A Story of Hope, Written by Zeus

Hi, I'm Zeus.  Yeah, I'm that cute guy in the picture.  Several people have told me I'm good looking.

One day I was cruising down the road(yeah, I was being naughty) and I was hit by a car.  It wasn't pretty.  The vet said that I tore ligaments in my leg that were not repairable and that my leg needed to be amputated.  That was a big blow!

My parents took me to the vet several times trying to help me, but they soon realized that they were unable to pay for all the vet care that would be needed to fix me up.  That's when a Hopes Haven volunteer heard my story.  She quickly contact the founder of Hopes Haven(Marsha) and told her my story.  Marsha is a total sucker for everything DOG and she agreed to take me on.  I totally love that lady.

A whole bunch of awesome volunteers and dog lovers raised the money to pay for the amputation of my leg.  Even though I miss that leg, I am so thankful to be alive.  After my surgery, an amazing dude took me in and fostered me.  He taught me all kinds of things....called manners.  He showed me that I need to behave and got me all ready for a forever home. 

I sat waiting for awhile, wondering where I belonged.  Then...my family came for me.  Here we are!  Aren't we great!?

My family saw past my missing leg and straight in to my heart.  The took me home and I have been so happy ever since!  Here I am snoozing in my bed!

Yep, this is the life!

What's the moral of the story?  One person heard my story.  That one person is the reason that I am here with my loving family today.  So if you ever think that one person can't change one dogs life forever, you are SO WRONG!  If you ever find yourself wondering "what's the point?", remember me.  Yes, there are so many dogs out there that need rescuing, but helping one makes a HUGE difference!

I am a testament to what Hopes Haven does!  It's all about helping one dog at a time. 

OK, I gotta go now.  Time for me to take a nap....



Until next time,

Katie

There is always hope. A lesson from Atlas.

Meet Atlas!  Atlas is a male, hound mix on the younger adult side(exact age unknown).

Atlas came to Hopes Haven last December after a terrible hoarding situation in Washington led to authorities finding dogs locked in garden sheds, terribly emaciated, scared and sad.  Atlas was one of those dogs.  Atlas has spent the last several months slowly trying to come out of his shell and trust again.

Atlas went to stay with a loving family who has worked with him and he has begun to show signs of trust, slowly but surely.  He began to come out of the corner where he would hide to receive affection, want to play and well...just act like a dog.  Atlas lives with two other dogs and gets along with them well.  Atlas can go from seemingly fine to scared and nervous very easily. 

Atlas still has many trust issues.  Who can blame him?  He is very nervous with new people and will go and hide if anyone new comes around.  Atlas will "pace" back and forth when he is feeling nervous. 

With that said, Atlas is very loving.  Atlas has NEVER shown any signs of aggression due to his nervousness and fear and is wonderful with his foster families very young children.  Atlas doesn't want to hurt anyone, he is just scared.

This dog would more than likely be put down in your average shelter, deemed as unadoptable.  We say NO WAY!  Although Atlas' story is sad and the chances of him being adopted may seem slim to some, we know better than to lose hope.  Atlas' person is out there!  We have seen so many seemingly "hopeless" dogs be scooped up and loved by the most amazing, patient ANGELS!

Will you help us, HELP ATLAS!?  Please share this with someone, it only needs to reach that ONE right person.  We have seen it happen many times before and we have hope that Atlas' person will come for him!

You can find Atlas' listing HERE!


Until next time,

katie