Hi everyone at Heartland,

I'm a volunteer at Heartland & recently adopted Bonnie (formerly known as Sweetie). I just wanted to share an update with you since she joined our clan on July 5, 2008. We couldn't be happier with her & I think she's happy, too. She joined her new sister, Abby (black collie mix) & brother, Otto (great dane) and a black teddy bear hamster, Poppy. (Bonnie only sees her through glass for which I think Poppy is very grateful.) She also seems to really like the 5 humans in the house (my husband, me & our 3 boys).

Bonnie fits in as if she's been here a long time (and like they always say, once you have 2 what's 1 more). It has been a very smooth transition with none of the issues related to raising a puppy. I highly recommend adopting an older pet.

I've attached some pictures. You can see Bonnie, Abby & Otto enjoying their backyard & saying hi to their neighbor, Ginger. Bonnie enjoys chewing on a good stick and sometimes she & Otto share one. I haven't been able to get a picture of that yet, but it's something to see. After they come in it's nap time.

Bonnie's been a great addition to our family & we're very lucky to have her.

Because of everyone at Heartland, these wonderful dogs & cats have the chance for a good & happy life. So on behalf of Bonnie & the rest of us, thank you.

Liz Earnest

Hi, Heartland Heroes!

I just wanted to let everyone know that Lola, who is now known as Sundance, is a very happy, lively dog who is bringing great joy into our lives.

We adopted her at the end of April and you can see from the attached pictures how she is growing into herself. (The ones with my husband, Doug, and I are from the day we adopted her.) Our beautiful girl loves to play with other dogs in the park and on the beach and can't get enough of playing tug and fetch with Doug and me. Her training is going very well - she is a quick study! And she just loves everyone she meets.

Thank you for helping us to find our wonderful new "best friend!"

All the best,

DonnaLee Caringella

Dear Heartland,

Sorry to write you so late. Time has been slipping by so quickly. Today, Max is one year old. He has become the most important member of our family. It?s been only eight months since we had him, and it seems like a lifetime. Our life has definitely changed and we wouldn?t like it any other way. Max had made us slow down and smile when he wags his tail to welcome us. He comes and snuggles next to us when we feel sad or tired. He has made us walk outside to get fresh air and meet neighbors and friends which we wouldn?t have known otherwise. He has also made us understand the love for animals in a way we didn?t know before. We feel so blessed to have him. Here are some pictures of Max which will illustrate his new life in the Pintiliuc?s family. Thank you so much for giving us such a great gift.

Best regards,

Adina Pintiliuc

To the kind people at Heartland who took care of me,

I would like to Thank You and tell you that I love my new home and family.

I went for a long car ride and when we stopped I went into a cozy home with 4 girls there and one boy. The boy is my new best friend and dad, we do lots of things together and his name is Rick. We go for walks and play with toys most of the day. I like to take naps on his lap too.

The girls pet me a lot and let me snuggle on their beds while they nap or sleep at night. They call me their little brother and giggle at everything I do. I like to go for rides with my new mom....her name is Helena and she lets me ride in the backseat so I can look out the windows too.

I still have a cough but hopefully the medicine you gave me will help that to go away soon.

I am eating well and mom and dad say I need a little bit of meat on my bones. I will work on that.

My new sisters call me Jack, after a pirate on t.v. I didn't answer to 'Russell' so I thought that would be ok. I am sending some pictures to you, my mom promised Tom that we would send an update.

Thank You again, Jack Green ( the pup formerly known as Russell)

Helena B. Ryan

I adopted my dog Daley (Monterey Jack) in May of 2007 as a 8 week old puppy from a big litter of 8. Daley fit right into my vet student lifestyle, happily sleeping while I study and loving long walks when I can't study anymore.

He loves the dog park and has never met a dog he didn't like. He rolls right over for every new dogs but loves to excessively lick and play with all of his old friends. Now at 10 months, he is super layed back, letting himself be dragged across the ground by his excess skin by any one of his dog friends.

He is super cuddly and sleeps curled up on my feet (which is a problem when we are at my parents house for school breaks). Trying to share a twin bed with a 60 lb cuddler is slightly difficult.

I would be interested to see what all of is brothers and sisters turned out like because Daley has characteristics of so many breeds. My favorite is the great big hound howl he lets out as he runs down the stairs in the morning!

He is a great dog and an amazing stress reliever and I am so glad I found him!

University of Illinois

College of Veterinary Medicine

VIMC Secretary

Class of 2010

Hi everyone,

August 04 2005 my daughter and I walked into Heartland Shelter; my daughter Yasmeen was looking for a dog, we thought she would come home with a little furry dog. But she did better than that - she fell in love with Zazi @ first site. To say the least Zazi has been spoiled rotten and has a lot of attitude for a tanned mixed Chihuahua with Dachshund, she has never recognized herself as a dog and for that reason always had issues with other dogs, especially ones that looked bigger than her. After 2 yrs we had a new baby and our home is very busy and Zazi needed extra playtime. So once again my darling daughter Yasmeen suggested that we get Zazi her very own full time toy YES a new playmate! I thought their is no way Zazi will allow another dog into our home. I was wrong, this time when we went to Heartland Shelter Oct 27, 2007 it was I who fell in love @ first site with Jellybean total opposite of everything Zazi was. Jellybean (a black mixed Terrier & Dachshund) is quite, gently, passive. PERFECT for Zazi ! WE WERE RIGHT !! Zazi & Jellybean are best of friends. They play everyday. Zazi always wins in the racing, catching, and wrestling, sometimes I think Jellybean just lets her win. They follow each other all around the house and cuddle in bed @ night together. For those who know Zazi, she is not one to befriend another dog ever until she fell in love @ first site with her best friend Jellybean. Forever grateful for the unconditional love from our Zazi & Jelleybean . Thank you Heartland Shelter & Tammy.

Sincerely Leah Fleischer, Yasmeen & Julia

ZAZI & JELLYBEAN

I adopted the formally named ?Chaos? about 1 ½ years ago from Heartland Shelter? She now goes by ?KC? in honor of her favorite football team, the KC Chiefs.

I honestly can?t envision a happier cat (except if the Chiefs actually won the SuperBowl)? Not only is she constantly the center of attention, but her presence alone has transformed my house into a home.

Attached are a couple of pictures from this past Halloween, where she insisted on dressing as the ?king of the jungle??

Thank you all for doing what you do and giving me the opportunity to adopt her!

Dave

It's been about seven months or so since I adopted Harley the 'shepherd mix' from Heartland. I've determined that he is a shiba inu mix. I was first shown Harley and it was love at first sight. His fluffy tail could not stop wagging and when I learned his name was Harley, that sealed the deal; I had eyes for no other dog. Harley was my favorite dog name and I couldn't let this guy slip away.

The first few months were rough. Having no clue about his past, it was hard dealing with his spontaneousness. I quickly learned that he wasn't too fond of other dogs. He has crate agression and is very territorial. He is a very submissive dog to people and is very sensitive to harsh voices. In a matter of time, he got a lot better, even sleeping my with 8 year old Lhasa Apso sometimes. He lets her take his bones, toys and even his bed. He loves going for walks and going shopping at petstores, and is getting better at meeting new dogs.

Thank you Heartland for saving this animal from a cruel fate.

He was supposed to be euthanized the day I got him, if they hadn't rescued him from a Chicago pound.

He is quite a character and I'm very glad to have him in my life.

Joanna

Dear Heartland Animal Shelter,

Greetings from our family! I adopted Fluffy and Peppy from you a few months ago and things couldn't be better. My friends all joking call them Cheech and Chong, because of their relaxed attitudes and their love of belly rubs...not to mention their unending appetite for kitty treats! (I've never seen cats beg for food as much as these two in my life!) Everyone is doing wonderfully, even Finn the dog has adjusted well to his new furry companions, though I'm not sure he knows they are cats. In fact, I don't know if the cats know they are cats. Mr Peppy is happy to curl up the the dog bed with Finn, while fluffy enjoys a much more noble coexistence on the cat perch, guarding the window from those awful sparrows that often fly too close. :) As I mentioned, everyone is doing great, but it was not without a few bumps in the road. It took nearly 8 weeks before the boys adjusted to the new home. They hid under the bed or in the closet during that entire time, seldom coming out for love, but often making their presence known through screaming meows in the middle of the night. They finally became comfortable and then I couldn't keep them hidden if I wanted to! They are always the center of attention in my house. Fluffy was recently diagnosed with Diabetes, but doesn't complain very much about his insulin shots twice a day, he's sure a trooper. Peppy had to have surgery to mend a broken tail that he sustained when he got a caught in the shower door, but he's well on his way to recovery. Anyway, I just thought I'd send a little note and a cute picture of the boys. Thanks so much for allowing me to adopt such wonderful cats.

Jillian Robertson

PS...if anyone asks, I now always recommend adopting older cats. My 7 year olds are full of the spunk of a kitten, but are perfectly content spending hours on my lap for love. Thanks Again!

Dear Staff,

I can't thank you enough for all you've done to bring Max (formerly Elmer) and me together! You took wonderful care of him and if you had not given him the TLC you did, he may have forgotten his previous life which I think was a good one before the police dept found him.

He definitely had lived in a home at one time. He has not lifted his leg in the house. He knows to wait to at the gate when he wants to go in. He wants to go out constantly at this time and I purposely planned this weekend to be home and do work in the gardens and yard to allow him to be outdoors but I can still be in the vicinity. He seems to be getting along with the two dogs next door on the other side of the fence. I stay nearby just in case.

We are thinking he may have a bit of American Staffordshire terrier in him. That would explain the brindle and his bark is very similar to the two next door and they are Am. Staffs. It's kinda raspy.

We have taken at least one walk a day so far. He walks better on a harness and I will take him into the store to better fit him. My mom is very happy with his compact size. She can handle him on a leash.

We changed his name because we wanted it to be one syllable to make it easier for commands, etc. We began using Max as soon as he came home and he is responding to it about 40% of the time already.

I am attaching some pics. I think he is happy! What do you think?

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Noel

Dear Heartland,

We came into Heartland in February 2007 looking for a companion for Scarlett several months after her littermate Rhett died from kidney failure. We had been to many shelters and had not had much luck finding the right cat until Max (formerly Davis) picked my husband and started poking at him through his cage. There was one minor problem, Max had come to the shelter with his sister and we were only adding one cat.

Since Max and my husband had bonded ? guess who came home with us? We couldn?t leave Ellie (formerly Monroe) behind after spending 15 years with bonded littermates. Max quickly became our new friend and explorer while Ellie was more tentative, hiding under the bed and needing the courage to investigate.

It?s over a year later and they are doing great. Ellie has come out of her shell, made friends with Scarlett, and become a world-class cuddler. Max?s circus antics ? the cat condo climb, the human back ride, and the cat toy carry ? keep us entertained for hours. Scarlett just doesn?t appreciate his tackling or stalking abilities so we there?s still some hissing.

Scarlett, who didn?t do well as a solo cat, is now 17 and since the new kids moved in she?s gained weight and is too busy keeping an eye on her roommates to be depressed. Thanks Heartland and your volunteers for the new additions to our family. (In the photos ? Scarlett is the tabby, Ellie the Calico, and Max the white-chested stud.)

Kathy Mordini

Dear Heartland,

You might remember that I ended up at Heartland after being abandoned in an apartment after my family moved. I guess they forgot me! Things have gotten way better since then. I have been camping, swimming, kayaking and canoeing with my new family (see my canine sisters in the pictures below, Mary & Jim are too camera shy to be in the picture). I have also earned my CGC and Animal Assisted Therapy certification. I especially like working library programs where the kids read to me (I'm pretty well known at the Mount Prospect Library!). It's also fun visiting the seniors, who always love to give me lots of pets. Anyway, I've got to go now - time to practice for my agility class!

So - Thank you Heartland for rescuing me!

Corky

Hi Heartland animal shelter,

I just wanted to update you on "Chino", who I adopted two weeks ago.

I did give him a new name, Louis Armstrong (named after the jazz great). I have two other cats, Billie Holliday and Miles Davis, so you can the trend I have going.

He is just amazing and perfect. He is the sweetest little guy, funny and totally smart. He carries around his toys which is hilarious and fetches! He really will fetch a toy and bring it back to me, drop it at my feet over and over again.

He purrs, kneads and gives me little head buts, kisses, cuddles, everything.

All of the cats are getting along well.

I really can't imagine my life without him now.

I want to thank you all and his foster mom for taking such amazing care of him. It's why he is such a great little guy.

Sincerely,

Alison Pugh

Greetings:

I don?t remember names of the wonderful people that had help us and I am not much of a letter or email writer. But approximately a year ago we adopted a bloodhound (approximate age of 1 year) from heartland and his name at that time if I remember right was called Brady. We renamed him Lucifer and I am enclosing to our delight his graduation picture from receiving his good citizenship award. We would like to see him become a Therapy dog, but his baying when he gets excited may stop him. We don?t know as of yet. Just thought you would like to see his pic.

Thank you again,

Mr. And Mrs. Roy Mraz

We started looking for a new puppy before our older dog got sick. We knew we

wanted something shepherd-like, specifically my boyfriend wanted something with

standing ears. Every time we found a dog we liked they were already adopted

before we could inquire. Then our 14 year-old lab was diagnosed with prostate

cancer and we decided it would be too much stress for him to deal with a puppy

during his illness. Unfortunately he passed just a month later. We

unenthusiastically kept our eyes on Petfinder and bam, there was Apallo. We

faxed an application on Wednesday and by Sunday evening he was in the car headed

home with us. He is exactly what we wanted and while we miss our lab dearly,

our new Porter is helping us recover. Thank you Petfinder!

Dear Everybody at Heartland,

We adopted our dog form Heartland back in January. We named her Ginger [formally Tila]. She now has a nice loving family. Ginger is a well adjusted friendly , loving family dog who is great with kids. Ginger's birthday is coming up soon on October 26th. We are going to have a little party for Ginger. Every thing is going well except for Last month when Ginger got her tail caught in the door, we had take Ginger to the ER. They had to put some stitches in her tail. But she is getting better by the day. She misses you guys at Heart Land Animal Shelter.(Attached is a photo of Ginger)

From her owners,

The Falson Family

Dear Heartland,

It has been over 3 months since we brought Moose home with us. Moose is a bloodhound around 2 years old and was brought to Heartland after being found in southern IL. He has become the celebrity of our neighborhood and gains fans everywhere he goes. His laid back character and charming good looks make him a wonderful companion!

When we first brought Moose home he was slightly under weight and very shy. He would spend most of his time in a room separate from the rest of the family. Over time it has been a joy to see his true colors come out. He now plays with me, sniffs around for hidden treats, and enjoys long walks every day. He is also a healthy eater and gaining weight! We never heard him make a peep for the first month and now he lets out a long bay (howl) of joy every time that a family member comes home from going out! He now enjoys being a member of our "pack" and hangs out with the family when we are all in the same room.

Everything I have ever read about bloodhounds has said that they have a stubborn streak and drool a lot. I was fully prepared to deal with this, however I have to remark at how well behaved and drool-less Moose is! He is very well behaved and walks beautifully on a leash and drools less than my old lab!

Moose and my family could never thank everyone at Heartland enough for placing him into our lives!

Kristin

It had been a difficult year as I lost three of my four cats who had been with me for eleven years. Since I now live in the suburbs instead of the city I thought it might be a good time to welcome a dog into my home. I grew up with dogs but really hadn't had one of my own since I was a teenager.

After months of contacting rescue places and waiting weeks for responses, always being second in line or having them lose my application, I went to visit Heartland. Everyone there was very helpful and it took no time at all for me to point to a cage and say "that one"! I really appreciated the time that the volunteers spent talking to me, answering questions, and giving me doggy tips while walking the newly arrived pooch around the training room. I

Since I was a child I dreamt of owning a cocker spaniel and now here he is! Five year old Charlie could not be a better dog! He is playful (loves his toys), follows me everywhere, is completely housebroken, loves everybody, and never even barks. I cannot praise this puppy enough! Here is is below with his new brother, my remaining cat, Leo.

Thank you Heartland !

Judy

I adopted Oliver back in mid-July.

Initially I thought it wasn't going to work as Henry was jealous, Cooper kept jumping on Henry, etc. It took about a week and a half and then they just seemed to settle down with each other. I figured we were going to be okay when Henry started to initiate some play with Cooper.

The real bonding experience, though, came about a week or so later. I had joked with friends that Cooper needed to learn Henry's "death to all vermin" strategy (slow and deliberate) instead of just bounding right at them. Well, it seems he did. While off leash in my courtyard, they teamed up and caught & killed a pigeon. It happened fast, all I heard was a loud squawk & saw a "poof" of flying feathers and it was over. I swear, it was like one of those PBS nature programs where they show the lionesses working together to bring down gazelles. Afterward, Henry brought me -- there is no delicate way to say this -- a chunk (I was pretty disgusted and I stayed away from poultry for awhile...).

THEN (its been an exciting four months...), Cooper figured out how to get around the baby-gate that I put up on the porch in nice weather to keep the pups for going downstairs whenever they wanted. Well, I started to put big potted plants in his way to stop him, so he just started LAUNCHING himself off my porch to land on the steps 4 feet below. Amazing, since he wouldn't even go up or down them to begin with. Up went some chicken-wire fencing...

Had a friend over one day last month, on one of those last sunny days we had. We were sitting on the porch having gin and tonics. We stepped inside so I could show him something and when we came back out we discovered Cooper had drunk (by climbing up onto the table) one of the drinks and was in the midst of eating a lime wedge.

Coop's favorite activity is definitely playing catch with tennis balls or running around the dog park with Henry, but I think he gets great joy from uprooting a palm tree I have (he's done it 4 times so far). Once he pushed the palm tree completely out of its pot and I found him laying, curled up on the remaining dirt.

So, I have decided Cooper is not a dog, but Huckleberry Finn, Evel Knievel and the Tazmanian devil (with a bit of a drinking problem) all rolled into one...

But its going well, and Henry and I are pretty happy he is with us. See the photos attached.

Thank you for your help with the adoption. Hope all is well with you and Heartland. Best wishes! --patrick

Hi Heartland,

In Oct 2006 we adopted Luke and while he was a scared little dog, we instantly fell in love with him. In 2007, when my father in law wanted to adopt a dog we found Pepe. We changed his name to Elvis.

Both Luke and Elvis have adjusted very well. Luke is such a cuddle boy and is finally over his fear of strangers. Elvis is a great guard dog and loves to be the center of attention.

I am attaching some updated pictures of our boys. Luke is the black dog, Peanut is the brown and tan dog, and Elvis is the brown and white dog.

Thanks so much to Tammy and the staff at Heartland!

Sincerly,

Michelle and Adam Rogus

To The Heartland Staff,

Luci (formerly Queenie) has been with us almost 1 year now.

We adopted Luci just before Christmas 2007.She has been a complete joy and loves being part of her new family.

It is hard to understand how anyone could have abandoned such a sweet dog.She love playing frisbee in the summer, taking 2 long walks each day andchasing squirrels in her yard.Though she is almost 30 pounds - she wants to be a lap dog and takes most ofher naps that way.A very special thank you to everyone at Heartland for rescuing Luci and fortaking such good care of her.Enclosed are several picture of Luci and her new family.

Thanks Again and Happy Holidays!

Jeralynn and everyone else at the Heartland Animal Shelter,

I just wanted you to know that Twilight (now named Jet) is doing very well at her new home. She is a sweet girl and is so calm, peaceful and serene. She is no trouble at all. She loves to sleep on her multitude of soft beds and couches that are available to her, and she has regained her appetite. She now loves to eat her food, and we have started giving her raw bones, which she carries around with her excitedly for much of the day. She loves her walks more than anything else. On the weekends, we try to give her a 2-3 hour walk, and she trots along proudly and excitedly the entire time. She is a true ?wanderer? ? we know that she can?t be off-leash yet, because she loves to explore and examine the perimeter of every place she goes. We plan to go to classes later on to learn some commands.

A real surprise was how much she already knew. She is completely housebroken and has never had a single accident in the house. She waits politely to go out without complaining or whining. She knows ?come? and ?drop? and several other words, and she is a very good girl. We just know that she must have had a home and a person that she loved once, because she shows no fear of people at all. We wish we could find out what happened to her person. We hope she isn?t sad and lonely for him (we are pretty sure it is a ?him,? because she responds much more to men than women).

We are very glad we could give her a home. At age 10, she was not going to be that easy to adopt out, we feared. Something in her eyes told us that she needed us. I had just lost my 15 year old black lab, Zola, earlier in the month. Zola was my best friend and had been with me all of my adult life. I didn?t know how much I would miss her until she was gone. I miss her every day. Jet helps me feel better about that by making it possible to give love and attention to a dog who really needed us. Of course she can?t replace Zola ? she is a very different dog ? but it is nice to have her there in the morning, ?helping? me make breakfast, scaring off the squirrels, sleeping quietly curled up. She has not completely warmed up to us yet ? she is not affectionate very often ? but we hope that will come in time.

Thanks to all of you who saved her and who work so hard to save so many other dogs and cats. It is too hard a job for me to imagine. I would like to take them all home.

Thanks again,

Jamie F. and Michael S.

We just wanted to thank you so much for matching us last spring with our little buddy, Champ (aka Champagne). Our "adoption counselor" was so patient while helping us find a dog that would best fit our lifestyle. Champ is such a great dog- he even graduated from doggy school this summer with an A+! We've included some pictures of him at his graduation. He looks pretty proud, huh?

Thanks for all of the hard work you do to rescue and care for wonderful dogs like Champ!

Rick and Lisa Schindler