One Lucky Dog!!!!

The very best, most wonderful thing about working at the Washington Animal Rescue League is watching one of our dogs or cats go home. The second best, most wonderful thing about working at the Washington Animal Rescue League is hearing how well one of our cats or dogs is doing in his/her forever home. I saw Cadbury, the smiling dog, leave the League and said to his adopters, "Please keep in touch and let us know how he is doing". And they did! Read the letter below from Pat and Bill about their new pal Cody.

Sorry for the delay in providing an update on Cadbury. We have changed his name to Cody because he looks a little like a Coyote and Cody has a Western ring to the name. He is a very good dog and so affectionate. He seems to be house broken as we have had one accident. He sleeps peacefully all night and automatically goes to his bed and lies down when we sit down to eat with no begging for food.

We go on two or three walks a day for at least two hours. The first few days there was lots of leash pulling but that seems to be over and he now walks very nicely by our side on a loose leash. He likes the other dogs we meet on the walks and will play with them if they are willing. We walked seven miles yesterday to the Lincoln Memorial and back and he was still ready to play in the backyard when we got home. Today we went to the Shirlington dog run and had a blast. He played great with all the other dogs both large and small. Cody meet a red Australian Cattle Dog http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Australian_ Cattle_Dog and the two of them took off like greased lightning trying to herd each other. It was the first time I saw him run a full speed with out any restraints and it was quite exciting. One of the women with a small dog complemented him on being a gentle playmate. When I called Cody to come to me in the dog park he came right away with his tail wagging.

We play fetch with a ball and it works real well. He gets the ball and brings it back and drops it in front of me. The other day we were walking up the U.S. Capitol grounds and we ran into a group of high school students. Cody was like a rock star as everyone wanted to pet him and play with him and tell him how handsome he was. He returned their warm affection.

Yesterday he went to the dog spa and got a bath and a combing to remove his winter under coat of down. He looks better than ever now.

I am not sure how Cody got to the shelter but it must be a sad story for the previous owners as he is such a good dog. Please thank everyone at the WARL for all the work they did to help Cody through the period in his life before the adoption. We have been very impressed with the professionalism of everyone we meet at WARL and have told glowing stories of your success to everyone we met. I hope you enjoy the pictures below.

Pat, Bill, and Cody

Catastrophe!! Too Many Cats and Not Enough Homes

What do Aggie, Starbuck, London, Aberdeen, Aruba, Jamica, Wooshie, Wynken, Argle, Repeat, and Spanky all have in common? They are all cats who have lived at the Washington Animal Rescue League for 6 months or more! Valentine's Day marks Aggie's one-year anniversary at the League. We would love to celebrate that day with Aggie moving on to a real home. One where she will be loved and cared-for -- forever!

To help us introduce the absolutely purrrfect cats to prospective adopters, we are hosting a special event, CATAPALOOZA, on Saturday, February 14th.

The day will be jam-packed with activities ranging from workshops presented by veterinarians, adoption experts, and behavior specialists to a designated place to shop for cat unique art and books. Plus, there will be a story hour featuring cat tales and a make-your-own cat toy workshop especially for kids. Of course, we'll have refreshments. And cats. Lots of cats. More than 60 cats will be trying their very best to capture the attention, and heart, of that one special person, couple or family who will say, "That One! I want to live with that one. Forever and ever!"

Even if you cannot adopt a cat, stop by the League on Valentine's Day. Tell your friends to come to Catapalooza. We will be introducing visitors to Artimis, Gee Gee, Remy and all of the other spectacular cats who will be here, counting the days until they find their forever homes!

The Washington Animal Rescue League operates an adoption center with many, many wonderful cats and dogs waiting for new forever homes. We work hard to match animals with people, so that all concerned -- people and animals -- are happy. Sometimes that does not happen.

A co-worker told me that one of our cats was "returned" today. I went to see the cat -- an adorable young brown tabby with a cottony white belly. The cat looked good to me -- he did not shrink in the wash, his size looked to be right and he chased a toy the way a cat should. Was it that the people didn't like him? I returned a pair of boots to Macy's and pair of pants to Target because neither was quite right -- but returning a cat? Adopting an animal should be a careful, well-planned decision. A cat or dog becomes a family member the moment the adopter signs the contract.

I'm glad the people brought the cat back to the League where he will be loved and cared for until a real forever home can be found. That was the right thing to do once they decided that they did not want to keep him forever. But, what makes someone think they want to live with a cat, go through the process of choosing an animal only to change their mind after everything is already said and done and the cat has already moved in and is at home? I return mistaken clothing purchases to clothing stores but my animals are mine -- -- forever.