Our Daisy (formerly Miss Muffet) adopted us January 25, 2006. She came to us on a home visit and never left. Although my husband was in favor of the adoption, he wasn’t sure he really wanted a beagle. No one told Daisy that. She walked in, looked around, sniffed a little and promptly peed on my husband’s favorite rug! He burst out laughing and she’s been with us ever since.

Daisy was incredibly shy and we weren’t sure of her age–our vet guessed her to be 6 or 7. She had been used as a breeder and we later found out that she had actually been shot at (she still had the buckshot in her back). Her foster dad told us she had been put out on the streets and was nearly run over (like her brother) when she was found. So, we were facing several hurtles in getting her used to us.

The biggest thing in our favor was her amazing nature. After all she had been thru, she only every showed love and appreciation. She quickly took over our home (and our hearts) and became our constant companion. She loved car rides and belly scratches and fireplaces and snow and shrimp. She gave love freely and brought warmth into a room every time she entered it. She had the ability to sense emotions and respond to them. If I was sad, she was warm and affectionate. If I was upset or angry, she became a three-ring circus. She never met a hand she couldn’t love. She made us realize that a hand not scratching a dog, was a hand wasted.

As you can tell, I’m speaking in the past tense. Daisy went over the rainbow on Saturday, October 23, 2010 after a valiant struggle with cancer. She only had us for three short years, but we will have her forever in our hearts. Thank you Homeward Trails for bringing me the happiest three years of my life.

God bless you all.

-Claudette White, Bowie, MD

My name is Nelly.

I was adopted a year ago and I thought it would be a good time to take stock of the situation. I include a few pictures, one where I don’t look my best and another which I like much better. This is what happened between.

I was dumped in a rural shelter by a lady who lived in a domestic violence situation. I was already 9 by then, and was not too hopeful about any improvements in my life. But Homeward Trails changed everything! They picked me up, brought me back to DC, cleaned me up, spayed me and pulled 9 rotten teeth out of my mouth!

After our previous Homeward Trails dog passed away, we came back to ask for help in finding another dog for our family. The biggest obstacle we faced was that the dog needed to be cat friendly, or to be more precise; it had to be tolerant of our very in-charge cat Dunkles. After the initial meeting, Dunkles seemed to approve of him, so Freckles joined our family.

Freckles is the nicest, calmest dog we’ve ever owned. At eight, he’s an older dog, but because of that we have benefited in so many ways. He was already housetrained, past the puppy crazies and is a total gentleman. Our nieces just adore him and he is gentle enough that they are able to take him on walks. He travels with us when we go to visit family and gets along with all the dogs and cats there.

We volunteer at a retirement home and we recently started taking Freckles along with us. He generally sleeps through the activities the residents take part in, but after that he joins in the fun. The residents throw the ball for him and spoil him with treats. If we leave him home the residents all ask where he is and ask why we left him home!

Our thanks to Homeward Trails, Tammy, and Freckles’ foster mom for all the good work you do!

-Addie, Chris, Dunkles and Freckles,
Falls Church, VA

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