Alumni Animals - Dogs

We are showcasing here just a few of the many dogs that the SPCA of Northern Virginia has adopted out over the years.

If you have adopted an animal from us and would like to have your pet included, we would love to hear from you. Please email the webmaster at Webmaster@SPCANoVA.org with a photo of the pet (.jpg or .gif), its name (plus name it had before you got it - if appropriate), when you adopted your pet, and a description of how it's doing now. You can also mail your pictures to: 
SPCA of Northern Virginia, Attn: Mary Portelly, P.O. Box 100220, Arlington, VA 22210.

Louie/Baxter
This article about Louie appeared in our Summer 2008 Newsletter:

Little Dog Lost -- And Found!
by Joan Hughes

Icy wind, frigid temperatures and trapped by a leash that was tangled in bushes. Not the expected conditions for a little dog who less than three days earlier had gone to a new home.
Louie had been found as a stray in Shenandoah National Park in September, 2007. He was taken to a rural Virginia shelter where he was rescued by Lisa Reid, whose kennel shelters our dogs, and was put up for adoption by the SPCA.
Dena Manzi saw his picture on our website and thought the scruffy little terrier mix "looked like a dog that needed a home." She found Louie (now Baxter) to be shy at first, but friendly, as so many once stray dogs can be. After spending a good amount of time with him at an adoption day in late November, Dena applied to adopt him.
Two weeks later Baxter went home with Dena and began to settle into his "adoption pending" routine. In fact, he found the couch quite comfortable. But it was now December, and like the mail carriers, dogs and their humans must brave wind and rain and all the other conditions that cannot keep them from their appointed rounds.
Three nights later, as Dena walked Baxter before bedtime, a gust of cold wind blew the leash from her grasp as she switched it from one hand to the other. Baxter took off running, dragging his leash and managing to stay just ahead of her. He disappeared, and a frantic Dena and friends searched for him until 2:00 a.m. without success.
The next day they went out again to search the area. There was an SPCA tag on Baxter's harness as well as an ID tag that Dena had attached. Local shelters were notified, along with Lisa Reid and SPCA personnel. Baxter was so easily spooked by wind, cars, and people that finding him could prove to be a problem. Lisa took two dogs to look for him and more than 100 flyers were posted.
As any parent can testify, teenagers will at times break the rules. Luckily for Baxter, that was the case when a girl took a forbidden short cut through the woods on her way home from school. Sounds from some bushes drew her to Baxter whose leash was tangled in them, preventing his escape. She wrapped the shivering pup in her sweater and took him home, where her grandmother called the Fairfax County Animal Shelter. The shelter, in turn, notified the SPCA that a dog fitting Baxter's description had been found, although his tags were missing, and that he could be picked up at the finder's home. Dena didn't waste any time. As an added twist to the happy ending. Baxter's rescuer turned out to be a pupil in the school where Dena teaches.
Back where he belonged, Baxter kept his tail between his legs for about two weeks but gradually recovered from his ordeal, lost some of his shyness, and became more sociable. He acts like a normal dog now, rolling in the grass, and "dancing" for treats.
Dena claims that her "little prince," as she calls him, is smart, cuddly, and lovable and the best investment she's ever made. When Dena was contacted for this story Baxter was cuddling with her on the couch. He was probably wagging his tail in agreement.

Skylar & Fawn
In August 2007, Lidia Sabin, her husband and daughter became the proud new owners of a 6 month old, wiggly Rottie pup named Skylar. As Skylar grew in into a magnificent dog, they decided that they should adopt another dog so came back to us in May 2008 and got sweet Fawn. This is what Lidia wrote:
We believe Fawn was the piece Skylar was missing since coming with us back in 2007. Every day that passes proves we made the right decision to adopt Fawn. They romp around a lot everyday, like a whirlwind, until each is tired and they decide to flake out They play as if they have been together forever. Fawn, at roughly 20lbs, has control of our gentle giant Skylar, 100lbs.Their tussles sometimes end with Skylar on his back with Fawn mouthing his ear. That this little 'street' dog from Puerto Rico with so much history fits so well into the family is a miracle. Her loving gentle nature has spread to the whole family. We are so grateful for all the people that have been involved with the Northern Va SPCA volunteering their time, talent and energy getting Skylar and now Fawn HOME!

Princess/Sophie
Princess's new family bought her along to finalize the adoption on Mother's Day (May 11th) in 2008. Don't they all look happy? Princess is now named Sophie.

Friedrick/Pepe
Friedrick was one of a group of dogs abandonned from a defunct puppy mill. Their luck turned when they were found by Lisa Reid, who took them all in and socialised them ready for rehoming. On the first day that Friedrick came to an adoption day (in March 2008), a lady named Martha came looking for a companion. She sat down to read about the dogs and Friedrick jumped right up on her lap ... as if to say "Here I am!". She agreed with him ... and is now looking into taking him to visit people in nursing homes and hospitals.

Miss Mary/Sasha
Miss Mary was a shy, stray dog who's life definately took 3 very good turns in 2008. First, a kind samaritan spent months luring her into a trap and transported her to an animal shelter. Once there, the shelter determined she was unadoptable and this is where Miss Mary's second lucky break came .. the original good samaritan started negotiations so that the SPCA were able to step in and work with Miss Mary to make her adoptable. This was accomplished by our dog trainer, Tony Orange (known as the Miracle Worker). The third change in Miss Mary's life came in April 2008 when she was adopted by a lady, who lives alone and was looking for a companion. It was love at first site on both sides! She is now named Sasha.

Here's the story as reported in one of the local papers. Photo (c) Christopher Heidel.

Sid
Sid was adopted by Naomi & Al Tapper in February 2008. This is what they wrote to us:
Here are some pictures of El Cid in his Forever Home. He marched in our St Patrick's Day Parade (below) with his cousin Shayna (in green shirt) and holding his leash is our grandaughter, Zoe. The photo to the right shows Sid with his brother, Herschel.
We adore him, and we know he loves us and his new home. He tears out the back door, runs over to our neighbor's dog, steals her rawhide and races back in the house with it! A toothless dog chewing a rawhide!
He's terrified of running water, so he lays down in our room, well out of our reach until we finish showering. I think he waits until the bathroom is dry before he goes in.
Thank you for such a wonderful and loving dog.

Chyna
One of our wonderful volunteers, Jill Gorski, adopted Chyna in March 2008. This is what she wrote about her new best friend:
Its been a year and a half since I lost Bandit to cancer. I started looking seriously since the beginning of the year for a good natured, young lab or sheperd mix. Chyna looks like a little of both, thats probably what attracted her to me. I met her when the previous owner dropped her off to the SPCA and I thought about her for a month before deciding to try her out with my 14 yr old cat and I. Except for the fact she wants to play with us ALL of the time, she is doing well. She has lots of energy and I am going to look into daycare so she can get to play hard with other dogs. So far in the neighborhood, she has one new buddy we have made last week. A young, large male sheperd who loves to play also. Hopefully we can set up some play dates.

Dolly
Alicia & Terry Moore adopted Dolly in Februuary 2008. Alicia sent us this email soon after: Hello everyone. I thought the SPCA would like to know how loved Dolly is in our new home and how happy she is. She has made herself at home very quickly here and gets along great with Lucas. I thought you might like a some pictures of her and Lucas in our home. Thank you for letting us adopt Dolly!

Stryder
This article about Stryder appeared in our Winter 2007 Newsletter:

Fate? Love At First Sight?
by Joan Hughes

Puppies arc cute. Almost everyone would agree with that. So when the SPCA has a litter of pups for adoption we expect that they will be adopted quickly, and they usually are. We also expect that the adoption will be for the life of the dog, which might he 15 or more years, depending on breed. Sadly, that's not always the case.
Stryder was one of those exceptions. He was one of a litter born in January, 2003 that came to us in March of that year. He was a furry black bundle best described as a border collie, shepherd,lab mix and was adopted two months after coming into our care. We have an excellent record of placing our dogs in "forever homes" and sometimes a family will adopt a second dog as a companion for the first. But even the SPCA is not infallible. In early 2007 Stryder was returned to us.
Call it fate, karma, destiny--whatever it was, it happened that Jenni Hopkins was at the SPCA adoption event for the first time the day that Stryder came back. Jenni is a friend of long-time volunteer Jill Gorski, and they shared the sad bond of each having lost a beloved dog. Jill's Bandit and Jenni and husband Gary's Sinbad had died within approximately a week of each other. When Jenni saw Stryder she was shocked. His coat was in terrible condition from skin problems that his owner had done little or nothing to resolve, and he was underweight. Jenni couldn't get him out of her mind.
Stryder went to Lisa Reid's kennel and Lisa described him as smart and good with other dogs. A vet diagnosed his condition as a skin allergy. He was treated successfully and came to subsequent adoption events. So did Jenni. She wanted to adopt Stnyder but Gary was cool to the idea and somewhat of a hard sell. He was still mourning the loss of Sinbad, his pal for more than I6 years, and that was a void that not even Sophie, their rescued, 10-year-old lab mix, could till. He just wasn't ready for Stryder. But never under estimate woman power. Jill suggested that Jenni and Gary go with her to Lisa's so that they could observe Stryder just being himself without the human and canine distractions of an adoption day. Gary played ball with Stryder and they all enjoyed the big dog's antics in the wading pool. At home Jenni exercised her wifely wiles and reminded Gary that Sinbad would live in their hearts forever while Stryder was in the here and now.
So that did it. Of course Stryder could never replace Sinbad, nor should he. But he was another dog who deserved a good home and Jenni and Gary could provide it.
They adopted Stryder in September, 2007. He and Sophie have bonded and both dogs enjoy long walks with their humans. Stryder still loves chasing balls that Gary throws, but he likes being a lap dog, too-­all 80 pounds of him. He's intelligent, affectionate and playful, according to Jenni. His coat is the glossy one he was meant to have, and his life is good. Now isn't that the happy ending all our dogs deserve?

Nellie
Nellie is a sweet Chihuahua/Dachshund that we had in our care along with her friend Sid (adopted too!!) in Summer 2007. Nellie was found to have problems with her hind legs that required surgery. Thanks to our wonderful sopporters, we were able to pay for the surgery she needed. Her story has a wonderful ending ... one of the vets that did her surgery fell in love with her and now she has a happy home with the vet and his family in the country. Please click here to read more.

Fred
Fred's new mommy sent us this update from him:
I'm sorry I haven't written before now, but I've been soooo busy for the past two years, busy just love'n the good life. Plus, the hound in me says, "why do something today, when you can do it tomorrow"?
My name is Fred, brother of former spca puppies Winnie, Leroy, and Cooper. I live with my adopted brother Chief and our two Mommies. I was adopted June of 2005. Our Mommies tell us we're the best boys in the world, but we already knew that. However, we are very spoiled.
Let me tell you a little about a day in the life of Fred and Chief. The very first thing we do when we get up, even before we go outside, we both run to our breakfast bowls and sit until Mommy serves our breakfast. After breakfast, Chief and I go outside (to do some things that are private), then we play, chase squirrels and chase each other.
Then we come back inside, take a little nap, watch a little TV, then after a good rest we go outside and do it all again, maybe a walk around the neighborhood or down by the river, then we rest some more. When Mommy gets home from work at night , she plays with us for a while, then after that we have DINNER (our favorite time of day). After dinner we let our food settle. THEN we get to go to the swimming pool yard to play. We have lots of fun in that yard. In the summer we can get in the water if we want, and in the winter we can use the cover as a moon bounce, don't worry, its very strong and we are never in that area by ourselves.
Well, its time for my nap. I'm a good and happy boy (Chief wants me to say he's a good and happy boy too).The only thing I hate is when Mommy cleans my ears...but I love my tennis balls and squirrel toy ... oh, Chief and I love our whole family with all our heart....including each other..Im so happy the wonderful people at SPCA found my Mommies and Brother for me. Life is good.
Thank you, SPCA, for loving us when no one else would

Ripley
Ripley was adopted by Denise in August 2005 and she bought him back to visit us at the 2007 Dog Wash. It was very nice to see Ripley again. He is one very happy dog! For more photos of the dog wash, click here.

Charlie
Charlie was adopted by his new family in September 2007. His family picked him up at our 2007 Dog Wash at Weber's; got his nails trimmed and his ears cleaned and bought him his own new toys. Here he is with his two new "brothers" ready for his new life!

Ben/Jack
Ben was adopted into his forever home in February 2007. His mom bought him to our 2007 dog wash in August 2007. Here he is having his ears cleaned. He tolerated it just fine and of course the volunteers loved seeing him again!

Rosie/Timbre and Rosa/Tara - Mom and Daughter
In February 2007, we adopted out a beautiful Husky mix named Rosie. Her new family decided to rename her Timbre because of her very distinctive voice which she doesn't hesitate to use. She'd come into our care when we'd found her at a rural shelter waiting for someone to adopt her and had been told that she'd recently had a litter of puppies that had all been placed. One of her puppies got returned to the shelter because the placement didn't work and since we already knew what a wonderful dog her mom was, the SPCA came to the rescue once more and took Rosa into our care. It didn't take long for a couple to find Rosa. They decided that she should be renamed to something that began with the letter "T" (like her mom) so she became Tara and is very happy in her new home!
Update Aug 2007 - Tara's new family bought her to our 2007 dog wash and she was happy and wiggly as ever!

DOGS RESCUED FROM HURRICANE KATRINA
When Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf coast in August 2005, there were many thousands of animals left homeless that had to fend for themselves. The SPCA of Northern Virginia was committed to help those they could. Click here to read about what we did.

REBEL & CARRIE/GYPSY
Angie Bryner has adopted two dogs from us and she lives to write about them. Here is a piece on Rebel followed by Carrie who is now called Gypsy:
Rebel came to the SPCA from an animal sanctuary in the fall of 2001, having been identified as adoptable. Little was known about his life prior to his arrival at the sanctuary, but one look at his handsome, intelligent face and muscular body told you that this was a dog searching for a very special person.
That search lasted 2 1/2 years. In February of 2004, Vince and Angie Bryner came to an adoption day, looking for a hard-to-place dog with an interesting background. Angie writes:
 At the time I was working with Karen Helm, a long time SPCA volunteer, and she kept inviting me to visit adoptions. I kept making excuses because I hadn’t entirely convinced my husband we needed a dog yet—we had 3 rescued cats, and he was concerned about how a dog would get along with them.
One Saturday I went into work for a few hours and was right around the corner from Weber’s, where the adoption was going to take place, and thought, “Well, Karen keeps inviting me. I’ll just go to say hi to her. I will NOT fall in love with a dog. I can be strong. I’ll only stay 5 minutes.”
It also happened to be Valentine’s Day, and boy, was Cupid waiting for me at the adoption. I hadn’t been there 10 minutes when I was introduced to Rebel. He was sitting with his handler, off to the side, staring at the ground. He looked so sad that I just had to go say hi. He wouldn’t give me the time of day. He’d been up for adoption for a long, long time, and looked like he was giving up hope that he’d ever have a family. I felt so bad for him. He was so unusual looking and had the sweetest, saddest face. If I didn’t give him a chance to have a home I’d never forgive myself. Karen sealed the deal by walking up behind me while I was petting him and saying, “He’s such a good dog. He just has never had a family of his own.” That did it. I went inside and started buying supplies to donate and a big bone for Rebel. Darn you, Karen!
I went home that day and said to my husband, “The people at the SPCA have our dog.” He said, “No, they don’t.” I said, “Yes, they do.” A full weekend of buttering him up and he agreed to go to the next adoption. I was keeping my fingers crossed big time.
Rebel had been with the SPCA so long that everyone knew him—and knew we were coming! Every volunteer there walked up to us at the adoption and said “Oh! The people here to see Rebel!” How could my husband say no to all that?
When we first brought Rebel for a visit, he was so terrified of the cats he ran right through the screen door. He didn’t know how to play with any of his toys and hid in his carrier for the first 3 days we had him. I slept downstairs on the sofa because I was so worried he’d never adjust and relax. But he did.
I can’t believe this is the same dog. He runs our house—when he thinks it’s time for me to go to bed, he follows me around grumbling until I do. He’s adopted one of the cats, Lou, as “his” pet-- Rebel sleeps curled up with her, and whenever he comes back from walks Lou licks all of his legs and talks to him. Both Rebs and Lou park it in front of the stove while I cook and steal each other’s toys. She waits in the front window for him whenever he leaves the house.
My husband and Rebel are like two little boys together. They wrestle on the floor together, run around in the yard, and my husband sleeps with his arm around the dog. Rebel tries to push me off the bed so he can keep the best spot! Whenever we go anywhere, my husband Vince is picking up stuffed animals—“”Do you think Rebel would like this?” Rebel has made friends at the Reston dog park and loves to go through the Taco Bell drive thru (he gets the chicken soft taco) and Vince’s mom quilts him flannel doggie beds. We got him a kiddie pool and he dives in after summer walks.
Rebel takes good care of us, too. He’s in charge of cleaning up left-overs (and once, an entire steak sub that was NOT a left-over yet—in fact, it was still in the wrapper) and defending the house from squirrels and food delivery people. Once he also felt the need to defend us against a roast chicken cooling on top of the stove. You have to watch those roast chickens, they can be very sneaky!
Rebel had been in a few shelters before he came to the SPCA—in one, they named him “Trouble”. But he’s no trouble at all. We can’t imagine our lives without him.

Gypsy Update (formerly named Carrie)
Every year on the adoption day closest to Valentine’s Day I bring our dog Rebel back to Weber’s to see his friends at SPCA and celebrate the anniversary of when girl first met dog. This year (2006), when we came back to visit there was a very tall and timid young lady named Carrie at the adoption, and I started thinking about getting a second dog. As Rebel gets older I was thinking it would be nice for him to have a playmate to help keep him active. But at the time there was a lot going on in our family, and the time wasn’t right to bring a second dog into our home.
I couldn’t stop thinking about Carrie, though. She was so sweet and she had gotten on well with Rebel, and not many dogs do! Before I knew it I had downloaded her picture from the SPCA website on to my desktop and was looking at her cute mug every day. March and April passed, and I inquired if she was still up for adoption. Around this time another family expressed interest in adopting her, and when I heard that she might be spoken for I was so sad. Well, the important thing is that she has a home, I thought. I guess another dog will come along when things settle down.
Finally, things were taking a turn for the better in our schedule and family’s health, and I was delighted to learn that she was still available for adoption! On Memorial Day weekend Rebel, my husband and I went to pick her up. We renamed her Gypsy and took her home. She was so timid around us she wouldn’t enter any room that my husband was in and tried to sleep sitting up. And she ate things! The arm off a sofa, a belt, two hats, a book, a pair of shoes, and…..a fire log. You know, one of the Duraflame ones? Ripped the paper off and took a big bite and it came back up all over the house. Four throw pillows. Her leash. A comforter. A rug. A remote control. The entire back off a recliner. A checkbook. Two gift cards. A DVD of Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Season One. The cover for the thermostat. And any and every toy we bought was gone in under 30 seconds. But every day we would take a few steps forward. Soon she was taking treats from my hand and would walk in the room if my husband was lying down. Now she will play with us and climbs in bed with us at night, and is a happy, goofy, silly girl, although we have to keep everything about four feet off the floor to keep her from eating it (we claim she’s just illustrating for us the Buddhist principle of non-attachment.). She and Rebel play tug of war and wrestle ceaselessly, and Gypsy even has a boyfriend down the block (he’s a Jack Russell Terrier and is only as tall as her knee.)
Were we expecting a small, happy horse that requires her own steam cleaner when I fell in love with her? Not really. Do I love her now? Oh, you bet. If there was ever an optimist, it’s our Ms. Gypsy.

PATSY
The lady that adopted Patsy (a very lovable lab/sharpei) sent us this Christmas greeting from her in December 2006:
Hi Everyone! It's me, Patsy, sending you best wishes for a wonderful holiday season and a happy and healthy new year. I'm loving life and having a ball checking out all the other dogs I meet on our walks. I've been especially good so I know I'll have a Merry Christmas. I really love our Christmas tree and I just bet there will be something special in my stocking on Christmas morning. Pretty soon my Mom and I will be leaving for Florida for a few weeks and I can hardly wait. I get to spend the night in a motel since it's such a long drive. I've never done that before; I wonder what it will be like? I'm having so many new adventures that I get very worn out every day and then have to take long naps on Mom's bed. I made it very clear to her that when she's not using the bed it's mine. Before I go I just want to let you know I'll always remember all of you and how special you are.
Woof woof woof (I love you).

POLLY/MOLLY
Tara Rainson of Alexandria adopted Polly in August 2006 and renamed her to Molly. In her words:
She's doing very well. She's a happy, sweet, friendly, energetic, loving dog and I am delighted to have her.
Initially, Molly came from a rescue situation. The SPCA placed her with a family and she was did well with them for a few years until they had a new baby to whom the dog objected. Sadly, they finally had to give her up, and I wondered whether she'd be able to relax and settle into a new home, but she seems very happy here. Her last family has kept in touch - they sent me her winter dog jacket and her Christmas stocking.
She loves long walks and playing outside and generally even does well with the cat. She also occasionally breaks into the kitchen cabinets while I'm at work, pulls out the dog food bag, carries it into the bedroom, and lies on the bed snacking. While this behavior is not ideal, I have to admire her ability to execute a plan.

SHEBA/GUINNESS
The story of Sheba's rescue (along with these beautiful pictures) was featured in our Fall 2005 newsletter.
She was adopted soon after and was renamed to Guinness by her new family. In September 2006, they bought her back to visit us at our Dog Wash.

SUE/MURPHY
Sue was adopted in September 2006 by Gene Weingarten and his wife. Gene writes for the Washington Post and wrote this column that appeared on Sunday, October 29, 2006 about Sue's adoption. To read it, click here.
Gene wrote another column about Murphy on Sunday, February 11, 2007. To read it, click here.







UPDATE 12/9/06 - Her sister, Bindi, has a home too!. Bindi was chosen to be one of the special dogs owned by Lisa Reid - the wonderful lady that takes care of our dogs before they are placed. She chose Bindi to be the one that she could train and take to 4H demos and the like. Bindi has lots of fun joining in with the Easter Egg hunt in 2008!

MADISON/RUBY & GRETAL/LIBERTY
Madison & Gretal were adopted in June 2006 and renamed to Ruby and Liberty respectively. Their new family bought them back to visit us at our 2006 Dog Spa. Here they are being washed.

DAKOTA
Dakota was adopted in October 2004 and his owner bought him back to visit us at the 2006 Dog Spa. He loved his bath and was very stoic when we trimmed his nails.

Update August 2007 - Dakota's owner bought him to the 2007 Dog Wash too and he loved it! We trimmed his nails, cleaned his ears, gave him a good brushing and finally a wash! He loved the attention and the treats!

MATTHEW/POMEROY
Matthew was adopted by Shari Simmonds in June 2006. This is what she wrote to us about him:
Pomeroy, formerly Matthew, was rescued from a puppy mill and he was very nervous his first day, but within 24 hours he had bonded with me and had begun guarding "his" home, barking whenever some approached. He had no problem adapting to a leash and struts around the neighborhood with such panache, it's hard to tell who is showing off more - me showing off Pomeroy or Pommie showing his new mommy off. He does an "I love Mommy" dance whenever I get home that lasts for at least 10 minutes. He also performs this little dance whenever he gets home, regardless if he has been for a walk, picnic or doggie play date. Recently my office had bring your dog to work day. Pommie has been here before as I brought him several times to meet the staff. Because he was familiar with the office, he proceded to march around like he owned the place and went to check on the other dogs. He was quite adept at riling them up and several times, we had a little party going on, everyone running around having fun. He was quite the little troublemaker. Now that he is comfortable and used to his life, a devilish personality is emerging. It is very funny to see him smile when he does something silly.
He is quite popular around town and is featured on a number of campaign websites, as he has accompanied some of our candidates on their canvasses of Alexandria. He's also been on Channel 4 (NBC) news. People are always coming up to the house asking to see the cute pomeranian they heard lives here.
The photo shows Pomeroy on a recent weekend trip to Smith Mountain Lake. He also spends many weekends at a chalet on Blue Mountain in Linden, VA and is off to Duck, NC for a week long vacation.

Update March 2008 - Shari entered the photo above in a competition run by Hallmark to find the best caption for a card. Her entry was "Another year older? Just keep smiling! Happy Birthday ". The caption matches the photo perfectly!