Success Stories 2007

Last Updated: 1/4/2008

We have lots of success stories, so if you'd like to see previous year's successes, please click on the year links below.

To view our 2008 success stories, click here.
To view our 2007 success stories, click here.
To view our 2006 success stories, click here.
To view our 2005 success stories, click here.
To view our 2004 success stories, click here.
To view our 2003 success stories, click here.
To view our 2002 success stories, click here. 
To view our 2001 success stories, click here.

 

Jake (a.k.a Sherlock)

Hello,

We just wanted to drop a line to thank you again and say what a great addition Jake / "Sherlock" has been to our family. Jake's mellow personality has made him Best Friend to Bailey, our chocolate Lab, even our 2 cats like him. He was pretty thin when we adopted him, he has filled out and has a beautiful coat. He definitely likes getting treats from our children. His favorite activity is taking long walks with us.

~Terry & Cindy Sykora

Sierra

Hi all you L.E.A.R.N. fans!!  It’s Sierra checking in to give everyone an update on how I’m doing in my new home as it’s been a little over one year since my adoption.  For starters, I’ve lost at least 20 lbs. and I’m pretty fit if I do say so myself.  I always had the juice but now I’ve got stamina as well!  My brother SaM and I get along great and I also have a boyfriend named Finnegan.  He is my neighbor and is a chocolate lab.  I even give him kisses once and awhile.  As a general rule I’m good with other dogs once I know them; although I really don’t like them at all when first introduced and especially if they get in my face.  I want everyone to know that I’m the queen!!  If the new dog goes on a walk with us, it gives me enough time to feel that they are part of my pack and I’m then tolerant of them even if they are young and obnoxious.  You know the famous TV behaviorist’s saying -  “Dogs that walk together get along!”.  I have definitely made progress in this area and mom continues to work with me to be tolerant of all dogs.  My new dad took me hunting a few times this past year  -  I’ve got a great nose and I’m a great flusher and retriever.   I also did a hunt demo at Pawgust Fest – maybe you saw me making grass angels when my dad was talking or running up to the photographer’s camera when he was taking pictures of me on my land retrieve.  My mom and I attended a basic obedience class last year and I won the blue ribbon on our graduation test.  My brother and I now take turns attending an on-going advanced obedience class and I’m definitely the more robotic one.   Other than that I love to hang out with my new family and play with my toys and stuffed animals – especially the puppy toys.  I am either living my life all over again or want to destroy them one by one so my mom doesn’t bring any more of those foster puppies into my house.  My mom hasn’t figured out which one yet!  

Labby Hugs and Kisses and Butt Wiggles,

~Sierra (Sam, Geno and Mary Beck too!)

Jakey

Hi all,

Just wanted to give you an update on Jakey, who we adopted from Learn back in late 1999! He is an old man now, a bit arthritic and slowing down but still our best friend. Just wanted to thank you for all the years of joy Jakey has brought us and let you know he's still our happy, faithful pup! Jake really has been a wonderful gift to our lives and family - we really love him. Our daughter Casey was just 10 months old and our son Alex was 4! And Jake was around 5.

~Chad, Colleen, Alex, Casey and Jake Hoover

Nicki

Here are some pictures of Nicki who was an adopted LEARN dog 1 1/2 years ago.  She is so sweet and loves it here with us.  She is very well behaved, sweet, and has brought fun energy to our house.  Her allergies are under control, and she minds better than her brother Sam. 
 
Nicki is in a dog photography show at the Sunroom Cafe on State St. in Madison until Dec. 11, 2007.  The beautiful smile did it :)

~ The Sweeney's

Luke

Hello everyone,
My name is Luke (Lukey Luke) and I found my forever home thanks to everyone at LEARN! The people at LEARN are very nice and helpful. I am so grateful to them.

Well let me tell you, things couldn’t be better. I hear my mom and dad saying how lucky they are to have me and how much they love me. I think I am lucky too; I have a little human brother Logan who loves to hug me and calls me “Utey”. I also have three canine sisters; Molly, Maggie and Muffin, they think they run the place but we all know who the BIG dog is.

I have taken an obedience class with my mom, which was fun. I won a blue ribbon for the best tail wager!! I sometimes get in trouble but my mom says it is her fault because she is not used to having a big dog around. (So I ate some cookies off the counter…was that wrong? I mean come on…they were warm and just sitting there!) We all go for walks everyday, sometimes twice. When I was first adopted and we went for walks people would stop and ask what happened to me because I had been shaved a little for some tests, but now that my hair is all back they stop to say how adorable I am. We go to our friend’s house at the lake and my dad throws tennis balls into the water and I chase them and see how many I can fit in my mouth. I could swim all day long. I love all my new friends I have met here. My mom had this party she called “Yappy Hour” and a whole bunch of my friends came over to play. Wow was that fun! (There was also a carrot cake left unattended for a bit…need I say more.) Well I will keep you posted on my progress. Oh and I recently had a photo shoot at a local humane society. The possibilities are endless. You haven’t heard the last of me!

Thanks again to everyone at LEARN for taking such good care of me and finding me my forever home. I get hugs and kisses everyday.

Love,

-Luke, Vince, Le Ann, Logan, Molly, Maggie and Muffin :)

Max

My name is Max. I was adopted in May 2007 in hopes that I would be a buddy to Gidgette, who was adopted from LEARN in February 2005. Gidgette’s canine brother, Merlin, died unexpectedly in May and she was lost without him. The minute we met, she was like a new dog. I love Gidgette. She lets me use her as a pillow. I love the cat and baby also. I’m very social at the dog park and approach dogs nicely. Actually, I love everybody and am a great snuggler.

I came to LEARN well-trained, so I’m a quick learner. I know how to open doors to let Gidgette and myself in the house. I also open the door to peek in on the baby when she’s sleeping. I celebrated my first Birthday on July 1st this year. It wasn’t too much different than any other day, because everyday seems like my Birthday. I get a lot of attention. We go for a 3-mile run every morning, play fetch in the backyard, and swim almost every day. I leap really far into the water. On days that we don’t swim, we go to the dog park. I’m a very happy dog.

-Max

Simon

We couldn't have found a better dog than Simon if we'd gone to a breeder. Simon came to us about four months ago as a rather rambunctious 3-year old (one vet said he's 2-1/2 and another said 4, so we settled on 3), who didn't have very good manners. He knew two commands: "sit" and "no," but things like down, stay, and come were just not in his repetoire. A few weeks of obedience training and lots of practice fixed all that.

His greatest joy in life is chasing his tennis ball and with seven acres of open space behind our house he has plenty of space to do that. The only real distractions - the things that will make him go totally deaf to any commands - are squirrels. God put them on this earth to entertain Simon and he can't understand why they don't want to play with him. He'll look at a rabbit and won't give it a second thought, but squirrels are - most of the time - just too much fun.

Simon is a great dog and we can't imagine not having him around. Enjoy the pictures!

Bill & Paula Cate

 

Gracie

Dear Learn:

It's been about 4 months now since I was adopted into my new home and Mom says I have come a long way in these last 4 months.

Mom and I are extremely active and always seem to be on the run. All of Mom's friends have dogs so I get to play almost everywhere I go! Mom takes me up north where I get to go hiking in the woods but best of all, I get to go swimming the entire time I am there and boy does that tire me out! I rarely have to be on a leash because I want to be close to Mom all the time. I hear her telling people that I am a very obedient girl. I sure do get a lot of compliments! People are always saying what a beautiful girl I am and every time someone pets me they say how soft my coat is.

Thanks Learn for helping me to find a place I could call home and what a huge help you have been in helping Mom be a good leader for me!

Gracie

Emma

Dear LEARN,

I thought I should let everyone know how I’m doing since coming to LEARN.  I came from somewhere in Northern Wisconsin.  A nice lady saved me from being given away ‘free to a good home’.  Boy, did I luck out!!  I wrapped my foster family (especially my foster dad) around my fingers and I never left.  I made them what is called foster failures. 

I was sick when I was adopted; I had a disease called CMO.  It made me be much quieter than my normal personality.  My parents thought they were getting a sweet, amazingly calm pup.  Ha!  Where they wrong!  They got me healthy and I haven’t looked back since.  I have been accused of pulling one over on my parents, but I know it’s a joke and they really love me.  After all I am the little girl, girly girl, Emma-goat, and all sorts of other names I’ve learned to answer to. 

I have 2 older and bigger lab brothers, but I boss everyone around.  I may be smaller, but I’m persistent and eventually my brothers give in to what I want.  We all love to play together though.   It didn’t take us long to become great friends and partners in crime.  Our favorite game is tug; our favorite crime is stealing whatever Mom or Dad accidentally left on the kitchen counter that morning.  I know its wrong, but people food is so good!

Barley

Dear LEARN,

We wanted to thank you for bringing Barley (Boone) into our lives. We have had Barley for a little over a month now and it feels like we have had him forever. He loves going to the dog beach and playing in the water. He now knows how to sit, lay down, come, and walk on a leash right next to you. He is the pride and joy of our family. We cannot say enough great things about him or LEARN. We tell everyone we know about LEARN. We would also like to thank the Marshall's (his foster family) for taking such good care of him. They were so nice and answered all our questions, they are great people.

-Jillian and Chad Russell

We adopted Chili in 2002 from LEARN and had such a great experience, and we thought we were missing something.

When I saw Mocha, now Gypsy, I immediately fell in love and knew we had to meet her.  From the first day they were inseparable.  Whatever they are doing, they are never more than a few feet apart, as you can see from the pictures.

Thank you from Jody & Michael Vega

Hi Everybody!

I just want to give you an update since being adopted in March of 2005.

I have adjusted well in my new home with my Labbie brother Jake and kitty sister Sunshine.  My Mom and Dad think I am really special also!

Thanks again to LEARN for saving me, especially to Lois Toll for coming to get me, my foster Mom Marnie for taking care of me while I was waiting for my family to find me and Kathy Butcher for matching me with my family!

Hello – My name is Gidgette (formerly Bridgette). I answer to Bridgette, Gidgette, Gidgy,
Gidgy-Goo, etc. I was adopted February 5, 2005. When I was first adopted, I wouldn’t look at
anyone and my tail was always between my legs because I was so scared. I’ve come around quite a bit with the help of a behaviorist, my canine brother (Merlin), and feline sister, Gina. I still don’t look anybody in the eye (unless he/she is holding a ball), but my tail wags all the time now. I’m still shy around strangers, but will lick Chez Whiz off some people’s fingers. I will play fetch with anybody.

Merlin and I get a lot of exercise. We run everyday and go to the dog park frequently. In the summer, we get to go swimming. I wasn’t a very good swimmer at first, but Merlin taught me how to swim so my paws don’t splash so much. Now I’m really fast. We also chase squirrels. I get so excited sometimes that I stand on the back of the couch.

I get along great with the new baby. When she cries, I go up to her crib to check on her. My mom and dad are said that they can’t imagine their lives without me.

Chelsey

Hi There!

Remember me? My name is Chelsey, and I had the AMAZING good fortune of being rescued by LEARN in the fall of 2006 and fostered by the best Foster-Mom ever! And then just when I could hardly believe my luck, I became even luckier! On November 19th, I was adopted by such a wonderful, loving family in the best forever-home ever! They call our home "Camp Torrey" and life here just couldn't be better. My new mom and Dad have decided that November 19th is my birthday–a good day to start life all over with no worries whatsoever.

Here I am with Max, my nearly-12-year-old big brother. He takes such good care of me. We are a great brother-sister team: he's my steady rock, and whenever I feel a little nervous about a new noise or something, I just look to him and see that all is A-OK. We love to curl up together, as you can see. because of something called "arthritis", he doesn't have a good leg to stand on, so when we're outside in our backyard with all the pine trees, I do Max's running for him! He sends a WOOF to alert me to birds and bunnies, and oh boy! Do I ever fly after them! Then, after I chase them away, I run back to Max, so we can wag our tails together over a job well done. One of my new nicknames is "Sweet Chelsey-bird". Isn't that nice?

I need to brag a little bit. I graduated last month from obedience school, and now I'm enrolled for "advanced degrees". I really love going to school every week with my Mom and Dad, and my self confidence is growing by leaps and bounds. At home, Mom and I go on two long walks every day, and I've met so many nice people in our neighborhood. I sit very politely while people pet me, and I've learned how to have the best manners walking on a leash.

I could go on and on! There's so much to say! Maybe this says it all: even my fur coat has become thick and wavy and so shiny! My dad says it's as if my coat is wagging, too. As I said at the beginning, I feel so very lucky. My Mom keeps reminding me, though, that THEY are the lucky ones to have ME. Now, how wonderful is that?

Sending all my thanks and Labbie love,
Chelsey

Spartacus

It's been three months since Spartacus (fka Gus) joined our family, so here's the news: Spartacus has adjusted very well to all the noise and all the kids (5 kids still at home!) He loves to go for runs with Dad and walks with Mom and the kids. He has a doggie backpack that we strap on him and he's in charge of the water bottles and bowl. Wearing the backpack makes him feel important, like he has a job to do.

Since he joined our family, he's gained about 30 pounds, which is great, since he was underweight. He's weighing in at 80 lbs. which is just about right for his body type. We're feeding him Blue Buffalo organic kibble, and his coat is very shiny and healthy. He's also very tall, with long, long legs, like a pony. We call him our own "dog and pony show"! He loves to fetch and go "bobbing for frisbees" as you can see from the photos. He loves to swim and will jump in any body of water that he finds, which isn't hard, seeing as we're two blocks from the Fox River and all the great trails! We recently found out that he has webbed feet! I didn't know that was a Lab trait, but I guess it is!

He finished as one of the top four dogs in his first obedience training class, and has graduated to "off leash" training, starting next week. He's 80 lbs. of power steering, so we felt it was really important to get him to be well trained and well mannered. So far so, good, although a jar of peanut butter left on the counter is fair game!

Now if he'd only leave the kitties alone.....they definitely don't like him too much! He just wants to play, but of course they don't know that! Spartacus also has a dog sister, our 11-year old Bichon, Holly Furface. She likes him enough, except when he gets a little rambunctious, she puts him in his place! It's quite funny to see a 15 lb. dog bossing around an 80 lb. dog! You can see one of their standoffs in one of the photos.

Spartacus is just about to celebrate his 1st birthday. Thanks for placing him with us! He's been a great addition to our family.

Jonathan and Diana Kruse
Caitlin, Kevin, Stephen, Andy, Lia and Amy
Batavia, IL

Cody

Hello! I’m Cody, and I adopted my family a while ago. We’ve been so busy, we forget to write to LEARN and tell them how we’re doing. Believe me, it didn’t take long for me to make this place my home! I love playing with my big brother Harley, a chocolate Lab who is nine. There’s also someone called Bo who is a Siamese cat. He sleeps a lot and likes to curl up with me and Harley when it’s cold. My mom says that Harley is years younger since I joined the family – and he’s lost nearly 20 pounds! He and I play all day every day and just have a great time running, chasing, jumping, grabbing toys – all those things that make for a great Labbie day!

I also get to go the doggie play park where I can swim. I have a half acre yard at my house, so I have a lot of work to do in it every day. No matter how many times I chase those squirrels away, though, they just come back! Then, there’s that place called day care where me and Harley go one day each week and sometimes we get baths there. I have a really great time and the people there tell my mom that me and Harley are really good and have made a lot of doggie friends!

As for my family, I trained them well. I take my mom on a long walk every morning, then again every afternoon when we take Harley with us. My dad and I play ball and chase every day. And there is someone called a “teenager” in the family. He has a lot of friends coming and going, so I have to check them out and keep an eye on what they’re doing. Mostly I do that because they usually give me an extra treat! Sometimes they take me for car rides to the park with them. I like that a lot. My mom and dad tell me that I get to go with the boys because I am so cute I’m a “chick magnet” whatever that is. As long as the boys throw the Frisbee for me at that park, it’s all good! My mom calls me and Harley the “Poke-A-Noses” because we bump her arm or leg with our noses when we need to get her attention. Thanks LEARN for taking care of me and helping me adopt a great family!

Wendy Scheel - "I am so fortunate to have Cody! He is such a sweetie and has brought so much to our home!"

Savannah

We are having a blast with Savannah. She is a bed hog at night and steels all my covers. But most of all she stole our hearts. She is a part of our family now. My daughter loves to play with her and give her kisses. Our chocolate lab, Zoe, has her new best friend. They play and chase each other ALL DAY!!! We thank you for making a perfect match for us and will continue to update you on her progress!

-Brian, Misty and Eliana Lindstrand

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