Help A Hound Series: Hanella & Aria

My good friend and fellow rescue volunteer, Angela, and I went to our local shelter to do a story on a pup available for adoption.  Upon arriving, the shelter manager gave us the privilege of doing a story on two adorable pups!  The dogs just happened to be kennel mates, so they were already pals! 


Meet Hanella!

Hanella is an adorable white and tan hound mix.  With wonderful floppy ears, a bobbed tail, and cute little freckles, she is a bundle of cuteness!   Hanella is a young adult that came to the shelter as a stray.  I would guess her to be between one and two years old.  She is up to date on all of her vaccines, and her spay surgery will be included in her adoption fee.  Hanella is dog friendly, and she is also heartworm negative.  All Hanella needs now is a family to call her own!

Hanella

The Magic Dog Lady

My mom has a nickname for me:  The Magic Dog Lady.  This nickname started back when I saved little Betty from being a stray back in April.  My mom says the dogs know where to find me.  Word on the street is I am a lady who will always help a pup in need.  Well, sometimes rumors are true.  The dogs are right.  I will always help them!

Lucky Number Seven

After Miss Daisy (Cassidy) left, Ben and I took a three week hiatus from fostering.  Although I love fostering, it was so very nice to have some quality time with our three kids.  Ever since we adopted Willa, she never really got a chance to be the "new" dog.  We always had other dogs around.  We took this opportunity to spoil her rotten....and oh, did she love it!

After three weeks of enjoying my little family, I decided it was time to help again.  There were just too many pups in need for me to sit on the bench any longer.  I called Paula from Sea Dog Rescue and we set up a time to head to our local shelter to find my next foster.

On July 12, 2013, Paula and I met at the local SPCA.  We started walking around the kennels and I immediately fell in love!  With Farrah :)  She was a beautiful hound!  Unfortunately, we were looking for a male to go in my household, so Farrah would have to wait.  (I of course went back to photograph her and do a blog post.  She is still available!)  Hounds are most definitely my weakness.

Paula & I kept browsing.  We saw three boys that struck our fancy.  One ended up not doing well with other dogs and one wasn't available for adoption yet as he was still on his stray hold.  That left one.  Olson.

Photo courtesy of Paula Ford

Cassidy's Happy Tail

Two days after Paula & I dropped off Miss Cassidy at the vet for her spay surgery, she joined our home as our sixth foster.  Although she was very fearful when we pulled her from the shelter, she quickly blossomed into a happy girl once she joined our family.

Before:

 

After:

Help a Hound: Elvis

Meet Elvis!

Elvis is a gorgeous 2 year old black and tan coonhound!  He is neutered, microchipped, heartworm negative, and up to date on all of his shots.  All that he needs now is his forever family to scoop him up!

Rescue

I love rescue.  I feel like I have finally found my place in life now that I am a part of rescue.  It is what I was meant to do.  There is no greater feeling than saving a life.  It is the ultimate reward to see a dog go from a shelter to a loving home where they will never go hungry again and where they will never be without love and affection.  

Saving Cassidy

After our little monster left, Ben & I were going to take a little hiatus from fostering.  Our break ended up lasting only three days.  Once I saw the video of this sweet little girl in need of a foster home, I knew our break was over.

Video courtesy of ENC Shelter Dogs Facebook Page

Marriage & Rescue

Our Wedding Day

I love my husband.  He is my person.  My kids adore him.  He is a wonderful father to our fur kids, and he will be a wonderful father to our future two-legged children.  I see him playing with my nephews or his younger cousins, and it makes my heart happy.  He is a good man.  My good man.  I am so very lucky to have him at my side. 

Our First Adoption Event

The Sea Dog Crew

I absolutely LOVE my volunteering!  Not only does it make a difference and save lives, but I get to hang out with some amazing people in the process.  The volunteers at our rescue are top notch.  We all care so much and love what we do.  It is always a good time when we get together!

One Lucky Beagle

This adorable stray found her way to my back step a few days after we moved into our new home.  Where I live, hunting with dogs is very popular.  Although there are hunters that take good care of their dogs, it is a sad truth that many hunters see their dogs as equipment instead of family.  If you walk into any shelter here in North Carolina, you will see a plethora of unwanted hunting dogs.  It is so sad to see as hounds make wonderful family pets.  I can personally attest to this.  My sweet girls, June & Willa, are simply the best!   

Four...Plus One

Ben, Cooper, June, Willa, Topaz, and I moved into our new rental house on Friday, April 26, 2013.  It was quite a busy time for us.  We had a lot of packing, lifting, unpacking, and cleaning to do.  Not to mention we were still working our full time jobs and taking care of our three dogs and one foster.  The Bruner household was a very full one indeed!

Everything Happens for a Reason

After adopting our sweet Willa, I was quite sad at the fact that we could no longer foster as we had hit the city limit of three dogs.  Unfortunately, Ben also had a limit of three dogs.  I couldn't blame him for keeping me grounded.  Sometimes enough is enough.  I still felt, however, that one more wouldn't be any harder than three.  Someday....maybe....he would agree.

Third Time is a Failure

 
Willa joined our household on March 2, 2013 as our third foster.  She immediately wormed her way into my heart.  I instantly knew I was in love, which caused quite an inner struggle for me.