In the pic Howie is the big one in the middle. The dog to the right is also a rescue. She was being kicked, hit, beat by her owner as a puppy and we paid him to take her away from him. She unfortunitly recently died at 3 years old due to kidney failure. But this story is about our Howie. About 8 years ago my roomate became partially wheelchair bound and we went to the pound to find a dog to train to help her. What we found was a 8 year old lab/ golden retriever mix who had been partially trained but whose owner had died and the family did not want him. He had been return to the pound 5 times already due to issues with getting into the trash and such and was scheduled to be put down if not adopted within the next two weeks. We requested him only to be told there was a hold on him. We put a second hold on him just in case. Two days later they called and if we wanted him he was ours. We brought him home and finished his training. He has been a life saver and one of the sweetest most loving dogs a person could ever meet or ever hope to have as a part of the family. Now at 16 years old he is retired and acting like a puppy half the time. Well when his hips allow him to. We do not know who much longer he really has as he has already outlived the life expectancy for his size and weight, but it actually still very healthy other than some cateracts and hip issues. Everyone love your pets as they are more than just pets but part of your family.

Carol Shupard
Norristown, PA