Quincy was located on Craigslist in Arkansas by a rescue friend.  The friend alerted an ESRA volunteer to the posting since she knew that Springer puppies on craigslist usually end up being bounced from home to home as they learn to chew and struggle with housetraining.

An ESRA volunteer worked out an owner surrender for Quincy and brought him back to Mississippi to his new foster home.  Initial vetting showed that Quincy was a healthy one year old male puppy.  Quincy garnered lots of attention and compliments during his short stay in the vet office too!

Quincy shared a foster home with two one year old female pups and enjoyed plenty of love and wrestling matches!  And within a day of his posting on the ESRA website, Susan Zuker had plenty of interest in Quincy from forever families interested in adopting him.

On a cold, windy and snowy morning near Memphis, TN, Quincy was united with his forever parents, the Gorlines from West Tennessee.  A photo of their first meeting is enclosed since it shows the proud family much better than we can detail in this story!

Congratulations to the Gorlines and Quincy on their new life together.  And a special thanks to ESRA for rescuing, fostering, raising funds, coordinating and the many other daily volunteer tasks that are done in order to unite Quincy with his new family!

Quincy and his forever family!

Quincy

Dear Furry and Human Friends,

Mom thought I should write the story of how I found my forever home.  So I wanted to let you know that 2011 was a chaotic year with many adjustments and challenges. One of those challenges was me.  I am the newest addition to the Junco-Kilcoyne pack.  I came with many hang-ups because I did not have a great start to my life. I was an owner turn in to a shelter in Polk County, but there must have been an angel watching over me.  You see the Polk Shelter people came to the adoption event at Lowry Park and brought me along.  They were located near the ESRA tent, as luck would have it ESRA picked took me in and called my Mom to foster me. 

Mom said I must have been tethered, because when she had to bathe me when she got me home, and she found some marks on my neck. Like I said I had a lot of issues.  The reason Mom had to bathe me was I had a real bad accident in the back seat of the car.  Something bad happened to me in a car and this is why I was terrified of car rides.  Any time I was in the car I would shriek as if I was being tortured and I would have either explosive diarrhea or vomit.  The whole potty training was a huge hurdle for me.  I did not know there was different potty etiquette for inside a home.  Plus, my issue with food and water hoarding did not help, because in my old home I never knew when I would get fresh water or food, so I would drink the entire bowl when it was put down.  Food was another issue, and Mom and Dad were worried about ‘bloat’ because I would gulp my food.  I heard Mom and Dad say, ‘it is so sad to have so many issues at only 4 months of age’. 

House breaking me was a true challenge; it took 8 months before I knew it was wrong to go potty indoors.  Mom was concerned and had me checked at the vets but everything was fine. Then she called Becky Carlson, a true friend to all dogs, she helped Mom and Dad understand how to help me with all these problems.  I am fairly reliable now, and very rarely have an accident.  I am starting to realize that if I need to go out between my regular potty breaks I need to give a signal to Mom or Dad. 

Plus, I am finally comfortable riding in a car and love going on errands around town, going to my standing grooming appointment on Fridays, and even on long trips up to our cabin in north Georgia.  We just got back from the cabin this past week (it’s my third visit this year) and I did not have any car problems.  While I was at the cabin it snowed.  It was the first time I had seen snow. Dottie, my furry sister, said there was a lot more snow last year, but to me it was awesome fun to run around in it and trying to catch the flakes in my mouth. 

I have learned that I no longer have hoard water, because I know I will always have fresh water. I still gulp my food but I have slowed down a lot with this funny bowl Mom uses to feed me. 

As you can tell, I had many hurdles to overcome and I wondered if anyone would ever give me a forever home. In the beginning Dad called me ‘Little Man’ because he was afraid he would get too attached if he called me by name, since he was my foster Daddy.  Then one night in Mid-May, I overheard Mom and Dad talking about the progress I was making finally.  They were concerned that I would backslide if I was taken from this home where I comfortable.  I seem not to do well with change, and then I heard them say, ‘we need to keep him as our own’.  My heart took flight, and then Mom said, ‘I’ll call Susan tomorrow and let her know he is ours’. 

After that Mom gave me a new name ‘Zachary’, which means gift from God.  It took Dad a little while to call me by my new name, because he was still worried I would not be his.  Then he noticed that when he would call me ‘Zachary’ my nub of a tail would wag happily, so now I am know as Zachary or Zack to everyone. 

I have attached a picture of me and my brother Gabriel, and my sister Dottie and Chloe and I visiting with Santa.  Chloe said that we tell him what we want and he brings it to our home.  I thought this was crazy talk, but on Christmas morning I found 20 packages under the tree with my name ‘Zachary’ on them.  I had never celebrated Christmas before, but I knew from that moment on my life had changed from sad to fabulous.  Thank you ESRA for saving me and calling Mom and Dad to foster me.  You pick two real softies, who fell in love me.  They love me with all their hearts and will do anything to make me happy.  I know that just like Dottie and Chloe who Mom and Dad adopted from ESRA and Gabe who was rescue over 10 years ago, My Life will be great in my FOREVER HOME!

Wags and licks,

Zack

PS: I’m the handsome liver and white guy under Santa’s right arm; I loved the matching hoodies that Mom bought for us to wear.

Once a foster home was lined up, little Braylee was rescued from the shelter by Tammy Flanagan and transported to Amelia Hudson in Quitman, MS for initial vetting and grooming.  Coincidently, another similar black/white female named Grace was found at the same shelter and rescued by Tammy also.

Braylee before her first grooming

Braylee was fully vetted and weighed in at a whopping 16 lbs!  The petite girl received a bath and her first grooming, as evidenced by the attached photo of her at the time of rescue.  Amelia’s vet estimated Braylee to be 1 year old and found her to be heartworm negative.  The first photos of her after grooming showed an amazing transformation and Susan realized that this little girl would draw a crowd of potential forever families.

Braylee was transferred to the Amos Arnold Foster Dog Training Academy after her spay surgery to learn the great life that an inside Springer should enjoy.  Her photos circulated across Facebook before she could get posted on the ESRA website and she created a buzz of interest.  Of course, the only song that would be fitting for the petite star would be Tiny Dancer by Elton John and she quickly debuted in her music video!  One of the foster photos that captured much attention is enclosed and shows Braylee sitting on the kitchen island countertop next to a laptop computer with the tag line:  Two Laptops!

One of Amos’s Facebook friends, Sarah Kraft of Tagalong English Springer Spaniels in MN, spotted Braylee instantly and knew that she was just the forever family member that her mom had been searching for.   A few quick messages were exchanged between Sarah and Amos and the application process started quickly.  The upcoming Specialty show in GA was scheduled in about a week and agreed upon as the adoption location.  Some adoptions are just meant to happen, obviously, since the chance of Braylee finding a forever home in MN with both the foster and adoptive families already scheduled to be in the same location ahead of time just seems too far-fetched for coincidence!

On Saturday January 21 at the ESRA booth at the Specialty show, little Braylee and Sarah met for the very first time with several ESRA volunteers having the opportunity to witness the heartwarming event!  A happy endings photo of Braylee and Sarah is enclosed.

Braylee's Happy Ending Photo

Sarah sent lots of pictures from the show and her hotel of Braylee, but one in particular seemed to fit the moment best.  Enclosed is a photo of little Braylee with Sarah and her show Springer, Liam, on the grooming table to show that Braylee was already on her way to stardom and a very happy forever life.   Braylee will join Sarah’s mother and her adopted Greyhound on their hobby farm in MN with Sarah living next door.  And somehow we know that Braylee will never miss a grooming appointment or bath for the rest of her life!

Braylee and Liam

Braylee’s happy ending story is testimony that we cannot begin to imagine how our rescue stories will turn out.  A small, cute dog is given up in central Alabama only to be adopted a thousand miles away into a show dog family!  As volunteers, we are simply asked to each do a little bit to help each dog along its way in rescue and without knowing how the story will unfold.  So when that call or email comes at the last minute again, don’t take the time to try to decide if you can make a difference in a dog’s life – just show up and the story will write itself!  Thanks to everyone that helped little Braylee along her way to a wonderful forever life.

Braylee’s happy ending story was written by her foster dad, Bill Arnold.  Thanks for the great story Bill!

Leroy/Brees and his new family

Leroy came to us from the Elmore County shelter in Alabama.  Rea told us he was a great dog, and he is!  Big thanks to Heather Hogan who picked up Leroy on her lunch hour and let him spend the afternoon with Heather’s mom for a spa treatment.  Following his day of recuperation and beauty, Leroy made his way to Lee Short’s for fostering where he settled in nicely.  Meanwhile…

The Jackson Family in Tampa were supposed to adopt a different dog the prior week, but the owner changed his mind at the last minute, not able to give his dog up, and of course, the Jackson’s were very disappointed.  When the Jackson’s learned of Leroy, they made arrangements to meet Lee and Leroy on Friday.

It was love at first site and Leroy is now Brees.  Brees’ new family is thrilled to have him and say that Brees seems very happy too!

Thanks to Rea, Heather Hogan, Heather’s mom, Lee Short and the many volunteers who made this adoption a very happy ending for Brees.

Submitted by: Susan Zuker, ESRA Coordinator for Alabama

Both pups were transported to Amelia’s for initial vetting and grooming.  There were found to be approximately one year old and in great health.  Apparently, they had very little interaction with humans and were extremely shy but obviously very dependent upon each other.  The two pups were separated for a week in separate fosters homes with other Springers to allow them to gain confidence and overcome their shyness.

The two pups were reunited after a week of separation and the results in their attitude and confidence was very noticeable.  A picture of Alex and Allie snuggling in a soft chair in their foster home is enclosed.  Barbara Welty received lot of interest in both pups from potential forever homes shortly after their posting went onto the ESRA website.  Some homes did want to keep both pups together but we believed they would continue to shine apart from each other.

Alex and Allie Snuggling

The Abdullah family in Indiana adopted, Hershey, a two year old Springer from ESRA over 13 years ago and he went to the Rainbow Bridge late last year.  As with many dog owners that lose their lifelong friend, they struggled over the past few months over whether to bring another dog into their forever home.  Upon seeing Alex on the website, the family knew that she was the right Springer to share their forever love and contacted Barbara to ask to adopt her.  Beth Abdullah did not simply fill out the standard adoption application when asking for Alex.  She sent along several pictures of Hershey with their family and a very touching goodbye tribute that she wrote for Hershey to help show us the love that they could share with Alex!  The tribute is included with this story since it speaks so highly of this forever family.

Beth sent several emails to Alex’s foster family during the week prior to the adoption to explain that it seemed like Christmas Eve since no one was really able to get much sleep due to the anticipation of bringing Alex into their home.  They already were making trips to the pet store to purchase special things for Alex’s arrival in their home.  And they were anxiously awaiting the 8 hour drive to Mississippi to meet their new family member.

On a very cold, windy and snowy morning in Southaven, Mississippi, Alex met Beth and Ellen Abdullah for the very first time!  A picture of this first meeting is enclosed since the happy faces on everyone simply can’t be explained any better.

Thanks to everyone that helped rescue, foster, raise funds and the many other daily tasks with ESRA to help Alex from a small shelter in rural Mississippi to her forever home in Indiana!

Alex and Forever Family

Below is the very touching goodbye tribute to the Abdullah’s previous dog Hershey.

A tribute to the Abudullah family's love of their dog Hershey

 *A Special Treat* – A Note from Alex is included below!

Dear Springer Family,

Indiana is cold but I don’t mind.  I’m teaching my forever family a new game called In & Out.  We’ve played it a dozen times.  I go to the big glass doors and we all go outside.  They all say I’m a good girl.  Mommy took me for an evening walk.  I tripped her a few times because I like to investigate stuff on both sides of the sidewalk.  She laughs.  I jumped on all the beds and played with my new toys.  Nate thinks he taught me how to use the stairs.  It doesn’t take much to impress him.  I’m smart.

I just can’t stop my behind from wiggling.  Let’s hope I can get a good night sleep in this new smelling place.

By the way the family went crazy at 8:00 when Daddy announced my #2 happened in my new yard.  They are easily impressed.

I’ve got kids to supervise in the tub.  Better go for now.

I love everything my families have done for me.  THANKS!

Ales

(The people up north say my name a little differently.  It must be the Hoosier dialect.)

The Abdullah Family

Alex's new toy and bed

SNOW!

Kisses from Alex

Check out the designs below and contact Carol for your own, personalized item. You can send her your own materials or chose from her stock.

Look for old designs and new ones… take your pick… customize and personalize…

'Beaumont's Bag' made from a photo of Beaumont

Embossed throw and pillow

And Carol’s designs are not just for you; your pooch can be styling as well.

Click here to see more doggie designs…

Prices vary due to design and customization. Proceeds form Carol’s embroidery works goes to support ESRA. Shipping charges may be applicable.

Contact Carol from here.

Check out the pictures below for some examples of available embroidery designs.

Sawyer Spaniel

If you have been reading the Fostering Stories from the Amos Arnold Foster Academy, then you are surely familiar with his buddy Sawyer Spaniel, who is Amos’ inspiration for his ‘Paying it Forward’ motto. Well now, Sawyer is getting in on the act, in his own special way. As a matter of fact, he has been at it for awhile on Facebook. But now he is expanding his exposure to the World Wide Web!

Sawyer would like to share his mission statement with you…

So this is what is all about: Sawyer has found his own personal designer to make custom bandannas for all his doggie friends and all the proceeds go to ESRA! Sawyer’s campaign started out as a fundraiser to help offset the medical expenses of Miley Arnold, a sweet little Springer rescued from a shelter in Mobile, Alabama, who turned out to be very ill and despite the best efforts of many, was not able to recover. Sawyer’s heart went out to Miley and her situation. But he, like all of us was helpless to help her. So Sawyer took it upon himself to help ESRA raise money to cover her expenses. But Miley is just one example of many Springers who come into rescue with medical needs. And now Sawyer is continuing his campaign to raise funds for these extra special medical needs.

Sawyer and his person designer have come up with two styles for ‘Sawyer’s special Ban-Dannys’, and you don’t have to be a Springer to get one. Several of Sawyers friends, Springer and non-Springer alike are already sporting bandannas from his collection. Sawyer is even raising ESRA funds from over seas with his ‘Honorary ESRA Spanny’ Ban-Danny.

Each style comes in two possible versions: (1) Double Sided (reversible) – Solid color on one side with a color coordinated print on the opposite side. Double sided Ban-Dannys are $20 each. (2) Single Sided (non-reversible) – Solid color or print with a ruffled edging (for the girls) or ribboned edging (for the fellas). Single sided Ban-Dannys are $15 each.

Sawyer’s ‘Everyday’ Ban-Danny Design: The ‘Everyday Ban-danny’ is a colorful Ban-Danny that any dog would be proud to wear. It can be customized with your pet’s name or motto and may even include a small artistic design (like a heart or a paw print).

While the prints are continually being used up and added to, here are some examples of typical colors and print patterns used in the ‘Everyday’ Ban-Danny:

Sawyer’s designer will choose a print from her current supply to coordinate with your solid color choice. Each Ban-danny can include up to 20 letters embroidered, with your pet’s name, “ESRA” or slogan/motto of your choice.

Sawyer’s ‘Holiday’ Ban-Danny Design: This is a special Holiday design for Sawyer’s friends near and far! These Ban-Dannys come in Christmas and Hanukkah versions and like the Everyday Ban-Danny can include up to 20 letters embroidered, with your pet’s name, “ESRA” or slogan/motto of your choice. Orders for these Ban-Dannys must be received by December 1st in order to be delivered before Christmas.

Holiday

To order one of Sawyer’s Ban-dannys, click here.

To see more examples of Sawyer’s Ban-dannys’, please look through the photos below:

All proceeds from these bandanna sales go to English Springer Rescue America, Inc., a 501©(3) non-profit organization.

As we have learned through the many chapters that we have shared together, the fosters that arrive at my academy door come from a variety of places and backgrounds.  Many are rescued from shelters, others are given up by their owners but still others walk through the door from entirely different situations.  Such was the case of a young female Springer named Josie back in September of 2011.  Josie was already in foster care and was expected to be adopted soon since she was a healthy, young female Springer.  But Josie was not adopted quickly and her foster parents had an extended trip planned, so I welcomed her into the academy for the remainder of her foster career with ESRA.

I made the assumption that Josie was going to be yet another easy foster that had learned all the positive stuff and dropped off all those negative habits when she leaped through the front door.  That first leap should have been my first sign of trouble but I simply dismissed it as a foster that was happy to be alive and in my company!  It turned out to be the first of many leaps from Josie and not all of them were so delightful.

Most fosters that come through here are shy and very accommodating for the first few days.  They realize that they are in a new environment and are cautious to check out the situation before cracking open their shell and emerging.  Josie followed that example but when she did show her true colors, I had my paws full to keep her in line.  She soon showed me her enhanced counter-surfing skills by retrieving items such as a loaf of bread, a pack of cookies, a 14 day medicine planner and a host of other nifty things that my family had become attached to.  Occasionally, while I was trying to nap, I would catch a glimpse of Josie prancing by with my mom’s slipper in her mouth – and to Josie’s defense, she never chewed it but excelled at hiding it!  Even my own toys were not sacred and subject to Josie’s clever transport beam into one of her hiding places.

While they may sound wild to the novice, each of Josie’s tricks were easily countered with preventative measures and soon she was just like the rest of us – but with a mischievous eye for the unprotected treasures left unguarded.  (Helpful hint of the chapter:  double-sided adhesive tape along the edge of countertops helps to discourage counter-surfing doggies.)  Josie was soon transformed into a sweet little girl that had the good fortune of going from a stray on the country roads of central Alabama to ESRA’s care in the Amos Academy.  She blossomed into a fine young lady in no time and became another ESRA video star with a song named Hey Josie by the Hipwaders.

Amos and Josie

Despite many darling photos on the website, a smash hit video and a truthful bio that sparkled her, Josie gathered absolutely no inquiries from prospective forever families.  While this happens often in the foster world, it is not as common with fosters in my academy since they yelp for attention on my facebook page.  I began to wonder if there was something I misspelled in my bio for Josie or if, perhaps, her hair was out of place on the website photos!  Ms Susan and Ms Amelia encouraged me that this happens more frequently than I realized and many fosters have to remain in their care for over a year (and some for the rest of their life).  So Josie and I simply continued on our daily training regimen and refused to worry about the future (as most canines tend to do…).

And, one day when we least expected it, the call came from a family that loved Josie’s pictures and story and wanted to know more about her.  I assumed their interest was due to my talent as a marketing guru but my ego was smashed as the mom explained that Josie caught their eye since she looked nearly a twin to their own resident Springer.  I compared the photos of Josie to their resident Springer and, sure enough, they could have been litter mates.  Lady Luck always takes a portion of credit from each and every one of us so I have to respect her!

Usually, our foster dogs will move to their forever homes on a transport of volunteers that I described in a previous chapter.  In Josie’s case, the travel was 17 hours and through areas where we knew our coverage was not great.  So, we decided to utilize a private transport called PETS to transport Josie from our city to their city in a two day transport, at no cost to ESRA.  I have enclosed a picture of Josie meeting her forever mom when the transport stopped in their city.

As you know, I always seem to stop about this point in each chapter to praise, preach a little bit and at least tug at a few heartstrings.  Writing about the limited interest in Josie has reminded me that we always have a group of dogs in foster care that receive very little interest from forever families.  If you recall my Christmas Eve story, then you may already know where I am headed on this little road.

Springers easily live well past 10 years old and I have met many that celebrated their 15^th birthday.  As I am now 5 years old, I am considered middle age in the doggie world (by human standards, since dogs don’t count days and appreciate each one separately as we wake up each morning).  Once I pass birthday 8 or 9, I will be labeled a senior dog (again by human standards).  I certainly would not call myself a senior at 9 but the rest of the world does, unfortunately.  So we have a growing number of fosters in our care each year that are considered senior dogs.

For a host of reasons, not many families are willing to adopt a senior Springer from ESRA.  Families with young kids want a doggie that will play with the kids and that will live long enough that they do not have to have the “discussion”.  Perhaps I need to explain that a senior doggie can play just like a young dog but with more respect when play is over and quiet time is needed.  Senior citizens actually want a younger dog too, for whatever reason, but often are not thinking of what will happen if the dog outlives them (which can happen)!  So many great Springers get passed by, month after month, for the sake of a puppy that is gonna poop on the floor and chew the fancy remote.

My good buddy, Max Watson, operates a foster academy that he fondly labels as a senior living facility.  He just had a senior female Springer named Dottie that went through heartworm treatment at the young age of 12 and came out dancing like Madonna!  Max has sent a photo of Dottie chasing him around the yard too.  And Dottie got adopted a few weeks ago to a lady that never gave age a second thought.  Why can’t we just back up and think about this whole senior thing when one of your friends is looking for a Springer to adopt?  You are very likely to outlive any Springer you adopt anyway so remove that reason from the book of excuses.  You would not hesitate to invite Betty White over to your house, and she will be 92 years old about the time you read this story, so a 10 year old Springer ought to fit perfectly on your couch too!

Dottie (13) and Max (14) have a run

Back to the story – as Josie was on her way up to PA to her new forever family, a beautiful liver and white Springer female named Maggie was walking the streets of a small town in south Alabama.  Her family had apparently moved away and left her behind to fend for herself (happens a lot since the recession took hold).  A kind lady noticed Maggie walking through the neighborhood and asked at several nearby homes about her.  The neighbors all knew her name was Maggie but had no idea where her family went.  The kind lady took Maggie to a local vet and boarded her for the required amount of time to allow the family an opportunity to claim her.  She also contacted ESRA and asked for rescue help for Maggie.

So, in late September, Maggie hitched a ride from the vet office with my dad as he was returning from a trip to Florida.  She cautiously entered the academy through the side door from the garage and simply stood there and looked at me.  I soon realized that Maggie had never seen the inside of a house before and she was concerned why she was here.  I completed my usual sniff testing to determine that she was not an imposter in a Springer fur coat.  Then, I was able to coax her through the patio door to show her the backyard, where we potty, and the lake with ducks that we don’t dare jump into.  We returned into the house and she soon relaxed.

Amos & Maggie

It is always amazing that dogs who have never seen the inside of a home can become some of the best behaved “inside” dogs.  Maggie never had an accident inside our house and she never got into any of the trouble that Josie had reminded me about.  Although we offered Maggie a spot in the big family bed, she usually was content to spend her night sleeping on the floor at dad’s side of the bed.  What a sweet lady she was to have in my academy!  Sweet seemed to come to mind a lot when I thought about Maggie so she starred in her own music video with Van Morrison’s Tupelo Honey as background music.  I included a photo of her with the jar of pure Tupelo honey that we used as a prop on her video set.

Maggie & Tupelo Honey

I was quick to notice, though, that something just was not right about Maggie’s right eye.  Our rescue vet determined Maggie’s vision was impaired and referred her to an eye specialist in Memphis.  I never knew dogs had eye specialists since I had not noticed any dogs with eye glasses on their heads but, sure enough there are eye vets for dogs (and dentists too).  Maggie’s specialist determined that she suffered some sort of trauma to her eye at a young age, which saddened me to think that someone or something apparently hit her directly in the eye to damage it.  He confirmed that she was indeed blind in that eye and there was nothing that could be done to correct that.  Fortunately, the eyeball itself was not causing Maggie any pain so there was no reason to remove it and stitch the eye shut.  With diagnosis in hand, Maggie returned to the academy and we never worried about that eye again.

I already spent time in this chapter to highlight that families looking to adopt will seem to find many reasons to skip over some of our foster dogs.  Given Maggie’s beauty, great health and age, she should have been adopted very quickly.  And indeed, we did have many families that took that first step towards Maggie and express interest after seeing her on the website.  But so many of them were concerned that Maggie might go blind in her other eye that their interest soon moved on to other prospects.  Now I knew that Maggie’s blindness was the result of trauma, and not related to any illness or genetic disorder so it saddened me each time we got close to a forever home and then saw it slip through Maggie’s paws.

Maggie in her forever home

As was the case with Josie, the words of Ms Amelia and Ms Susan came true again about the right family for every foster.  Maggie’s eventual forever mom found her on the website and never thought twice about a beautiful Springer that just happened to have one blind eye.  I am proud to brag that Maggie now lives over in East Alabama with a loving mom and a kitty (yep, a dog with a pet cat) and all is well.  I have enclosed a picture of Maggie with her forever family so you can enjoy another happy ending!

What a better way to end this chapter than to consider that the hopelessness of being turned away time and time again was replaced by acceptance and joy while two great Springer girls are resting comfortably in loving forever homes this year!  Thank you for taking time to read my foster adventures and be ready for a new chapter next week!

Paying it forward,

Amos