Archives for Happy Tails

A year with Lettie

May 28th, 2021 is 1 year since I adopted Lettie from HSHV. I had to put one of my cats to sleep in April 2020 and my other cat seemed very lonely. I remember seeing Lettie’s listing and thinking she was so cute there was no way someone wouldn’t immediately adopt her. I kept her in mind, but there was another cat at a different rescue I had been thinking about applying for who had been up for adoption for 2 years. That cat ended up getting adopted the next day, so I immediately went and checked to see if
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Grumpy Face, Gentle Soul

I adopted sweet Wilbur in August 2020. I was looking for an older cat and the volunteer showed me Wilby, named Kiki at the time, and said something like “He’s super sweet, he just has that little grumpy face.” He didn’t move from his bolster bed, but immediately stretched his little wedge head out to bump my hand over and over and purr. When I got him home, he immediately squeezed under my bed (he was almost too fat to fit) – but then turned right around, laid his face on my hand, and purred. The first week I had
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How to become a cat person

My last cat died before I was married and my husband had never had a cat at all. He used to have a dog. I missed having furry family enough to switch teams and get a dog, but my husband knew how much I love cats – so he agreed to be the one to switch. We found Scotty at HSHV. He was about 7 years old and was friendly even in the stressful shelter environment. When we brought him home he hid for a few hours before coming out and settling in on my husband’s lap. He has spent
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Trust opened a new world

When we first met, Aleu was very shy and uncertain of us. It seemed she might be a challenge. However, we have earned her trust and she has even begun to understand that not all humans are to be feared. She has learned to go for walks/hikes and play in her yard, especially during her favorite season, winter! She is our loving, cuddly, quiet, playful joy. We have been blessed for taking a chance with her. I think she might feel similarly about us! Aleu (LuLu)
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Learning about life, together

Teddy and I have both lived in Tennessee — he was a Love Train puppy. He was born on May 6, 2019, my first day on the job that brought me back to Ann Arbor. I didn’t know either of those things when I singled out Teddy among a roomful of puppies. I saw his expressive eyes and the small bald spot on his back — maybe he got into a puppy brawl, because the fur grew back later — and decided that he was it. Best decision I ever made. Is it fate when everything aligns, or are we
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Best Friends

My sister Alex and I decided to stop in and browse the animals one afternoon. One dog in particular caught our eye. She was petite, oddly quiet among her howling companions, and had the sweetest brown eyes I’ve ever seen. We were asked if we wanted to take her for a stroll, and we figured why not?! It was a sunny day and a dog walk would be fun. What we didn’t anticipate is that we would be unable to stop thinking about her all night long. We rushed back the next day—simply put, this was our dog. We were
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Life of Riley

In April 2020, we adopted Riley. She was 103 pounds, had bald spots the vet didn’t think would grow back and she was suffering from allergies. She loved to walk, however she was tuckered out after one mile. For the first few months, Riley was at the vet every few weeks for allergies and infections from constant licking. Flash forward one year later.. Riley is 80ish pounds, her coat is healthy, her hair grew back and with the help of some homeopathic remedies, her allergies are under control. Riley can now walk for miles and recently went on a 3
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We Waited for the One

I’ve wanted a cat all my life. When my fiancé and I got together, there were some allergy issues with our children and we couldn’t have an animal. Flashforward, our children are now teens and allergies are almost non existent! We applied to dozens of shelters and rescues and I often visited HSHV website for new animals that would work for our family. I never heard back from any of the places we’d applied to. We had several heartbreaks, when animals we fell in love with were adopted from right under us. I thought we may never find a cat.
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The center of our world

We adopted Pasha in December 16, 2017. After a couple of shy kitty days, he discovered a family welcoming him into every part of our lives. He had been declawed before we adopted and limps from the arthritis this has caused (Paw Project covered x-rays to rule out bone fragments causing his limp). So, he spends a lot of time cuddling with us. We get tv time, sleep time and even co-worker kitty time in the office! Such a sweet kitty. We absolutely adore him. Thank you so very much, HSHV! We love him dearly.  
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Dixie steals our hearts

My boyfriend was moving into his dad’s house and leaving behind his dog, who was his best friend, at his mom’s house – only because she wouldn’t let the dog come with. We went on a whim to a different humane society but they didn’t have puppies, so we went to HSHV. Before we arrived we looked online and found no puppies, but when we got there we had many different options. We went down the puppy room and there she was, sitting in her cage alone. My boyfriend bent down to pet her and she basically wrapped her arms
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