Welcome to The Animal Rescue League of New Hampshire

We posted on "Alumni Stories" in 2010, after a month with our Sophie and Daisy; having recently celebrated our second anniversary together, the family thought it would be nice to give you an update. In short, we never let a day go by without giving thanks for the amazing gift of our girls. They are sitting on my lap as I type this; we are four across on the pillows every night (two cats flanked by two parents); and Mom and Dad haven't taken a vacation together since the adoption two years ago-we just can't peel ourselves away or trust anyone to look after our girls the way we do. We also now understand fully when parents say that they love their children equally, despite their very different personalities. Daisy and Sophie (now age 15) are magnificently unique yet share a capacity to give love that is beyond words. We are indeed two very lucky humans who will be forever grateful to the Animal Rescue League of New Hampshire for their heroic work and for the miracles they make happen every day.

On December 5th, 2009, Jim and Alice, stopped by to check me out. When they saw me they fell in love. I am not sure if it was my mature good looks or my playful personality, but it was love at first sight for sure. They took me home with them that very afternoon. Since Jim was just getting over surgery, we were a perfect fit and I became his best friend in a big hurry. I was so content to just sit at his feet and feel his gentle hand stroke my fur and rub my ears. I felt so safe and loved. They even let me sleep on the bed the frist few nights. Of course, my attempts to take over the whole bed led to me sleeping on the floor in a special bed of my own, but I loved it!

They often read my original "personal ad" to me and told me I truly lived up to my billing. I really like riding in the car with Jim. He always let me sit next to him and put my paw on his arm while he drove. As Jim recovered we were able to do more things together. We worked together in the yard to create a beautiful garden for Alice. We had cookouts and trips to the beach. We even went to baseball and soccer games and watched teh grandkids run around and have fun. As Jim got even better he started running and I got to go to some of his races. I always met new people who thought I was quite the guy! Lots of touches and pats, love those! I even got to go with Jim and Alice to Boston when he trained with the American Liver Team for the Boston Marathon.

I guess Jim and Alice knew when they took me home that our time together would be limited. They just didn't seem to care. They enjoyed every day with each other and made me certainly feel part of that joy and part of their family. They knew I couldn't hear a thing (since their security alarm malfunctioned one night and I slept right through it). Even after than they talked to me all the time and I could see in their eyes and from the smiles on their faces that they really, really loved me right up to the very end.

I truly loved my home with Jim and Alice but age was becoming my enemy. I think they knew things weren't quite right those last few weeks. I was a bit more lazy and I know I was becoming more confused. I was always at Jim's side, but I was having trouble locating him. He would come to me and touch me and say here I am Mo. He helped me not feel bad about getting old. The Wednesday before I fell asleep, Jim and Alice and I drove all the way to Claremont for a basketball fame. They wanted to see their granddaughter play but didn't want to leave me alone. I loved long rides in the car and I got a treat at McDonald's on the way home.

Thursday I fell a few times. Jim thought I might have had a stroke and I think he was right. That night, he carried me up the stairs to the bedroom for fear I couldn't make it on my owne. I laid there a while sensing Jim's breathing as he fell asleep. Alice came up a littler later and patted me and said goodnight. Once I knew they were safely asleep, I drifted off and found myself in a beautiful place where I found my master from years ago. He was so happy to see me. He was really happy to know that you found me such a wonderful place for me to live out my final years.

It's me Rose (Rosie), I just wanted to send this letter to Thank You for finding my new Mom & Dad. They are such wonderful people and they make me feel like part of the family. They take me for walks, rides in the car, buy me toys, give me treats and play in the snow with me. I also get to make myself at home (literally that is) - you will see from the pictures I have added to this email! I can't THANK YOU enough for taking care of me while I awaited for my new family.

My husband and I adopted Willow Friday morning, and we thought we would pass along an update. :-)

Attached are some pictures of her enjoying her new life. She seems to be settling in well, and from day one has followed us around the apartment where ever we go. The last couple of days she's started wagging her tail whenever she interacts w/ us. She's very well behaved inside the apartment. When she's not following us around or curled up at our feet, she's "people watching," as our apartment looks over a street leading to the local beach and park. She gets along well w/ other dogs. She loves [LOVES] the beach and runs right into the water...well, at least, as much as the leash allows her. She seems to love car rides. I will say, she does turn to us

for comfort when she is scared, which I take as a good sign of trust. :-) Her vet appointment is this Wednesday. We plan on getting her micro chipped, and in the meantime we're taking her for lots of outdoors time so she can get used to all the hustle and bustle of our neighborhood. She's very smart, and knows which car is our car. She's reacting well to sit, and we're working w/ her on stay. The window she people watches from overlooks our car, and now when one of us leaves she runs over to the window to watch. Last night I came home from work and locked the car, which beeps. First I just saw her ears. Then her head popped up. She greeted me at the door w/ kisses and tail wags.

Enjoy the pictures, and thanks for Willow...we absolutely love her. :-) Thanks again for Willow!

I wanted to update you on how Trooper and Tart (name change to Tootsie) are doing these days. They have adjusted quite well, of course Tootsie has taken over but Trooper puts her in her place when needed. They are just adorable together. Tootsie when she can get away with it will sneak into Trooper's bed to snuggle up for warmth often times Trooper allows it and they sleep together for the night. They both have really nice temperaments and by the end of the day Trooper is washing Tootsie.

It was quite a process taking on the dog formerly known as PorkChop in 2008. There were significant concerns about him adjusting with an elderly canine housemate and managing his separation anxiety. It turned out to be a breeze. I renamed him Bugsy on that first ride home. I created a schedule based on the information provided from the shelter on separation anxiety and changed my exercise pattern to include him. He was and is a SUPERSTAR! Bugsy is a fun loving guy who likes to be with his family (furry and human), he is amazing with other dogs of all types and sizes (except unaltered males), fabulous with infants, toddlers and children and gives THE best hugs.

Bugsy had a big change when I moved from Central Maine to Boston. I rebooted his

schedule to reassure him that all was well and secure with his world and he adjusted very smoothly. Then he had another big change when I moved in with my boyfriend and Bugsy once again showed what a trooper he was! (I am sure having extra treats, extra walks and someone home most of the time didn't hurt!)

Sadly, Jane, his elderly companion passed away this winter. We have since taken on Ralph, an 11 month old hoodlum. Bugsy is showing Ralph the ropes, helping us keep him inline and helping to tire him out. Bugsy is an amazing little dude and all it took to get there was a simple schedule! Thank you so much for the opportunity to care for and love him. ~ Danielle, Michael, Bugsy and Ralph

Just wanted to let you know that the two 11-year-old felines we adopted about 6 weeks ago are thriving and ruling the roost here at our house... One old gal, Bailey when she lived in your shelter, has been re-named Lady Gaga, as she is a little crazy looking but has tremendous talent as a lap cat. ~Elizabeth

We adopted CJ in June 2011. We kept his name as CJ but decided they were initials for Connor James. We have a cat (Graham) who has been with us since he was 7 months old. He definitely had a challenge adapting from being an only child to having a sibling after 6 years. After a few weeks he decided that Connor was OK and he could stay. Thank goodness that Connor is so mellow! His gentle personality makes him a perfect fit for our family with kids. Everybody loves him. Graham is about 4 months older than Connor but they could pass as twins. They share their food and water bowls with each other and enjoy sitting by the back door watching the birds and chipmunks. Connor has tried giving Graham a few baths but Graham isn't ready to be cleaned by his brother yet.

Chris and I wanted to write and tell you how much we love our kitten Hershey (formerly named Charlie). She has since grown to be a very rambunctious, snuggly cat. She's adapted very well in her new home and loves all the awesome toys she's since adopted as her own. We've found she's very impatient when it comes to her crunchies, and loves grooming her humans as if we were her babies. She's such a great addition to our home and eventually we'd greatly enjoy having a play mate for her.

Well , I think "Mr. Meow" has adjusted to his new life in our home. He's found every spot in my house to lounge around and then some!!

Funny thing is he hardly ever Meows.. ,only when he's hungry …which… by the way is a lot! My husband has given him a new nick name of "Ace" because we got him from Ace Hardware store!! Kinda fits him too , he's the biggest cat I've ever had!

I wanted to write to you to let you know how much we adore Charlie. He has been with us since October 2010. When we adopted him he had just had surgery at the shelter on his tail. We had to take him in and have the tail amputated 2/3. Once the tail was taken care of he adjusted right away as part of the family. My boys love to take him for walks in the woods. To throw the ball with him or just lounge around with him. He loves to ride in the car and in fact insist that he is to go anywhere you go in the car.

My family and I adopted Harper on October 30th. We simply adore Harper and are so glad we were able to rescue her and share her with our family. She's super loving and just wants to please you and be by your side. She's great with my 4 year old daughter and our two cats. We learned that her favorite thing is a wiffle ball. She will fetch and bring it back to you. Harper is definitely a cuddle bug and will pull herself across the sofa to get right next to you to give kisses. We just started taking her for jogs. We are taking her hiking with us next week. I attached a few photos of her at her new home.

I adopted Bruno, the 5 month old shepherd with a heart murmur, about a month ago. He is such a wonderful addition to our family. He is very much a puppy even with his heart defect. I feel at times that I have a toddler in the house as I am constantly chasing him trying to get my shoe, or a dish towel from him. We renamed him "Fenway" because I couldn't have "no" as part of his name. I think he thought his name was "Bruno, no". He has gained 8 pounds in the last month since he came home. We've enrolled in an obedience class so that I will better be able to control my soon-to-be 100 pound puppy. He is very anxious to please and gets along fairly well with other dogs we have met. We hope to improve on greeting new dogs in our class. He is learning to be gentle with my yorkie, Miller, who is being so very patient with our new very large friend. Our chocolate lab, Godiva, is Fenway's very best friend. Fenway adores Godiva, following him everywhere and sleeping next to him on the sofa. Be sure to let Danielle know that as she witnessed our initial greeting where Fenway wanted desperately to get a piece of Godiva. Our vet suggested in lieu of puppy play, he go for daily walks to build the muscle around his hips as he has hip dysplasia. We have worked up to 3.5 miles per day and are both enjoying our daily walks. The gentle leader has been a gift from God!

Rosie is doing great! There was a little time to adjust, however she is really adapting well to her new home, and is very active and eating well. She has the sweetest personality, she loves to be held and petted. As you can see in the attached pictures, she seems to be comfortable and her coat has really gotten thick and shiny! She has also put on about one pound and has alot of energy and is strong.

I want to say a huge thank you to the Animal Rescue League for bringing me and Rosie together! She is an absolute darling, and I love her so much!

Just wanted to let you know Stormy, adopted about 3 yrs ago, is doing well in our multiple cat household. She accepted the other cats when they moved in and is very well behaved. We love her!!

We just last Saturday 10/9, adopted both Clinton & Pleasant...now known as Bandit and Sam, per our children's naming, which the kittens seem to like and answer to already. They are (2) adorable and lovable (4) month old kittens from your facility in Bedford. We just love them both so much and are so pleased at how they have just moved right into our home and seem like they've been here since the day they were born. As a matter of fact, my sister came to meet them the night we got them, and she couldn't believe, even though they were brand new that day to our home, how the kittens just seemed so calm and seemed like they had been here all along. They weren't nervous and they looked for affection by all of us, including my sister, a very new stranger to them at that point. It made her want to get a kitten/cat also. They are two male kittens who are so friendly, loving, happy, and just plain the best kittens you could ever ask for. They love to play with us one minute and cuddle right up w/ you and love to be loved the next...so cute!!! We have attached some beautiful photos for you to enjoy...I think you will see why we love these (2) guys so much!!

We were so impressed again at how well the whole process went and how easy it was to adopt the kittens thanks to all the pleasant, wonderful staff that was present that day. We can't thank you all enough for your kindness, time, expertise, caring, and love of these animals to have such a great program as we have always enjoyed every animal and visit we have had with you over the years. You always are so helpful and everytime we come in to adopt, you are so easy to work with through the whole process. We appreciate all that you do for us, the animals, and for your service to the community. Thanks so much for yet again making us want to continue to adopt such loving, beautiful animals from you...you are the best!! Please continue to shine and provide such a wonderful service to all...you all are so wonderful!!

Rudy and I are getting along extremely well. He's the most loving animal I've encountered and I can't help but spoil him with toys and runs in the park! :)

We have a veterinary physical exam setup for this Wednesday. Puppy seems very healthy and is an extremely loving and happy guy.

Everything is going excellent so far for Rudy (we now call him Buddy) and everyone he meets loves him :)

He gets in a bit of trouble with his nosiness with the trash barrel and some other objects he seems to like but he understands "NO!" and learns very fast. He's already able to understand and utilize the terms "Heel", "Sit", "Down", and "Easy". "Come" works some of the time and he'll get it soon :)

I've attached some pics of the little guy passed out on the couch and having a good doggie time in the car :)

Thanks for the great experience and amazing companion! I hope you all have an excellent day!

-Buddy the Bull Terrier & Eric

Back in approximately January of 2001 we came to your facility to adopt a dog. We were taken with a pit mix named Cola. We adopted her and have had her ever since. She is approximately 11 1/2 yrs old now, goes by the name of Chelsey, and has been the best dog we have ever owned. She has been a great companion to our nieces and nephews and has been a very loving companion to my husband and I. She has surprised us in many ways. We never had a pit mix and were not sure what to expect. She was extremely friendly and hyper when we first met her. She has since aged into a wonderful family pet. She has given the term "lap dog" a new meaning. Who says a 50 lb. pit mix cannot sit in your lap and grunt like a pig!!! She has become a part of our family and we will always look to this breed for adoption. We have been wanting to send your facility a note for a long time now, and we are sorry it has taken so long. Attached are some photos of her. As you can tell, she is game for anything.

We adopted Ellie, a 4 month old Calico kitten, 2 weeks ago. The first week was a bit challenging in that Ellie found a hiding place and we couldn't get near her. She was understandably afraid and would even hiss now and then. We gave her the space she needed, would get down low to her level, speak softly, move slowly around her and were very patient. It more than paid off. She is so lovable and friendly now and wants to be around us all the time. Ellie seems to be underfoot a lot and jumps on our laps whenever she can.