Raven's Story -

We were looking online at various shelters for a dog for a friend. We found the Apache Junction Animal Shelter and saw that they had 18 cages for animals brought in. The shelter was considered a "kill shelter" which meant when they ran out of cages the next in line would be put to sleep. I saw this adorable puppy move from number 18 to number 1 in about a week as I watched the website daily. She had the sweetest face and on that Friday she was number 1 and that meant when the next dog was brought in she would be put to sleep. It was about 4pm and I was still working a regular job and my husband called and asked where in line was that the dog we had been watching (mind you at that point we had 4 dogs and personally were not looking for another dog). I told him she was number 1 and he said call the shelter and see if we can go get her. I called and they stated they closed at 5 and I told the shelter that we were over an hour away and they stated that they would stay open until we could get there that night. We drove there through rush hour traffic and when we arrived the man at the shelter was extremely happy to see us. He said that he really liked her and actually had been pushing her back in line since he didn't want to put her to sleep but there is only so long you can hold them back.

We walked into the dog area and I immediately start crying because everyone wanted to come home with us. We walked over to Raven's cage and she was about 3 months old and all she wanted was love. We picked her up, paid her adoption fee and brought her home.

Raven thanks us every day and will often catch you when you are bent over and give you a big slobbery kiss of appreciation. She loves to watch and will sit on the patio just waiting for some action. She waits for her daily walk and when the clock hits 4pm she gets antsy and starts pacing and looking at her leash.

Raven is 6 1/2 year old.

Thor's Story -

It was early Saturday morning and we were heading out for a day of shopping about an hour from our house. On the way, there was a local flea market so we stopped to pick up some fresh fruit and veggies. As we made our way through the flea market I came around a corner and there he sat - at that time a very shy 1 year old boy at a local rescue. He had a little "adopt me" outfit on and he immediately reminded me of a mix between 2 of our dogs and our 11 1/2 yr old rottie that had passed away 6 weeks prior. We visited with him but, since it was so close to Storm's passing, I wasn't sure I was ready for another dog. We took a card and went on our way shopping. For the next 3 hours all we did was talk about him and decided to cut our shopping trip and head back to the flea market to get him.

We arrived only minutes before their closing and walked to the rescue area. He was no where to be found. I asked about him and they said, yep he's here - he's just been sitting under a stage away from everyone. We looked under the stage and he came out and we took him for a walk. Funny thing is he wanted nothing to do with us. He wouldn't look at us, didn't really want any love and just stood there. We decided to take him as we knew in our hearts he was just lonely and needed a good home.

We got him home and for the next few days he just sat by the gate looking away and wanting to be somewhere else. Then he watched the other dogs and something clicked that this may be a pretty good home. He started to trust us and now he is the most loving dog you could ever meet. He follows me non-stop and sits next to me all day. He hasn't wanted to "leave" since those first few days and we're so glad he decided to live us.

Rio's Story -

We had just lost 3 family pets in a span of less than 6 months due to old age. Our 17 year old cat passed away and we went to the crematorium. The crematorium was next to the pet shelter but the last thing I wanted to do was look at a dog or cat. We had 3 dogs at home and I was ok with that. A week later, we had to go and pick up her cremains. I went in and picked up her ashes and as I opened the door to leave I heard a very loud howl. I asked the lady behind the counter if I could go in and look and of course she said yes.

I walked in and puppy number one was sticking his paws out of the cage and licking like crazy. As I walked down the row, he kept trying to look at me and bark. I went to the truck and asked Rich if he wanted to come in a take a look at this cute puppy. He came in and we brought the puppy out of his cage. I have never seen a dog pee so much - he just couldn't stop. I went in and asked for a roll of paper towel and the lady gave me a square and I said maybe you don't understand how much he's went and she looked in the room and gave me a mop bucket!

We told her we would take him and she said he needed to stay there until he was neutered. Every day for a week we went and visited him as the vet was backed up and they couldn't get the neuter done for 7 days. Each day he peed up the floor and we mopped it up. We finally got to bring him home and he fit right in. He no longer pees even though we continue to call him Rio Peo and is a dog that has to please everyone. He wants to be the star of the show and loves to play.

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