Hubbards Hounds Dog Rescue

Do you want to share your experience of adopting from Hubbard's Hounds? Please send an email to the address provided and we will do our best to get all positive stories up for people to see. susan@hubbardshounds.com. Please be sure to include pictures and put Adopters Corner in the subject line that gives me permission to post it.

 BARNEY 

 This is Barney who was adopted in Oct last year to a very dear friend and neighbor who Sue has known her whole life. She is a widow and was lonely living alone, she just wanted a friend to share her life with and Barney turned out to be the perfect friend. This is part of a letter we received which reenforces why we work so hard at what we do day in and day out. We live to have these happy endings! A little background, Barney is being "blessed" and his owner needed his birthdate so I had sent her a little "birth notice" for Barney. "Dear Sue, You will never know just how very pleased I was to receive your letter in the mail. It was interesting to hear about his rescue in NYC and to learn I rescued him also. You better believe he is very loved!!! and April 10th is his official birthday as of today. He knows where to sit and gaze at me when he wants to go outside to relieve himself. Also cuddles next to me at night, LOVE IT!!! Thanks to Hubbards Hounds, I am a very happy woman again, Thanks to you and my Barney" Sincerely Georgia These are the kind of stories that make our rescue efforts worth every bit of heartbreak we see day in and day out. Whenever we get discouraged, we only need to come to this page and read these stories to know whey we do it! Thank you Georgia for giving Barney the home he deserves so much!   MEG 

I am a recent new mother of a Hubbard's Hound rescue dog and I cannot stop talking about her.  Rather than bore my friends silly and inundate all my new friends at Hubbard's Hounds with the same old stories, I thought it might be helpful for me to share some of my experiences and convince some of you out there on the joys of adoption.

First of all, let me introduce myself.  My name is Linda and I am a city dweller and a working woman living in a studio apt.  I knew a puppy was not for me, and the rescue groups in my immediate area thought I would make a fine dog owner if I would only move to the suburbs and buy a house with a fenced in yard.  Having a dog requires alot of sacrifices, but that was beyond my means.  I will make a long story short, and skip to Meg, the love of my life.

Meg is a 4 to 6 year old poodle mix who spent her entire life in a puppy mill.  This was not exactly my ideal dog.  I was  only looking at poodle mixes, but I wanted a 2 to 4 year old re-homed dog who would bound into my home, jump on my lap, and lick my face, and love me instantly.  But there she was -- my Meg -- on the pages of petfinder.com with the biggest, saddest, blackest eyes I had ever seen.  I fell head-over-heels in love.  But as we all know, the road to love is not easy.  I wrote to Susan who passed me on to Kim P, Meg's foster mom.  Kim and I spoke and emailed for over a month before she was sure I was up to the challenge. 

And a mill dog is a challenge, but also the greatest joy.  When I first met Meg she would run in circles to get away from me.  Everything except other dogs scared her.  Remember, she'd lived in a cage for 5 years and had probably been bred twice a year.  No one had ever scratched her behind the ear or fed her a treat or told her what a good girl she was.  For the first  2 days in my home she stayed in her crate and would not come out.  I had to crawl half-way in to get her out to walk her.  The thing that always fascinates me about Meg, is that after all the horrors that have been inflicted upon her by humans, she does not have a mean bone her body.  I terrified her those first 2 days, but she never tried to retaliate.  On the 3rd day, my friend came over with her dog, and Meg ventured out  never to return to the safety of her crate. 

I've had Meg now for almost 4 months, and every day with her is a new adventure.  She is still not like other dogs.  She doesn't know how to play and she's shy about showing affection, although she accepts it readily.  She loves all dogs and is learning not to be scared of people.  She goes for walks with me, and even rides the subway with me.  I take her to the hairdressers, and this once terrified little dog who jumped at any strange sound sleeps in my lap while I have my hair blown dry.  We go to the dog park where she frolics with other dogs, but always turns her head to make sure I'm there.  Mill dogs are not for everyone.  Some are certainly not for families with small children, but if you're patient, a natural born caregiver and teacher, then a mill dog will be the greatest gift you can give yourself.  You'll be teaching a dog how to become a dog again, teaching a frightened animal how to breathe free, and  most importantly how to love.

 LILY
 
 This is Tim and Kallie, Tim and Jenn (not pictured) adopted Kallie in August of 2008. When Kallie came to us, she had been starved and was so thin. She was still thin when Tim and Jenn adopted her, but had already come along way. A year laer, her new name is Lily and she is a normal, happy, little sister to Daisy, loving dog! Tim and Jenn were married on August 1st and in lieu of favors this is what was on the table for everyone! They made a $500 donation to Hubbards Hounds in honor of Lily and we want to say THANK YOU! What a beautiful and thoughtful gesture on Tim and Jenn's part in love for Lily and Daisy who are really their children right now. I couldn't have hand picked a better home for Lily and I'm so happy that Tim and Jenn found her on our site.  Congrats to Tim and Jenn on their wedding and many, many happy years to come! I will post the wedding picture when it comes! Thanks again!   
  MADDIE  

Hi!
My name is Maddie and I wanted to let you know how grateful I am that Hubbard's Hounds rescued me from that bad puppy mill!! I have been with my new family for 7 weeks now and I just wanted to share what's been happening to me since I arrived at my new home.

My new Mom, Dad and brother Cooper came to pick me up at my foster mom, Jen's house. I wasn't sure what was in store for me, I was  just starting to get used to my new surroundings; now another change! My mom and Cooper sat in the back seat with me, Cooper had his back to me the whole way home as if I wasn't there. Maybe he's not going to like me!

When we go into the house the first thing Cooper wanted to do was play. I didn't know what play was having always been in a cage. My mom bought me a bed just like I had at Jen's house. Cooper decided to crawl into it first, he wanted to let me know he was top dog. That was ok with me,since I was real scared and unsure. I will let him tell me how to become a real dog. Eventually Cooper let me crawl in the bed with him, it was so comfy to be next to him.

The next few days brought many new experiences, some good, some not so good. I was still very unsure of my new mom and didn't want her around when I ate or went to the bathroom. The food she fed me was real good and if I was left alone I would eat. I didn't like the leash and know what going for a walk was so mom bought a carrier that she put me in when we walked Cooper. I got used to it  and really got to enjoy seeing the new sights. I feel most comfortable around Cooper, I'm still unsure of my mom and dad. I know that they feed me and take care of me, I just haven't great experiences with humans in the puppy mill.

Now 7 weeks have passed and the best thing happened last week!! We always go to the dog park on Sundays, me in the carrier with mom and Cooper runs on his own.Last Sunday Mom couldn't go so dad took us . He's more daring than mom (she tends to worry) and he let me down to run!! I  followed Cooper everywhere, it was so much fun. It was so great to finally feel free! We walked for a long time, sometimes I had to run to keep up with Cooper, I got so fast the more I ran!! Now we have gone back 3 more times, I love it I even can walk on a leash following Cooper on our daily walks.I really feel like what a real dog should feel like....GREAT  Cooper and I even play together now and you can't feel my ribs and spine anymore with all the good food I eat.

I know mom and dad are waiting for the day that I will come to them, right now I need my 3 ft comfort zone. I hope they know that I do love them and in time trust will come and we will be so happy..

So thanks again for rescuing me, I've  enclosed pics of me and my  family...ps I'm the smaller one  the purple harness
Love, Maddie Ribnicker
2 yr. Bichon-Poo