Hi Everyone at the Shelter:

Missy, now named Katie, was adopted by me in May, 2009. She is a beautiful dog and has given me nothing but pleasure. I know I should have written sooner but I wanted her to put on a little weight before I sent a picture. She still does not eat as well as she should but she is certainly healthy. Katie had to be weighed once a week for about 2 months after I adopted her to be sure she was putting on weight.

Attached is a picture.

Thank you for this loving, beautiful dog.

Nancy Weickert

Dear SUFA,
We wanted to forward a picture to you of the dog that London helped save! His name is "Dexter" and he needed a blood transfusion. Because of London he is still alive! London is a hero and deserves a loving home!

We thought maybe you could notify people that London is a hero and helped to save a life. He was very well behaved here, rode very politely in the car and is great with the "sit" command!

We hope he finds a good home because he truly deserves it. We thank you and "London" for all of your help!

Sincerely,
Marathon Veterinary Hospital

LONDON

Folks,

As many of you know I am back in Alaska. Anchorage this time. Rio ( who was born and raised in Fla) had his first encounter with snow today. He did pretty good in my opinion.
Hope this finds everyone well. I would also like to thank everyone for their words of kindness, comfort and support on the loss of my Mom. I am doing well. Thank you.

Best wishes,

Henry & RIO " The Bengal Boy"

(Henry was a much valued volunteer at SUFA and he is very deeply missed!)

Hello,

Two years ago today we visited your facility to have a look at a brown dog, newly dropped off at your shelter. Little did we know that we'd be departing with a vomiting furball who'd had a rough day indeed -fixed and puppy abortion in the same shot!

She came to you as "Lady", which you changed to "Sadie". She answers also to Brown Dog, and many people know her only by her alias.

"What kind of dog is she?"

"She's brown."

From the sounds of it, her life before meeting you folks wasn't great. She was dragged across your parking lot in a crate and you stated that she showed classic signs of being tied up in the backyard and neglect in general. As we got to know her, we can confirm this. Our theory is that she was a gift for a kid who lost interest -she got basic necessities and that's it. She also showed some signs of abuse, being skittish around brooms or people with large objects in their arms. And men, especially large ones. And boots. Oh, and bicycles!

Within a couple of months with us she went from 20 to 30 pounds of solid muscle. She bonded with us within a day but everyone else was certainly suspect. There were no social skills to speak of, especially in her interaction with other dogs where she was totally indifferent.

I won't lie to you -she's been a handful. She's now almost 3 years old and still has all the energy of a puppy with no signs of letting up, very physical and hyper. She's extremely vocal both with barking and a variety of weird sounds that come out of her -we're convinced she's part basenji. She's a talker! And now that she's figured out that other dogs are to be played with, she'll almost drag us down the street to meet another furry friend, whining and acting up. Personally, I think I'll miss her puppy characteristics when she grows out of them, even though they're exhausting! Our tomboy is a very rough-and-tumble girl.

Along with the fun times, there have been some problems, too. While she's incredibly protective, she definitely comes off as mean. She's a nipper, although she doesn't draw blood. On a couple of occasions we wondered if we might need to bring her back to you but we decided that we had no business looking for a dog at the pound if we weren't willing to deal with some problems. We just keep a very close eye on her around new people and animals and she has become a completely different dog in the past 2 years. It makes me sad when strangers think she's mean (very protective of my shop, where she accompanies me every day) when quite honestly, she's possibly the happiest dog I've ever known. Our neighbours also comment on how happy she is and how much she's changed and she's a popular girl with a lot of friends here at our marina.

Anway, I felt like dropping you a line today to celebrate the end of Sadie's second year with us and to let you know what a cheerful pup she is. She brings us a lot of smiles and laughs, and she's certainly a character with a lot of personality. We can't imagine life without her!

I've attached a few photos of our funny girl.

Kindest regards,

Joanne Scott

Thought you would like to see these. Jack has settled in nicely. I think he keeps Brett awake at night (purrs all night long). Third photo answers our question as to whether or not he would be afraid of our dog. Jack prefers Abbey's (our retriever) tennis balls to the little plastic balls (with bells inside) I bought him.

The Bertini family

Stout's restaurant celebrated their 45th year in business on Friday by serving up meals with 1960's prices and raising money for Stand Up for Animals. Pictured are Stout staff Suzy Curry, Diane Gaffield, Beaudie, a cockapoo from the Marathon Animal shelter, Sidney Owen, Rocky, a dachshund from the shelter, and Linda Gottwald of SUFA.

Hi Linda,

I wanted to share some pictures of Muffin with you & her wonderful new family!

Pic 1. I LOVE the one of her tail up, while walking in her big fenced in yard!
Pic 2. Getting some shut eye.
Pic 3. With her new Dad Lee, and her little sister Kasey.
Pic 7. With her mommy Karen.
Pic 9. Muffin with her Dad and sisters, Kasey and Sandy:)
Pic10. The first night in her new home. She fell asleep in the living room, her dad didnt wanted her to be confused when she woke up, so he slept out there with her:)

They are so happy with Muffin! They said she seems to do alot better in thunderstorms with other doggies in the house!

Thank you again for everything!

Leigh and Bill Trefry

P.S. Our little one (whom is now named Penny Lane) went to see Dr. Mike today and got wonderful reviews!!! We were going to stop by tomorrow (Saturday) to let you know what he said (regarding shots) and officially adopt our Penny:)

Everyone here at the shelter was very happy to have a visit from Lucy, one of the adult Golden Doodles that was rescued in July08. She's safe, healthy, and very happy in her new forever home!

SUFA AWARDED HSUS GRANT TO FOR ABANDONED ANIMALS

Stand Up for Animals (SUFA) has been awarded a $2,000 grant from the Humane Society of the United States to help animals abandoned due to home foreclosures. Working with Default Realty Services of the Keys, the organization is rescuing dogs and cats that are left behind when families move from their homes.

“Animals are the silent victims in this current economic climate," said Linda Gottwald, Director of SUFA. "They don't understand why their families have left them behind and it is heartwrenching to see the confusion and fear in their eyes. Adrienne Kasheta, Vice- President of Default Realty, has identified and arranged for animals on properties her company deals with to be brought to our shelters. In addition, Default Realty is making monthly contributions to help match the HSUS grant and ensure the welfare of our local animals."

The Humane Society of the United States offers a website with tips on how to care for animals during the current economic downturn at www.hsus.org. In addition, persons who know of an animal that has been abandoned or a family that is in danger of losing their pet because of foreclosure are asked to call SUFA at 743-3779, Default Realty at 853-8777or your local animal shelter.

Kathy Branch and her husband, Capt. Spider Branch pose with cash they raised and two friends from the Marathon Animal Shelter.

The couple selected Stand Up for Animals as a recent recipient for their weekly charity casting contest at rumBums at the Seven Mile Marina.

Just a little hellooo from us all to let you know how well things are going since picking up our newest family member. Yesterday, we officially name our baby doodle boy SCUBA. We vacillated between that and Coki, which is our favorite beach in St. Thomas, V.I. but SCUBA just seems to fit him.
He is curious about everything and really enjoys our younger kitty Mui, who seems equally intrigued by Scuba. I foresee a lasting friendship between them. His favorite place to be so far is with the boys. He follows them everywhere and whimpers when they are out of his sight. I am proud of them too for being so gentle with the pup, they adore him.
Every time we bring him out to go "potty" (which is often), he does his business right away which we find very impressive. We give him his medicine every morning, and make sure he always has food + Esbilac available, little guy has quite an appetite. He sleeps close to or in the boys room or curls up in an available lap (usually Wylan's, our 6 year old).
I will contact you tomorrow (Monday) as you requested to schedule a time for Scuba's shots. If you need to reach me, my # is (305)------ or my husband Mike's cell. In the meantime, thank you again, we are looking forward to a long and healthy future with our new puppy.

The Pullis Family
Shannon, Mike, Wylan, Finn
Elliott, Mui, T-Bone, Scuba

Dear Editor,

Stand Up for Animals would like to thank our community for the tremendous response to last week's influx of puppy mill dogs. When all 48 animals were surrendered to SUFA, our elation at avoiding a court batttle was tempered with panic - "Where will we put them?"

Within hours, however, a steady stream of volunteers and foster parents from Key West to Homestead came to the shelter to open their homes and their hearts to these frightened and confused animals.

Every adoptable puppy and most of the adult dogs found in the warehouse are now in a loving home. The list of people and groups to thank is too long to print in its entirety - but we do want to acknowledge the neighbors that cared enough to call when they first sensed something was amiss and the quick response of Marathon City officials and the Monroe County Sheriff's Office.

Pat McCarthy and Stacy Shippe of Outta the Blue Marina sponsored a marine yard sale that raised nearly $1,000 the very day SUFA discovered the dogs - perfect timing to help defray their spay and neuter costs! The very next day, Marathon Plumbing came to the rescue and helped build new pens.

Our gratitude also to Key Largo's Marr-Velous Pet Rescue for immediately fostering, altering and adopting three puppies and Homestead's Pink Poodle Salon for shampooing and shaving oodles of poodle fur!

Finally, while these 48 dogs were fortunate enough to be discovered, countless others languish in farms, warehouses and garages across the country, mass-producing puppies with factory-like efficiency under conditions even worse than those found in the Marathon warehouse. Please remember every puppy "rescued" from a pet store or purchased over the Internet encourages this ugly business...while shelters are filled with purebreds as well as mixed breeds waiting for good homes that may never come.

Thanks again to everyone who helped this group's story have a happy ending.

Dr. Linda Gottwald

Executive Director, SUFA

(305) 393-0294

If any of you had been in the shelter a couple of years ago and then again in the past 5 months you would have seen a familiar face. Belle, our Australian Cattle Dog, with one eye, was with us a couple of years ago and then again a few months ago when her owner could not take care of her any longer. She became quite the queen of the office and was a regular fixture under the desk. In fact the first time that we picked her up we had named her Queenie. We later found out her real name was Belle. Well as you may know older dogs, or dogs with unique features are usually the last to be oooooed and awwwwd over. About 2months ago we had visitors from a shelter in Michigan. One of the gals felt a special love for Belle right away. So plans were made for her to fly back down this month and fly back with her. Belle’s reservation was all set on the airline and she had her bags packed along with her best eye-patch. A couple of days before her flight we called to confirm her reservation only to be told that there was an embargo on pets flying and she would not be allowed to board. Well, needless to say we were very panicked and worried for Belle and her new guardian angel…But not to worry. Belle was so special and important to her new owner that she rented a car for an employee of SUFA and paid for the gas for the long haul to Michigan. We took along another little boy named Marley and he was adopted by another Michigan shelter being welcomed into their home as one of the gang. Katie from SUFA along with her trusty sidekick Molly drove the whole strange looking gang up north so Belle could finally be in her forever home! We here at SUFA miss Belle dearly, but we thank you Heidi for loving Belle enough to give her a new lease on life