Hello, please meet Lovie.
She is a 6 year old poodle missing her front left arm.

I volunteer for the Merced SPCA
and we got a call about a dog wandering around town as a stray.
So I went to go pick her up to bring back to the shelter.
She was matted, skinny and covered with fleas.
I brought her home to put a little weight on her,
get rid of the fleas and have her groomed.

I wanted to test her socialization skills
and housetrain her myself to make her more adoptable.
On a check up, the vet said that she was very healthy
and that she lost her arm in an amputation very early on in her life.
I fostered her for 2 months,
through one trial adoption that did not work out,
and decided I wanted this little angel for myself!

She has 2 other poodle sisters and cat that she torments.
She gets along very well, her little butt wiggles when she walks
(which is just the cutest thing ever)
and she runs VERY fast
(mostly when chasing my cat)!
She will fall every once in a while,
but she gets right back up with a smile.

Everyone is so intrigued by Lovie
and I get questions about her all the time.
People she meets just fall in love with her sweet personality.
She is a hit both in the neighborhood and shelter.
I still bring her in with me while volunteering at the SPCA
every once in awhile so everyone can visit with her.

It's wonderful how a little 3 legged 8lb poodle
can teach you how to keep going with a smile and bring so much love into a home...

Thank You
The Cavalho Family
Dalyah and Mike (mom and dad)
& Lovie, Daisy, Lily and Meow-Meow (our furry children)
Saturday September 22, 2007

Hello!
My name is Michael, and I am 18.
I live in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois.
I have owned over 17 dogs in my lifetime.

When we went to our local rescue shelter
to adopt a new addition to our family already consisting of two dogs, we saw a beautiful Pitbull/American Bulldog mix in the lobby.

Naturally, I fell in love with him from the moment I laid eyes on him. I sat down to play with him and noticed he was missing his back left leg. I never felt pity for this young puppy because he seemed to be so happy. I talked with his current owner and found out that he was 6 months of age, and when he was 4 months of age he was struck by a car.

The bones were in a bad condition and this puppy was too young for them to fix it, because he still had so much growing to do, so they had to sever the leg.

My family wandered around the shelter,
but no dog held a candle to that pit bull in the lobby.
Needless to say, he came home with us that day.
We named him "Will."

Will and I have grown closer and closer
over these months which I have had him.
He has weaseled his way into the hearts of my family
and is my best friend.

I attended a military school in Wisconsin for 5 years;
he always hated to see me go.

Now that I am in college, I come home every weekend
for the sole purpose of seeing Will and others.

I work as a Pet Care Technician at a doggy day care / training facility in Downers Grove, IL. Will loves to come to work with me and play with the 60+ dogs that we take care of daily.

His personality is one of a kind
and the loyalty and love he has shown me
is unparalleled by any human.

I have learned many things just from nurturing Will.
The way he ignores his misfortunes
and lives life to the fullest with a glowing heart
to this day inspires me.

Michael Toland
Sunday September 23, 2007