Kool FM Pawsitive Tail of the Month - May

After two visits to the Pawsitive Rescue's adopt-a-thon, one in Calgary at a community centre and the other at Pet Planet in Airdrie, our family was able to meet Fox. Fox, a Chihuahua cross, was very shy of men specifically and hesitant to meet people. After having had two other adopted pets with similar problems, we knew that we were the right family to help him.

Fox was successfully adopted on March 28th of this year, and is doing well. He loves his dog mates Ella (mini Daschund/Chihuahua), and Tank (mini Merle Chihuahua). Fox outweighs them by 3 times so watching them play is quite the sight! Fox looks so fierce when he is wrestling, but is very careful not to hurt anyone! He tears up and down the stairs playfully grabbing every dog toy in the house throwing them for himself until he recognizes that someone wants to play too. He is quick to greets us in the morning and warms up giving kisses and reaches up for hugs. Although his male shyness is still an issue, everyday we see progress!

We know that Fox is very happy in his forever home!

Kool FM Pawsitive Tail of the Month - April

LIFE IS GOOD – NEVER LOOK BACK

THE EXITING TRIP FROM CALIFORNIA, VIA CALGRAY TO FAIRMONT HOT SPRINGS

THANK GOD – DOGS LIFE IN THE MOMENT

I adopted Charlie on Valentine's Day 2013. After a 3 hour drive from Calgary, he settled into his new home within a few hours. Charlie has become very social and is incredibly good with people, small children, and medium-sized dogs. He greets my friends and neighbors and likes to run around the house happy and satisfied – LIFE IS GOOD. He still however, is not so sure about large dogs, and the many deer and elk that can be found around his new home.

Charlie accompanies me to work and participates in several of my activities. He loves the many long walks that we go on daily. He especially loves our walks on the nearby golf course. Charlie knows every hole on the course and is an excellent listener when I talk golf with him. Soon he will begin to explore the Hoodoos and other more adventurous terrain, as the golf course will be FOR GOLFERS ONLY. He loves to hear the sounds of the birds as they slowly return to the Valley. Charlie has a fascination watching the airplanes take off and land from the airstrip here in Fairmont Hot Springs. One wonders what is going through his mind as he watches them through the patio doors. I hope to take Charlie up in the air this summer, as I am a licensed pilot. I am thrilled to have Charlie. One could not have asked for a better pet companion.

I would like to thank all the people at PawsitiveMatch for making it possible.

QUOTE: You never soar so high as when you stoop down to adopt an animal !

Kool FM Pawsitive Tail of the Month - March

Poppy came to Pawsitive Match in May of 2012. He was found at a high kill shelter in Florida facing his final days.... Poppy is a Pug X who came to PMRF with numerous behavioural and medical concerns. He is an ornery old coot! His foster agreed to take him and went to pick him up from our facility only to find a snarling monster in the kennel who truly had no interest in being touched! Lauren and her mother persevered and were able to bring him home. Poppy proved to have a number of issues trusting people and only bonded closely with Lauren. He was difficult when it came to meeting people since he preferred to play the tough guy growling and snapping... certainly not a great first impression. Our adoptions team wondered if he would ever find a permanent home with such an attitude! Poppy also came with numerous medical concerns so as a "package" he had some issues that any potential adopter would certainly have to consider...

Then along came Kirby! This is Poppy's Story as told by his adopter Kirby:

Well Poppy came to me on December 19th (AFTER 7 MONTHS IN FOSTER CARE!) just in time for Christmas and what a gift. I had seen him at the foster a couple weeks before after months of viewing him up for adoption with Pawsitive match. I had just lost Grif, my rescue from LA to distemper and wasn't sure if I was ready but thought I would go see this little guy. And I am glad I did.

Even though our first visit was more him attacking my feet and hands and lots of growling and barking for 2 hours, there was something about him and I agreed to adopt him. And it's been nothing but amazing since then.

We had to delay bringing him home by a week due to a medical issue but thanks to PMRF and Lauren (the foster) he made it home in fine health on the 19th. And he settled right in. In the next few days he learned real quick where everything was and the whole schedule of the house. With a little guidance from Bug (my pug) he was quick to pick up on his feeding area and the most important part, that this was a safe home for him.

As coming form the streets he still has what I call his "street cred" attitude and if I catch him by surprise he will react with aggression untill he does realize that its actually me that's there. The vet thinks he only has half vision out of his one eye and that could help explain a bit to the problem but we have him eye drops that keep his eyes healthy a comfortable. Overall he's made amazing strides as now he knows it's safe here and that I'm here for him. 90% of the time he now lets me pick him up, pet him and play with him (all without treats as that's how I would have to approach him before), and his new found sister (Bug) and him get along as, well, brother and sister do. They always follow each other hoping to get the dropped toy to only reverse the sequence for hours on end and have even had them caught sleeping next to each other (although rare). He does have his favorite toys, squeakies of course, and absolutely loves playing fetch with them.

So coming from the streets down in Florida and being from we figure being abused by a guy, Poppy has turned out to be simply amazing and the best gift since Bug. To watch his change from only trusting Lauren to coming into this household and seeing him knowing he knows this is his own safe haven is simply heartwarming. From the times that he jumps up on the bed on his own accord to fall asleep beside me to after a walk WANTING to be held when we get inside, everything he does just touches everyone he meets. From learning to trust the dog walker to accepting the new roommates to even now acting curious towards people at the dog park rather than bark and nipping. He's let it be shown that even though he is "gramps with the street cred 'tude" he actually is truly the most loving and affection little guy and made the house and both Bugs and my life so much better and we are looking forward to a lifetime together. The most touching moments are at night when we all lay down for bed and Bug of course on her pillows on her part of the bed and Poppy getting comfy on the other side snuggled right in.

So I want to thank Pawstive Match, Lauren and all my friends that have helped Poppy on his road to becoming the sweetest little guy that we all knew that was in there, I just figured he was scared to show it. So from Poppy, Bug and I thank you.

Kirby Allen

Kool FM Pawsitive Tail of the Month - February

Estrella was found by a local on Isla Mujeres, Mexico with severe burns on her back. They brought her to one of the local shelters, Isla Animals which is a shelter Pawsitive Match often recieves dogs from. Estrella was transported to Calgary and within a month she found a loving family and her furever home!

Here is an update on how she is doing in her new home:

Estrella is doing wonderful. We have shortened her name to Ella. She has settled in nicely.

We think that she has had quite a rough life. She has a lot of scars like puncture wounds and some weird scars that almost look like knife wounds but they have all healed with the exception of the burn on her back.

For what she has been through though, she is such a good girl and is friendly to everyone including our cat. They actually eat together and Ella gives the cat lots of space to finish eating. She does not beg at the table, hardly barks and is now fully house trained yay. Her hours were mixed up the last couple of weeks though and has been getting me up at 3 am to go but now does not bother. Oh yes and our vet has advised us that we were feeding her to much as she is a little portly but we are working on it. OOPS.

We took her to our vet for her booster and a check up and advised him that she sleeps a lot and he told us its probably the first time she has been able to sleep without interruptions. HA. As you can see by the pictures she loves to nap.

Ella has changed all the moods in our family. She is so happy to see us when we come home from school and work that we all race home just to see her.

She is also quite the comedian. As you can see, we can put silly hats on her and she does not mind and she has this face that is so full of character that it makes us laugh. She plays well and someone in Mexico must have taught her to fetch as she does this very well.

Her hair is also getting thicker. Its nice to see as she had very little when I got her and we put her in a sweater for walks.

All in all Ella is a great addition to our family. She fits right in and we are so glad to have found our match.

We are a little curious as to where she was found in Mexico. When she was found I think that the puncture scars were already healed and the burn mark might have been quite fresh but am not sure. We look at them and feel horrible that someone left this beautiful animal to suffer but we are so thankful for the original shelter and all the volunteers who helped bring Ella to us so if you could pass this on to them, we would greatly appreciate it.