Adoption Stories

Bella

Who: Bella
When: Adopted October 2010 at 10 months old.

We are a family with five year old girl and a seven year old boy. After losing our dear beloved 15 year old Brittany/Cocker Spaniel mix in October, our family began the search for a new dog to love. When I found 10 month old Bella's picture on the San Jose Animal Shelter's website, our family raced over to meet her in person. After interacting with Bella for a short time, we knew she was the dog we had been searching for. Bella is a Pug/Beagle mix with a gentle, loving, bubbly, energetic, and fun personality. Bella's previous owner loved her and surrendered her with the hope that someone would adopt her and provide her with more exercise and stimulation to meet her high energy needs. The previous owner thought Bella would be better suited in a household with children who could play with her, and this has turned out to be a great fit for Bella. Additionally, we are runners, so Bella also gets to take a short runs during her walks each day, which she seems to really enjoy and benefit from.

Bella is a smart dog who was already housebroken by her previous owners. Much to our surprise, she quickly mastered the use of her doggie door after the first day at home with us. Bella also already knew the command, "sit," and she has been very quick to pick up new doggie skills. Soon, we will be taking dog obedience classes together so Bella and I can learn some new tricks.

As a stay-at-home mom, I spend a lot of time with Bella during the day. She enjoys taking long walks several times a day, and we've started visiting dog parks. At first, she was frightened of other dogs and would hide behind me and bark at them or run away from them. But she is making progress and getting more comfortable around other dogs. She will let them sniff her without barking at them, and now she will even play ball with me while we're inside the dog park with other dogs. We've had the same progress with getting Bella used to our cats. She will now sit by our male cat and not bark; whereas before, she would bark and run away from the cat (it helps that our cat thinks he's a dog).

Bella is extremely gentle with all people and our entire family and loves to crawl into everyone's laps for snuggles. Our children are especially thrilled to have such a fun loving dog to play with. Bella and our children never tire of playing with each other. We are really looking forward to taking Bella with us on family camping trips.

We are extremely thankful to the San Jose Animal Shelter for providing us with such a wonderful dog and a pleasant adoption experience, and we highly recommend considering the shelter for your adoption needs. There are some wonderful pets there, waiting for homes.

Submitted by Tirah, David, and Family, San Jose

Chase

Who:Horatio, now Chase
When: Adopted July 2010 at 6 months old.

On July 31, 2010 my husband gave our son and I the okay to adopt a dog. Our son and I wasted no time looking for a dog via the internet. The three of us decided on a dog. My son and I immediately went to the SJ Animal Shelter on Monterey Road and had every intention of coming home with our pick. Upon our arrival I came across Chase and I fell in love. Chase brought me to tears and I immediately knew he was the one. Chase was not who we had intended to adopt but he chose us and it was meant to be.

Chase is a deaf, poodle mix puppy. He was sad and in need of a home and lots of TLC (and a good grooming). It was just a couple weeks before our newest member of our family fully adjusted to his new life. It has been four months since the adoption and our handsome, high spirited puppy is enjoying making new friends and seeing new places. He even gets along great with Leah and Sheila, our "diva" guinea pigs.

We love Chase and he loves us and we couldn't be happier! We are very blessed to have him in our life!

Submitted by Michelle V., San Jose

Daisy

Who: Banana Split, now Daisy
When: Adopted July 2010 at just under 2 years old.

Banana Split was a two-year-old, beautiful Calico girl, who had been at the shelter for some time. When she first arrived, she was friendly and outgoing. She loved to “talk” and be pet. However, the stress of the shelter took its toll, and she became depressed and withdrawn. When potential adopters visited her, she did not ‘show’ well and was passed over many times.

That changed when Ginny Burn met Banana Split. Prior to visiting the shelter, Ginny had lost both her job and beloved 13-year-old Calico. She had visited the shelter website and saw Banana Split’s picture. There was an instant connection. During the visit to the shelter, Banana Split was unresponsive and lethargic. Thanks to the volunteers at the shelter, Ginny learned more of the cat’s history, her sweetness with the shelter staff, and decided to take her home.

Banana Split was re-named Daisy, or “miss” Daisy as Ginny likes to refer to her. Daisy is blooming! She went from staying very close to Ginny to claiming much of the home as her own. Daisy plays with toys, sits on a window sill watching birds and craves attention. She also has a hearty appetite. Daisy helps while Ginny works on the computer, is a good “talker,” and adores blueberry yogurt. In fact, Daisy will follow Ginny to the refrigerator, and then impatiently wait to get that lick from “mom’s” spoon.

Daisy is a wonderful companion for Ginny and seems very happy in her new home!

Submitted by Ginny B., San Jose

Sam

Who: Nigel, now Sam
When: Adopted August 2010 at 5 months old.

We just wanted to thank you for helping us to find Sam. My son has been asking for a cat since he was first able to talk. I thought he was a little young but decided to do some looking at the shelter just in case. My whole family just fell in love with him. He is the most special cat I’ve ever met. He is so good with my kids, he checks on the baby when he cries and follows my 2 year old everywhere, they even share his bed together at night. We are so grateful for the San Jose Care Center, if not for their good care and affordable adoption fees we might never have met the animal my son calls his best buddy.

Thank you,
Paul, Lisa, Ryan and Logan (and Sam)

Submitted by Lisa W., San Jose

Albie

Who: Mr. Trump, now Albie
When: Adopted January 2010 at about 6.5 years old.

We adopted Albert(Albie), originally Mr. Trump, in January 2010 from the San Jose Animal Care Center and our lives were changed completely, for the better! He is our best buddy, and life would not be the same without him. I remember when I first saw him at the shelter, I couldn't get him out of my mind. There was something very special about that little scruffy dog. We finally decided to go adopt Albie and it was truly the best decision we have ever made. He brings joy to our lives every day.

I am glad we were able to provide a safe and happy home for a rescue dog.

Thank you so much for all you do at the San Jose Animal Shelter. And thank you for bringing Albert into our lives.

Submitted by Kathleen and Rocky, Santa Clara

Maggie

Who: Kooza, now Maggie
When: Adopted September 2009 at just under a year old.

I was always a dog person and really still am, but at this time in my life I decided that I would get a new cat for companionship. I have had cats in the past and my sister is a total cat lover with 8. At the suggestion of my neighbor, I went to the San Jose Animal Care Center to visit a cat she thought would be just right for me. When I arrived, a nice volunteer listened to what I was looking for and then helped me pick out a few cats to interact with including my neighbor’s suggestion. I decided on Kooza, now Maggie, a very sweet black cat.

Maggie has become the love of my life. She follows me everywhere. We hug, snuggle and have much fun together.. She purrs a lot, loves to be picked up and shares her toys with me. Whenever she is hungry, which seems to be all the time, she meows…even at 5am. It didn’t take her long at all to get adjusted to my house. We have a wonderful relationship and I totally love her. I am so happy that I decided to bring Maggie into my life. The San Jose Animal Care Center was really easy to work with and I appreciate their efforts in helping me find the feline of my dreams.

Submitted by Carole S., San Jose

Marley

Who: Henessy, now Marley (as in Bob)
When: Adopted February 2005 at 3 months old.
Best characteristics: Focused, good temperament, intelligent, guardian (especially from birds and squirrels)

After losing my dog Chappie, it took 15 months before I was ready take on the responsibilities of another pet. I looked on the Internet for a while and was thinking of purchasing a full breed Labrador retriever. But knowing there were many dogs in shelters that needed homes, I decided to look on the Internet in my local area. Finally one day at the San Jose Animal shelter, I came across this German shepherd mix puppy that reminded me of the one I had growing up. I went down to the shelter and fell in love with him at first sight. He looked worried and scared and all I could think of was taking care of him and giving him the best doggie life I could possibly give him. So I made a promise to him as well as to myself. I was going to make sure he would be well socialized, had plenty of exercise, healthy, well trained and most of all, loved.

Well, I believe I have kept that promise. Along with my husband, Gene, we have provided a healthy and happy home environment for Marley. In addition, he has been in numerous training classes, has passed the Good Canine Citizens test, and is continuously enrolled in agility classes. His first 6 months were very challenging for me, but I would not trade him for the world. He has won both of our hearts. By the way Marley also kept his promise - he is the best dog anyone could ever ask for!

Submitted by Dafne M., San Jose