This page includes stories and well wishes submitted to us by wonderful families who have adopted homeless pets from the Ruth Steinert Memorial SPCA. These wonderful people have given these animals a new lease on life filled with love, compassion and family fun! To submit your story please email us at rsm_spca@yahoo.com, or visit the contact us page. Please include permission for us to add your story to this page. Pictures are always fun too!! Happy reading happy tails!!!!
Dez
5 years ago, our family was looking to adopt a dog. I did research, checked petfinder, visited a few shelters, and didn't find one that seemed to be the right fit for our family with 2 young children..
On May 22, 2004 with my then-3-year-old daughter in tow, I drove 1 1/2 hours to Pottsville to the Hillside SPCA to look at a dog I'd seen on Petfinder and called the shelter about. I was told that the dog was good with kids, etc. Unfortunately, when I arrived, there had been some kind of mix up and the dog I was interested in was apparently NOT good with kids at all. I looked at the other dogs in the shelter, but none fit my requirements or had the necessary temperment for our household.
Frustrated at having driven so far on a wild goose chase, I asked the staff there if there were any other shelters nearby that I could check while I was in the area. They directed me to Minersville to Ruth Steinert.
I arrived at your shelter somewhat annoyed by the "waste of time" and with a cranky toddler. I was greeted by friendly staff who spoke kindly to my daughter and let us inside to see the dogs available for adoption, telling us a little bit about each one. We handled a beagle, whom my daughter wanted, but the dog didn't seem quite as fond of her as she was of the dog.
I decided to make one final walk through the kennel before leaving and saw a dog that I somehow hadn't seen the first time through, probably because she was rather dejectedly curled up in the very back of her kennel, not clamoring for attention like the others when someone walked through. She seemed sad and resigned to being there, but there was something about her that made me want a better look. I was told she was a pit bull mix (something that didn't bother me, as I'd learned not to judge a dog by its breed) and came in as a stray and that she was estimated to be a year and a half old.
We met "Desiree" for the first time and took her outside to the shelter driveway to spend a little time with her. She had such a gentleness and wagged her tail when my daughter talked to her and touched her. She never jumped up. Never bowled my little girl over with her size or strength. I felt in my hear that this was the dog for us.
We adopted Desiree or "Dez" as we came to call her, and took her to our home that day. It took some convincing to get her into the back seat of our minivan, as she seemed to have no idea where she was going or why, but she rode quietly to her new home.
The dog we brought home that day was underweight (we were told she ate very little at the shelter). Her coat was dull and she seemed depressed. She had no idea how to play, despite her arsenal of new toys. But she loved being with people, specifically us. She passed all the little "tests" I put her through those first few weeks, as a mom wanting to protect my kids. Putting my hand in her food bowl, startling her, doing everything a child might do...nothing made her react with anything less than a stellar temperment.
Very soon she put on weight, she learned how to play, she gloried in having a house to live in and a family who loved her. She very quickly learned to LOVE riding in the van, as it meant we were going somewhere fun! She accepted our family cats as part of her own "pack" and made friends with most dogs she met. All the while, she never lost her calm demedanor and sweetness that fist drew me to her.
5 years have passed quickly since we adopted Dez. Our friends marvel at her amazing temperment. She has become an ambassador for the misunderstood pit bull breed and a contant companion to our daughters, now 7 and 8. My husband proudly tells everyone that the dog we adopted from the shelter is "the best dog he's ever met in his life" (and his family used to raise dogs).
So today (one day after our five year adoption anniversary) I just wanted to share this story with you in the hopes that you will smile and know that for everyone who writes you about a "happy ending" adoption story, there are many more that you create and never get to hear about.
I could not do what you do. I could not see those faces each day and know that I couldn't save all of them. Because you do what you do, dogs like Dez get a second (and sometimes third) chance, and families like us get to tell people that adopting a dog from a shelter was the smartest thing we ever did.
Thank you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. If Dez could thank you, she would. I have attached a photo of her from a family trip to my parents cabin that we took (she goes everywhere with us; the beach, the cabin, even snowmobiling in Canada once!). As you can see, she's happy, obedient (we can let her off leash at the cabin because it's on 50 acres and know that she'll keep us in sight and come immediately once called) and loved!
Thanks for standing for animals who can't stand up for themselves. Thank you for Dez.
Gratefully,
Heather and family.
"In a perfect world, every pet would have a home and every home would have a pet."
