in honor of Sammy. Sammy was the best dog I could have ever asked for. From 4th grade through grad school he had been with me and my family- through SO much. He loved to play hard (frequently running into things, especially with one of his favorite toys- a green frog half his size) and nap hard. He requested dinner early relentlessly. He always did circles in excitement and gave you a snarled smile while wiggling his whole body when you came home. I will miss him so much. May he rest in peace, the best boy.
