I adopted Bruce Willis in August of 2006.  He appears to be a Chihuahua mix of some sort and just may be the ugliest dog I’ve ever seen.  Despite his being unfortunate looking I love him with all my heart.  We have been inseparable since the day I brought him home.  Bruce Willis’ lips don’t close all of the way so he has a permanent smile on his face.   He is a smiling dog.  When I get home from work he is always soooo happy to see me and I always say “oh Bruce, you love me so”  in a sing song voice and he smiles soooo large it makes me laugh every time.  He pulls his lips back as far as they go and I get the biggest toothy grin imaginable.  He is such a good boy.  On the very very rare occasion he makes a questionable choice he feels guilty and punishes himself.  I don’t even have to say a word!  I know he has done something bad if I find him laying on his back with all of his teeth showing.  It’s like he knows he did something bad and he’s filled with remorse.  It makes me laugh every time.  I can’t even get mad at him.   He loves to dress up and he has a whole drawer full of clothes.  He gets so excited when he sees me going towards his clothes.  When I pick something out for him to wear he almost can’t contain himself.  He runs around the house bounding with excitement.  When he’s wearing something he walks around all proud and I swear he’s thinking “oh, yeah.  I’m handsome, you know it…”  When it’s time to take his clothes off he gets really sad.  He will hide if he thinks I’m going to take his sweater off.  But I always find him because I just follow the sound of crying.  It’s the most pathetic sad cry and it almost makes me sad that I have to take his sweater off.   In the summer I love to go on bike rides with him.  He has his own special basket and harness and little doggie goggles so the wind doesn’t bother him.   It’s almost hard to actually get any riding time in because so many people stop us because it is quite the sight to see.  He loves it so much he grins from ear to ear.  He really is the best dog.  So well behaved and fun.  I laugh so much because of his personality.  He is a 14lb dog with a 5 ton personality.  Every morning when I take a shower he lays right outside of the shower on the floor.  When I get out he gets all excited because he knows I’m going to blow dry my hair.  He loves, loves, loooooves the blow dryer.  I have to blow dry him every morning!  He lays on the floor on his back and wiggles all around.  He can’t get enough of it.   For some reason though he does not like my dad.  Whenever I go to visit my parents he steers clear of my father.  It drives my dad nuts!  I think it’s my father’s goal in life to make Bruce Willis like him.  He buys him treats and sneaks him snacks.  All he wants to do is be Bruce’s friend but Bruce won’t have anything to do with him.  It’s hilarious to watch.   We can’t figure out why he doesn’t like my dad either.  Our theory is that dad probably reminds Bruce of someone he didn’t like in his past life.   Gosh.  I could go on and on and on.  I’m so glad I adopted him.  He makes me so happy.  He’s my little smiling buddy.  I’d be lost without him! -Debbie

I’m a yellow lab/boxer mix and my name used to be Glitter.  I was brought into the shelter with some pretty bad injuries to my rear right leg.  I lived at the shelter for about 7 months last year while I was healing and in foster care, before I was finally adopted on 9/6/07.  Although I’m a nice dog, I think people were just afraid to adopt me because I had a few scary scars and a bit of soft tissue damage around my ‘ankle’.  The Vet told my mom that I’d probably never run but I sure proved him wrong!  My leg is feeling so much better.  It’s not so swollen anymore and I rarely limp unless I’ve played really hard.  My mom worries a lot that I’m over doing it but I just love to run and play. They call me Gracie now, even though I’m not very graceful.  I’ll do anything for a treat, can demolish an 11” rawhide bone in record time, love de-fluffing & de-squeaking stuffed toys and boy, do I love my trips to the dog park!  I love to eat and have put on lots of weight since I lived with you at the kennel but am very active and have no problem maintaining my girlish figure. We moved to Seattle , WA in March and I flew on an airplane for the first time.  Now I live on an island and we’re just a few blocks from a gated dog beach right on Lake Washington !  I found out that I love the water and finally learned how to swim.  At first, I didn’t understand what all the commotion was about and preferred wading with all 4 paws on the ground.  But that one time my stick drifted just a little too far out and I had to swim for it. Now, I like to swim far out to fetch balls and sticks like the other dogs.  Who knew that swimming stuff could be so fun?  Mom says I have lots of energy, so I get to go to doggy day care a couple times a week to play and meet new friends.  The humans that work there like me because I get along well with the other dogs. They say that the party always starts when I arrive!  Since I’ve been going, mom is happy I’ve left her shoes and the toilet paper alone.  You know me, whatever comes my way, as long as they keep those belly rubs coming, I’m happy! Thanks to you and all the volunteers for taking such good care of me before I found my new home. Gracie and my Mom Jackie

Greetings, My husband and I adopted our dog, Johnny, a one year old Husky mixed male from the shelter June 2007.  I was looking for an older female, but as we all know, dogs find us, not the other way around.  His story is in how he got his name.  He "escaped" and ran through the neighborhood within 24 hours of our bringing him home, which lead to one of our friends naming him, "Johnny Quest".  Initially he was NOT housebroken and did not listen, which lead to my naming him, "Johnny Rotten".  We soon knew that Johnny was more than we could handle so we took him to obedience class.  Johnny was very smart and very willing to learn.  He did extremely well in training so we changed his name to "Johnny be Good".  While we need to continually reinforce his training, Johnny has excelled in all areas. He is especially wonderful with my Grandson, Joshua.  Because of this, he has become "Johnny Angel", a treasured member of our family! Best Regards, Sandy

I adopted Huey (Beagle Mix) in April of 2008. Huey was so thin but had so much energy. I also have a 3 year old weimaraner named Ozzie. I brought Ozzie in to the shelter to meet Huey and they immediatly connected. Huey now lives on a 2 acre lot in Chagrin Falls and can be found running around chasing squirrels and rabbits with his big brother Ozzie. After a long day of playing outside they usually come inside and curl up together for a nap. Huey loves rawhides and to be tickled. When he gets excited he does a little dance with his paws in the air which we call the Jazz Hands Dance. Ozzie finally has a friend to play with. Even though Huey will pick on Ozzie sometimes, it is fun to see how Huey looks up to Ozzie as a big brother. He follows him around as a little brother and will cuddle under him. We can't imagine what are household would be like without Huey in it.   Joe & Stephanie

I adopted Rocky on August 31, 2007. I wanted a female part-shepherd like my last dog, but when he looked at me he seemed to say “It’s me. You’re looking for me”. He was in poor condition when the landlord found him abandoned in a house his owners had moved away from at least 10 days earlier. He weighs 84 lbs. now which is a good weight for him. He loves to play in the water and run along side my bicycle. In the winter he runs with me on a treadmill but he really likes to go faster than my speed so I speed it up for him when I get off. He gets along well with other dogs so we go to the dog park in Lakewood so he can play. He went on vacation with me to the Outer banks, N.C. and he loved the ocean. I had only had him a couple of weeks before the vacation so I wasn’t sure about leaving him alone in the rental house even for a short time. My friend and I were discussing taking him or leaving him when he looked at us and gently put his mouth around the edge of the coffee table. We thought it might be a threat so he went in the car with us. He has never destroyed any furniture, shoes, or other items so he must have been joking.  He is a wonderful companion and he keeps me active. I always feel safe and comfortable when he is with me.

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