Happy Tails = Happy Endings
This is our favorite part: the “Happy Tails” success stories for our rescues. We love to hear from people who have adopted dogs from Canine Comfort and hear how these lucky pups are thriving in their new forever homes. Below are a few of our rescue success stories. If you are interested in adopting one of our rescued puppies or dogs, please go to the Adoption page.
Mukluk
Dear Canine Comfort,
I am pleased to find your website and learn more about our great dog, Mukluk. We adopted her in Anchorage, or she adopted us, and have been so fortunate to have her as part of our family. Mukluk now resides with my husband and I and our three kids in England, as our family was relocated with the military. She has enjoyed many camping, fishing, hiking, and sledding trips and pretty much loves just being with us. We are glad, as we love having her. It breaks my heart to hear about what happened to her and so many others like her. However, I feel so fortunate to know that her sass, determination, and loving nature pulled her through and brought her to us.
Sincerely,
Christie
Jewels
Hello Canine Comfort to hear from you,
We are having great fun with Jewels and really enjoying her character. She likes to climb and hang out on your neck and stand on you anyway possible. She’s also very mischievous and loves to steal your stuff and then flaunt it at you and keep the item from you – tons of fun. As long as we keep her busy with toys, she is good about not chewing up other items in the house.
Twin Cities Veterinary loves her, since she has a tendency to lay around and pose while visiting – she’s had some shots and is about due for the next series.
Most of the potty training has been on Scott and Zena. Jewels and Zena have been great company for each other and she’s a great girl.
Thanks again for this precious treasure to our home – she’s where she belongs and we love her.
Carolyn and Scott
Billie, Longfellow, & Vaulter
This is Billie. She needed to be rescued from Bethel along with her two brothers. These puppies were the cutest pups ! The Canine Comfort, Inc. women took them for walks with Ringo Boy out at the gravel pit and beach area. Ringo was so watchful of these tiny “kids” making sure they were not going to get lost while on his watch. It would be wonderful to hear about their new homes.
This is Billie’s brother Longfellow. Even though neglected, these three puppies were the most joyful, playful and willing to please puppies anyone could ask for, it is a mystery that they were not cared for in the home they were born into. Longfellow’s tail cannot stop wagging and he even has a smile on his face. How can one not love a guy like this !
This is Vaulter, he got this name one day on a walk and there were mud puddles everywhere. Everybody was tromping right through them. But this pup made a game of jumping the puddles in a single bound. Even with those short legs of his. I can’t say I blame him, getting all soaking wet would make me cold. It was so very hard to send these three puppies out into the world to find a good forever home. We will remember them fondly!
Three Toes
Great news! Three-toes has been adopted! He went very fast here. He has a great personality and everyone loved him. He went to a nice couple who absolutely loves dogs. They loved the thought of rescuing a dog and they walked through our doors and fell in love with Three Toes. They are great people who spoil their dogs, which is a great life for him. They are going to keep his name also. Glad we could help and give a great dog his forever home. Baron Von Threetoes Jackson is delightful, and has become a real love sotry in our life…We also know he is still a dog…and we think we love him more for that than anything.
Sirius
Sirius has a glossy shiny coat…what a wonderful personality…this whole litter were the happiest, always playing happily, no fighting or bullying, they all deserve the best. As you can see he likes to explore, even taste the weeds.
Tiberius
Tiberius, being an alpha male, always was checking on what everyone was doing. He will be someones best bud and they will be so lucky.
Hagrid
This is Hagrid. His personality is hugh and just so jovial. A happy giant, full of love and willingness to please. Even when tiny, he looked like the biggest pup because his fur coat was soft and fluffy, the poofyness gave him the look of largeness.
Buddy
Buddy is a sweet tempered little gal of a mixture of Pittbull and ?…She was a joy to have here with us even for a short time…Good Luck, Buddy…Canine Comfort wishes you the very best life has to give you…
Cedric
Bev suggested these puppies have Harry Potter Character names and this is Cedric…he has a calm reserved personality and just a bit timid. Cedric caused us to wonder who is his daddy and how did he become so light colored. He is so handsome!
Hedwig
I bet you can guess how Hedwig got her name! With so much white it was a no brainer and then those eyes decorated with black and rust. The best is she loves her name, you say it and she stops, turns and runs to the sound of her name…just perfect!
Tonks
And here is the flambouant Tonks full of that sparkling personality and perfectly named. Tonks beauty is in the coat she wears, a soft yellowish brown with a wonderful jaggedy white streak of white from face to around her neck…just gorgeous!
Pips
And here is Pips, she turned out to be the smallest of all seven pups but just full of vim and vigor. Also, the little white strips on her head and neck seemed to say a tiny name will be just right.
Little Red Pups
These three reddish pups came to us at 4 weeks of age…the Momma dog was not taking very good care of them so they had to be weaned early and started on solid food. Alaska Dog & Puppy were happy to take them and quickly found good homes for all.
Genny the Golden Pup
Where did this gorgeous gal come from…? This pup had been hanging around the Aniak General Store for a couple days, in January. We could not find out who owned her so we sent her into AK DPR. We guessed wrong about her age, we thought 12 weeks old, but the veterinarian said she was 16 to 18 weeks old. How does somebody lose their puppy? It just boggles the mind! Genny did find a wonderful forever home and is safe and happy.
Azrael, Rescued From Hell, Twice…
Someone found this tiny pup at the village dump in early November. His eyes still had the blue cloudy look all puppies have for a few weeks after they open. So, that made Azrael at the most 4 weeks old, left at the dump to fend for himself. He lived indoors with his “rescuers” in a card board box. When he grew big enough to escape from the box he was put outside tied to a 1′ piece of rope, no room for a puppy to play. But then, all his time was willing himself to stay alive, because it was winter. Then one day a kind neighbor, who would bring Azrael into her home at night when it was real cold, heard another puppy locked up on the porch. She called Azrael’s “rescuer” and said she was going to take him. The “rescuer” said, “Go ahead, I wish he’d die, anyway.” The next day, the kind neighbor called Canine Comfort to see if we could help her find this beautiful, brown eyed six month old pup a home. We sent a crate out for her to send the puppy to us. This poor dog, weighed only 8#’s and stood 11″ high at the shoulder. He was so weak from dehydration and starvation it was all he could do to stand. He entered his true salvation on Saturday and by Tuesday afternoon gained 1#. Most of that water weight. Ten days later he weighed in at a full 10#’s. He is starting to play the way a puppy should, he is very polite when he sees me with his food and will sit quietly for me to set it down in front of him and he is even respectful of the other dogs in the house and will not try to get them to share their food with him. His name is Azrael, because the Arch Angel Azrael is the angel who goes into the deep far reaches of Hell to retrieve the souls who do not belong there and sends them to Heaven.
André the Sleddog
André is a happy fellow that Canine Comfort helped get to Shishmaref to join a recreational sleddog team. He was very surprised to eat his first meal of seal meat. He wasn’t sure if he liked it at first but now is enjoying this wonderful feeling of being well fed and able to do what he loves to do…run like the wind with his new friends…
Tino & Tori
These two young dogs came to us on Dec 31, 2010. They followed the traffic coming from Chuathbaluk and got as far as Aniak Minor and moved in with a tiny Yorkshire Terrier that stays under his owners house during the day. The owner asked if I could get these two dogs because they were eating his dogs food. Since the ice trails are not truck friendly, I had to walk over and get them to follow me, which they did once they knew I had some yummy treats to share. The female, Tori, was just coming out of her heat cycle so we had to send her into Anchorage to have her spayed as soon as possible. The foster home ended up falling in love with her and decided to adopt rather than send her back out here where there are no forever homes available. What luck for Tori.
Tino, Tori’s brother was able to stay and was lucky enough to be fostered by Bev. They got along great and Tino quickly learned how to be a good boy indoors and out. He behaved well with Bev’s two older male dogs who quickly became Tino’s role models. When it was time for Tino to go into Alaska Dog & Puppy Rescue, Chester and Pupper were so used to Tino’s company they looked all over for their new friend. But now Tino is in a home of his own with a young boy of his own. I hear he sleeps in the same bed.
Two American Bulldog Pups
This foster Momma enjoys playing with her foster pups. The pups were not given names, nothing seemed to stick. It was hard to let these pups go into AK. DPR for adoption. They were so cute with their long legs. Their real Momma was very big and tall..
Princess/Priscilla
Now this little dog is somewhat of a hero. The same morning her pup, Ziggy was sent into town, we took in two American Bulldog puppies only 3 weeks old. Priscilla didn’t skip a heart beat when I asked her to foster these two new pups. She took charge of them as if they were her very own and she nursed them until they were 6 weeks old and eating 4 puppy chow meals a day. Alaska SPCA took Priscilla in for placement.
Lilly
Lilly, Lilly, Lilly,..what a handful…This pretty lady is going to live in CA. Kathy’s sister, Doris, told her son, who was visiting in Anchorage, to bring back a Husky puppy. Lilly seemed the right choice. When we were trying to think of names, this pup would wag her tail everytime we said, “Lilly”, so she became Lilly and she is the whitest pup. The dark color Husky is Lady Bug. She is 11 years old and will live out her years with Canine Comfort.
Ziggy
Little tiny Ziggy was born the day after Christmas 2010. She came to us with her Momma, a Cardigan Welsh Corgi looking dog. Such a very smart puppy who learned so quickly what the potty pads were for. Once Ziggy was 6 weeks old, it was time to send her into Alaska Dog & Puppy Rescue. She was adopted by an elderly couple and may she bring them much joy!
Aoanna
Aoanna has been adopted by a very active woman who now has two Canine Comfort Huskies. While Aoanna is still too young to go ski-joring, she will be learning how to be the best. The happiest part of Aoanna’s adoption is she will be living right here in Aniak.
Apollo
This is Apollo, he is an Alaskan Sleddog puppy. His name means, “manly beauty”, and he is so gorgeous. Apollo and his sister, River, were sent into Alaska Dog & Puppy Rescue for adoption. A very active family with kids knew he was the dog to complete their home!
River
River got her name because she has a river of white flowing down her face. Alaska Dog & Puppy Rescue found a home for River with a woman who would like to do ski-joring. We hope these two active gals have many years of fun together!
Mary
Mary is a very sweet Husky with a heart of gold! Bev rescued her from St. Marys. It is just amazing what a dog can experience and still be sweet, kind and loving. She found a wonderful home with the help of Alaska SPCA in Anchorage.
Yeager
Yeager, the pretty tri-colored gal, also of a sweet, loving and a bit timid personality, went to Alaska Dog & Puppy Rescue. She found her forever home with the good folks that were going to foster her for adoption.Snow Dog, Yeager’s sister, is with AK DPR now. She is having culture shock and is going through behavior training. She does not trust folks she does not know or strange dogs so the busy city environment has been a set back for her forever home.
Penny
This is Penny. She was given up shortly after having 8 puppies. Penny was adopted by a neighbor, here in Aniak, who thought she was a really nice dog.
Penny’s Puppies
These 3 puppies are Penny’s “kids”. They all were this color and were very hard to tell apart. One little boy was adopted by Sue and Craig Luchsinger so Lucy could have a little brother to look after. The others were taken to Alaska Dog & Puppy Rescue, where they all were adopted.
Puppy #1 Blue collar, Male Puppy
Puppy #2, Blue Training Collar, Male
Puppy #3, Red/Purple Collar, Female
Puppy #4, Gold cord, Female
Female Puppy
Female Puppy
We’ve been adopted! They were born on May 1, 2009. Momma dog is a yellow Labrador mix and the Daddy, always questionable, is a medium-size dog with the same color and markings as these six cutie-pies.
Gimli
& Pippin
On March 21, 2009 Canine Comfort acquired two male puppies from the village of Kalskag. The puppies were born on February 7, 2009. When they came to Canine Comfort, they would not eat softened puppy chow and tried to nurse from other dogs. It was learned that the puppies were actually weaned from the mother dog when they were only four weeks old. We learned that they were fed milk and mashed Vienna Sausages.
After a day in our care, they began to eat the softened puppy chow and plumped up quickly. Both puppies had inquinal hernias and needed surgery. These puppies were very active and playful. We taught them “No bite, kissy kissy,” and they did very well getting to the piddle pads to relieve themselves with only a few misses. They ate their meals in their crates separately, but slept together in one. They came when they wanted to be held, usually before their nap. They got along well with all the dogs coming and going from Kathy’s house on a daily basis. They were not allowed to have a fighting attitude and stopped immediately when a loud voice was used. Gimli and Pippin were adopted May 20th by a young couple who will provide a stable and loving home.
Dally
March 16 2009: Dally was found between two wire fences one late afternoon just before dark. So tiny a thing, just amazing someone saw her and rescued her from a windy, freezing night that would have meant her demise. She was so lucky someone found her before night fell. We think she is a Pomeranian puppy as the breed book makes reference to many of her physical traits. She is a fluff ball of pure energy with no fear of all the other dogs and cats who live here even though they are all bigger than her. Thanks to the help of Sue’s co-workers’s in Anchorage, Dally was adopted within a day. Dally traveled to Anchorage with Sue who passed her on to her new owners.
Ellie aka Precious
March 9, 2009: Ellie/Precious was taken out of an abusive situation. She now is in a new home. Ellie/Precious was an 8 year old un-spayed female Boston Terrier who was very shy and fearful when she first came to Canine Comfort. We had to wait patiently for her come out of the crate when she was ready. By 11:30 a.m. the next morning she decided it was OK to play. She brought Kathy one of the balls but would not let it go so we had to learn each others rules to play the game. She learned to drop the ball so Kathy could pick it up to throw it for her to chase. Kathy learned to not try to take the ball away from her as she would hold onto it even harder. Good Luck Precious, you surely deserve the happiness you express to others in spite of what you’ve been through! Precious is now known as Ellie and lives in Anchorage with her new family.
Poochie
March 9, 2009: Poochie was found abandoned in -40 degree temperatures. As a result, he lost two toes due to frostbite. His picture was posted on Craigslist and he was adopted. Kathy had a really hard time parting with Poochie-boy. He is a very tender, trusting and joyful fellow. His eyes are kind and soft looking. She is happy that a nice young lady has adopted him.
Mukluk
Feb. 19, 2009: Mukluk’s owner no longer wanted her because she was a female. Canine Comfort took her and her two pups under their care. Homes were eventually found in Anchorage. This Husky is a first time Momma, she is very trusting letting other dogs check out her family. Starving for love and attention she should not have a hard time to learn how to become a great house dog. Mukluk is very active and quick on her feet, aren’t all Huskies? With a little bit of meat on her bones she will be a beautiful pet!
Mukluk’s Puppies
Feb 19, 2009: Mukluk’s two puppies were never named. Almost 8 weeks old, they sure were an armful. These two puppies were never named because they were not here long enough to figure out what names came to mind or what names fit them. They were born in 30 degrees below zero and the little girl lost part of her tail…a too familiar story here in Aniak. Almost 8 weeks old, they sure were armful!
Shanti
February 15, 2009: This is Shanti. She was found by someone who worried about her because she would not let anyone get near her. It was 20 degrees below outside, and finally on the second day she let her good samaritian tempt her onto the arctic entry to eat, drink and sleep in a warm place. Nobody knew where she belonged. Days went by and still nobody recognized this little dog. Finally, with a sign saying, “WHO DO I BELONG TO,” kids saw her, but she was very scared of them and had to be put in a kennel for their safety. Canine Comfort believes she was abandoned from Kalskag in Aniak because of her obvious agressiveness towards teenagers. Someone teased her so badly that she hates kids and teenagers and is very afraid of anyone else. She would most likely end up being put down anywhere else but this life is not her fault, Jim Sweeney decided to let her live here with Kathy’s other 10 dogs and another recent adoptee, Radar.
Radar
On January 29th 2009, this wonderful Rotty mix was traded for a loaf of homemade bread. It seems that this dog has some kind of problem with his back legs and once he was here, we worried that he would just be put down. We could not do that to him so now, instead of an old coat on top of the ice and snow, he sleeps on the Sweeney’s king size bed with another rescue and 2-3 cats.
Little Bit
Jan. 13, 2009: This young lady was scratching on someone’s window to be let in out of the freezing cold and high winds. She knew they were warm inside. Her photo was posted for 10 days in four different locations – why didn’t anyone claim her?! Little Bit now enjoys the security of her new home.
Greydee
November 9, 2008: Greydee was found wandering around in the November cold looking for food. Thankfully, she wandered onto a Canine Comfort co-founder’s property. After knocking on doors and asking neighbors if they knew her or where she belonged we decided she was another abandoned young female ready to come into heat. She is so sweet and has very good manners. We know she will make her new owners proud.
Annie
July 8, 2008: A true canine success story! Somebody knew this dog by another name when she was abandoned the first time. She became Annie sometime in January or February of 2008. She was left behind again in April, pregnant and had puppies in June. Canine Comfort was asked to help get a new home for Annie. She was sent into Anchorage Animal Care and Control Center were two HUMANE beings fell in love with her as soon as they set eyes on her. Annie now lives a life of luxury. Many THANKS to THOSE WHO HELPED ANNIE FIND a HAPPY LIFE!
Sweet Dreams aka Riley
August 7, 2008: Sweet Dreams-Riley is living in Anchorage and goes to doggy day care. She is Annie’s pup. Taken away at five weeks old and given to a small child, it’s no wonder she started to bite. Canine Comfort had her for two days and taught her “NO BITE, KISSY,KISSY ONLY.” She is one smart puppy.
Bingo aka Goldie aka Obama
July 21, 2008: Bingo was given to us after having pups. Bingo has had so many puppies taken away from her to never be seen again. She was no longer wanted because they had another dog (Mukluk) that they wanted to teach to be a sled dog. She now has a very loving forever home in Anchorage.
Whisper
June 2008: Whisper was always the last puppy to do anything. Her first bark made hardly any noise at all, so her name became “Whisper.” It was very obvious that she had tender feelings and it didn’t take much to discipline her. Care was needed for her to learn what was right and wrong or she would just shut down, feeling confused and sad. Eye contact was real important for her to know that we were doing good with each other. Once it was time to look for new homes for her and the rest of the puppies, the males of course were chosen first. It was very discouraging to realize that Whisper might not find a respectful and loving home that would be considerate of her tender feelings. Kathy Sweeney decided to keep her against her husbands wishes as they already had 8 dogs and 3 indoor-only cats. But he warmed up to Whisper very quickly and decided that, yes, she needed a more loving home than most dogs would. Then he spoiled her, and now she begs for food from him all the time. Whisper is a very happy dog. She is still shy but not so tender anymore probably because she feels secure.
Momma Dog aka Hope
April 2, 2008: This is Momma Dog. She was the first to inspire us to start a rescue group. Momma Dog was noticed, as she was looking for something to eat, as being very skinny. After having 14 puppies in 40 below temperatures and losing all but four pups, we were her and those pups salvation. Momma Dog was adopted here in Aniak by a wonderful family of five. She is a perfectly trained house dog. Makes one wonder why? Her 4 surviving puppies are: 1) Big Bark-recently found (4-17-09) on Alaska SPCA’s PetFinder listing. Three Toes/Smokey/Buddy-living with a family in Aniak. 3) Sweet Pea/Kira/Molly-living in Anchorage with a nice couple and has a new playmate. 4) Whisper Sweeney These puppies were the catalyst that got Canine Comfort rolling.
Big Bark
This is Big Bark. He was the largest puppy, of the four remaining from the litter of fourteen born in March of 2008. He earned his name when his first bark was so big he staggered backwards and looked surprised. He recently has found a forever home with the help of Alaska SPCA. Thank You for helping Big Bark find a happy life!
Sweet Pea aka Molly
This is our dear Sweet Pea, now called Molly,with her forever family. She has another brother, a Papillon called George. No more worries for Sweet Pea. She got her original name because she was so much smaller than the rest of her littermates and she was so sweet. Kathy couldn’t help but call her Sweet Pea. She was always so cute running as fast as she could to keep up with her brothers. We took many walks in “the forest” as Kyle, Kathy’s grandson would call it. It is sad to remember she very nearly froze to death and did lose part of her tail. Canine Comfort was so excited when the article published in ADN prompted her new family to let us know how she was doing. Now she looks content and secure. Canine Comfort is so HAPPY to be able to share Molly’s story of success!