Photos from Minnie (formerly Rita's Paula)

Finally got some new pictures of Minnie and have attached them. She is a great, well adjusted dog. She loves everyone, is very gentle, loves to play ball. So glad I got her!

Eileen

Photos from Sierra (formerly Rita's Fiona)

Here are some pictures of Sierra enjoying her new home. She is a joy! She enjoys bobbing for ice cubes in her water bowl, playing tug-a-war, meeting everyone she sees while out on walks, sleeping with her ball, and cuddling with her person.

MJ

Pang-Pang's first day

I want to let you know that Pang Pang was great all the way home.  She and Petey slept through most of the drive.  I stopped by my daughter’s and both dogs ran into her back yard FULL of energy!  We no longer have to question whether Pang Pang swims.  When she saw the kids in the pool she jumped in immediately and Petey was right behind her.  He has never shown any interest in the pool so it was quite a shock!  Erin’s three dogs ran around barking and the kids yelled with excitement, as Petey and Pang Pang swam like Olympians!  There is no way to describe it.  I can’t remember when I have laughed so hard!  My daughter instantly fell in love with Pang Pang and must have thrown her 100 balls.  She reminds us both of our Golden, Esprit, with her beautiful face, fun loving ways and gentle spirit.

We arrived in Wildomar around 8:00 pm and Pang Pang was very curious about her new home.  She explored every inch of our house and yard, as Petey followed.  He is quite smitten with our beautiful girl and is very interested in her every move and sound.  Surprisingly he does not appear to be the least bit jealous.  It will be interesting to see if he behaves differently when Max returns tomorrow.

Marty, as you said, she is quite the chow hound!  She ate a good dinner and tried for Petey’s.  He would have gladly let her have it but I promised to watch her weight so she only ate her portion.

Right now they are both at my feet and we are all tired and ready for bed.  Something tells me they will both snuggle with me tonight and we will all sleep well. She is an absolute doll and I am thrilled she is here.  I know she will be spoiled but promise it will be a “good” spoiled.

Thanks again for helping make it possible for us to have her.

Sharron

Congratulations Rita's Pang-Pang

Rita's Pang-Pang was adopted today by Sharon, George and their dog, Petey.  This spirited and confident girl finally found a great match in Sharon who is an absolute dog lover and fell head over heels for Pang-Pang. 

Pang-Pang thanks Rita and MJ for rescuing her off the streets in Taiwan and giving her safe passage to our Welcome Waggin' crew in the U.S.   Marty F. and his companion, Beth, were part of the welcome crew the night that Pang-Pang arrived and what was supposed to be a brief overnight foster stay turned into several weeks.  We are grateful to Marty and Beth for keeping PP and working with this sweet girl who was in need of training in the social graces.  I know that Sharon will continue the good work in terms of a commitment to PP's training.  Thank you Lisa D. for doing the homevisit.

We anticipate seeing Pang-Pang making the rounds visiting senior citizens several months down the road as Sharon is eager to take her to the facility where she works.

Rita's Fiona adopted!

Rita's Fiona is thrilled with her new life as beach blonde, and the first returns are that her new mom, Maryjane, is totally thrilled with her. Thank you, Lily, for making her part of your family this past week, to Jo B. for helping with her layover and arranging for her vet work, the IE dog walking team for looking out for her while she was with us, and to the Welcome Waggin' crew for helping her make her way into the states. Also, much gratitude to Rebecca M. for finding her this great new home! Most of all, best thanks to Rita & MJ for saving her from a crummy fate and making sure she found her way to us.

Awaiting transport to the U.S....

Meet Rita's Lucy, Hi Hi & Beryl

Three lovely girls rescued from a shelter a few months ago. They will be looking for furever homes in the U.S.

Barley (Rita's Michael) has quickly become a dear member of our family. His days consist waking up on one of his three beds, a hearty breakfast, a little playtime with a few of his growing pile of toys, a short walk, and off to work. He clocks in at around 8 and usually puts in a full day, clocking out around 6. His workday involves lots of petting from any and all of our staff members and clients, several marathon sessions of tug-o-war, a few spastic laps around the inside of the hospital, mixed with several walks to smell the flowers which usually results in a healthy nap around 3.

He is the sweetest, most loving dog we have ever met. We feel so fortunate to have him in our lives. He is very photogenic, so pics will follow shortly. He is already a hit on our hospital's Facebook page! (Rancho Viejo Animal Hospital)

Sincerely,

Chris & Leslie

Update from Tai (Rita's Willie)

Greetings from the South Bay!

Tai (formerly Rita's Willie) is completely settled in at his new home and having a ball with his canine and feline companions. He's learning all kinds of stuff - good and naughty - from his brother Buster and sister Kiara. He loves to carry things and has quite a talent for taking the tags off of clothes, linens, etc. Recently he had a fun outing to Griffith Park for a picnic, and he revealed a new talent when we got home.

Everyone who meets Tai instantly falls in love with him - he's as sweet as pie and impossible to resist. I am beyond thrilled to have him in my furry, four-legged family.

Many thanks to all who made it possible!

S. O'Neill

Postcard from Nikki (Rita's Nicole)

Nikki has been doing great, she has settled into her new home just like she has always belonged. Nikki's latest adventure was to the High Sierras with her little brother Jack where they loved to chase birds and squirrels. Not sure if Nikki has ever been to the snow but she had a great time at Rock Creek Lake, which was still frozen over from winter. We have slowly been teaching Nikki English since we do not know what the Taiwanese words for heel, sit and stay are. She is a very smart dog and learns everything very quickly. More to come.

Rick and Sherry

Rita's Jack Boy adopted!

Rita's Jack Boy's holiday weekend ended on a high note, as he adopted the Cooper Family! This lovely fellow came over with the last batch of Project Taiwan dogs and has been patiently reviewing applications looking for just the right opportunity. His moment arrived when his new mom contacted me to see if her family was a match for JB.

Jack Boy owes his undying gratitude to Rita and MJ who saved him and found a way to send him to us, and to Ira and the WW crew, who met him and his traveling buddies and helped them make their grand entrance to the states. JB sends love and thanks to the CP dog-walking crew, who helped him get his sea legs and start to learn a bit about southern California culture, and particularly to Sandy D. and Jessica R., who made the happy meeting possible. Special thanks go out to Lori B., who scouted out this fine home for him.

Congratulations, Jack Boy, on the start of a great new life!

Rita's Michael adopted!

Rita's Michael was adopted this weekend by Chris and Leslie of Irvine! This sweet boy captured the hearts of everyone he met including his foster mom, Sandra D., who was sad to see him go but so thrilled that he landed himself a forever home with two loving humans (both who happen to be veterinarians). Early reports indicate that Michael (newly named Barley) has wriggled his way into their hearts and they feel as if he's been with them forever. We expect that Barley will probably become their ambassador golden at their Mission Viejo vet clinic greeting other humans and canines. He's perfect for that role with a social, friendly and easy going personality.

Much thanks goes to Rita and MJ from Taiwan who rescued this sweet boy as a stray from the streets. Thanks to Barbara D., Ira L. and the Welcome Waggin Crew who helped Michael upon arrival in Southern California.
Big thanks to Sandra, her family and her rescue golden, Brisco, for giving Michael a resting haven until his forever adoption. Finally thanks to Leslie W., Cindy T. and Quincy for doing the homevisit for this lovely couple and true dog lovers!

Congratulations Michael (Barley)! You are a real inspiration ~

Postcard from Rita's Becky, now Penny

Check out Penny (aka Rita's Becky) on SDdoglife.blogspot.com! We have been having so much fun with Penny and love finding new, exciting places to take her. I started a blog to share these finds with other dog-lovers. There is so much out there to do with dogs! Check out all these great things to do and events, and the adventures of Penny!

We feel so blessed to have Penny in our lives and we're looking forward to a fun summer with her! 

Thank you for all you do and thank you to Rita!

Meet Rita's Seven

Photos from Rita's Molly

I have attached a few pictures of Molly enjoying her new back yard. She is a wonderful addition to our family and it seems like she has always been with us. Please let Molly’s foster mom in Taiwan know that Molly is a very happy and well-adjusted girl, and that we greatly appreciate all of the efforts of Rita and her team in Taiwan that led to Molly coming to stay with us.

Robert

Update on Rita's Kim, now Liu Liu

During the past three wonderful weeks that Liu Liu has joined our family, our lives have been definitely brightened! Liu Liu is very intelligent, very affectionate, and very cute. During Liu Liu's daily walks, she always seems to receive a compliment on her good looks. (Just today a passerby commented on our gorgeous dog, and another lady exclaimed, "What a beautiful child!")

Liu Liu especially loves joining her family on the tennis court where she is very good at shagging balls off the court and chasing balls all around. (We think Liu Liu prefers the tennis court over the local dog park, and definitely gets more exercise on the court!) At home, Liu Liu craves human touch which we love to oblige her. Liu Liu follows us all around the house, and everytime we sit down, Liu Liu lays her head in our laps. Liu Liu loves to be held and to snuggle with us. If we sit down at a computer, Liu Liu will nudge us until one of our hands is touching or petting her.

During the daytime, Liu Liu has recently started to sunbathe in our backyard. She also likes to dig, and has buried several chew bones that we bought for her. Every week day afternoon, Liu Liu waits a few minutes behind the front door right before the children arrive home from school. Liu Liu knows that when the children come home, they will spend a long time playing with her.

Liu Liu has become territorial of her house and backyard, and is sure to let us know if a non-pack member (e.g. gardener) arrives. Liu Liu prefers that such non-pack members hurry up with their work and leave so that she can resume her sunbathing undisturbed!

Although Liu Liu is pretty well-behaved, she will start a dog training class in two weeks where we anticipate her to shine. This summer, we plan to take Liu Liu with us to the mountains where we look forward to hiking with her, hopefully, off-leash. We also plan to introduce her to the beach.

We have been extremely blessed to have Liu Liu as part of our family. We love this wonderful, affectionate, and beautiful dog so much, and consider ourselves to be the lucky ones!

The Piibe Family

Congratulations Rita's Gino!

Rita's Gino found his forever home today with Cathy and Steve B. and their golden girl, Bailey. His journey has been a long one from the trauma of losing his eye due to an unknown incident while in Taiwan to the adjustments of the sights and sounds of Southern California. Surprisingly, this happy boy with a joyful spirit has been guided by his own desire to love and be loved and of course access to numerous tennis balls which he so enjoys!

Cathy and Steve saw Gino on the website and felt drawn to him despite what many others saw as a handicap...which couldn't be more farther from the truth. They instantly took to Gino and he to them as if it was always meant to be. It is adopters like this that inspire us all with the true meaning of rescue.

Gino thanks many folks who embraced him along his journey to his forever home including:

• Rita and MJ for their devotion and healing resources in their rescue of this special boy 
• Barbara D. and the Welcome Waggin Crew for Project Taiwan for welcoming him to his true home here in the US
• Sandy D. and her walking crew of volunteers at Culver Palms for caring for Gino during his initial arrival
• And a HUGE thank you to Deanna & Rich K., their boys and golden for fostering and loving him as their own for 2 months. Without devoted fosters, we simply couldn't do what is possible for goldens like Gino.

Big props to Barbara R. and her dog, Woody, and Pat C. who drove over an hour to do the homevisit  this morning so that a meeting could be possible mid-day with Gino. We truly appreciate going above and beyond to help Gino start his new forever life today!

Congratulations Gino! We look forward to updates of your new adventures with your family.

Congratulations Rita's Hugo!

Rita’s Hugo made his match yesterday with Josh, Stacy and their two children. This young family just recently purchased a house and were anxious to make an addition to their family. Josh was watching the website and fell in love with Hugo. They drove up from San Diego to the kennel in Ontario, arriving an hour early so they went to breakfast, and then parked down the street until 9:00 a.m. – the time we had agreed upon for the meeting. Hugo was outside when they first arrived so they had an opportunity to watch him showing off – he has a gigantic personality that makes it very easy to fall in love with this guy. This family immediately fell in love with him. It didn’t take them long to decide that Hugo would be going home with them.

It is also noteworthy that Josh’s Mom adopted “You’ve Got a Friend” a few months ago. Josh reports that Friend is doing great – is a wonderful dog that they all love. In fact, it was Friend that encouraged Josh to work with us when he was finally in a position to have a dog.

Rita’s Hugo thanks Rita and MJ who rescued him in Taiwan and found him safe passage to the states, to this Rescue who enthusiastically welcomed him, to the IE dog walkers who kept him in good spirits while he waited for a home, to Julie W. for taking wonderful photos of him for the website, to Jennifer G. for seeing to his medical care, to Barbara R. for doing the home check and to Pat J. for facilitating the meeting. And of course, none of this would have happened if Barbara D. didn’t coordinate everything. Good teamwork everyone!

Jack, Michael, Fiona and Pang-Pang are here!

Jack, Michael, Fiona and Pang-Pang arrived safe and sound last night, but not without some drama as their passenger escort got hung up in Immigration with some visa issues which caused the pooches to wait in the holding area for several hours, and kept the Waggineers hovering in the waiting area as well. But they hung in and were there to greet the happy travelers and make their first footfalls on US soil a joyful one.

Much gratitude and bonus brownie points to crew chief Ira L., and his team of Marty F., Adrienne B., Sandra D. and Pam E. Thanks to Marty and Sandra for providing overnights, as well as to Jo B. and Kriss H. who made some space at home for the travelers as well.

Arriving today!

Update from Ollie (formerly Rita's Boss)

Hi All,

An update and a few pictures of Ollie (Rita's Boss, adopted in December 2009).

We have learned that Ollie is quite a water dog. He loves the snow! We took him on a hike to the Pacific Crest Trail in the Wrightwood area last month. He enjoyed the hike, but especially loved making "puppy angels." He was so curious about all of the things to see and smell in the mountains! Now that it has gotten warm on some afternoons, he likes to jump right in to a small stream that runs along one of our walking paths near home.

He has proven to be a wonderful companion. Very loyal but also interested in other people and dogs as well. He has his routine now. He knows the signs that tell when its time to eat, walk, play, get a treat, get brushed, go to bed. These are his favorite things. When he is excited, he spins in circles. Although he definitely likes water, he still doesn't care for baths! He is not overly fond of car rides, either, but usually finds the activity at the end worth the trip.

We are always grateful to everyone who has helped him get to us!

Susan

Postcard from Rita's Christine, now Mali

We have been very happy with our adoption of Rita's Christine, whom we have renamed "Mali". Mali is a very lovable and interesting dog and has adapted extremely well to our family and now gets along very well with our 14 year old Golden mix. Here are some photos you can pass along, with our thanks, to the adopters of Project Taiwan.

-Linda

Rita's Angelina adopted!

Rita's Angelina went home on Saturday with the Lessers and their dog, Zoey, on Saturday morning! Angelina actually met three different families before selecting the Lessers; apparently the fact that Angelina had been debarked was not attractive to some people! It's just as well, as the Lessers, including Zoey, appreciated Angelina for all her special gifts, and off they went to start their new life on the west side!

Angie owes her life and passage to the States to Rita and MJ, who took her in, nursed her and sent her off to a land of golden opportunities. She's also grateful to the Welcome Waggin' crew, who greeted her at LAX and made sure her entry into the new country was friendly and safe. Angie's also appreciative of Kate J. and family, who gave her a place to stay while she picked over the applications; to Bethany "Marathon Woman" who found her this lovely home; and finally, to Barbara D., for representing Angelina and ensuring her final destination.

Nice teamwork, everybody!

Meet Rita's Pang-Pang

Video postcard from Luna

From Luna's foster, Mariko...
Luna and the boys had a playdate today. Her coat is so full. She is very much loved by her mom, Gayle and her twin kids.

Meet Rita's Jack Boy

Jack is 3-4 years old. He was rescued from a shelter. Jack is friendly and likes to play with other dogs. He is very healthy and ready for a new home once he makes the trip to the U.S.

Postcard from A-Fu, now Otto

Otto's personality is apparent to everybody he meets. He's a charmer - a real mellow fellow. I was absolutely dead on when I nicknamed him the George Clooney of goldens when I first saw his picture. Otto's gorgeous and the people who admire him often find themselves enthralled in his presence. And they always introduce themselves to him first!

Otto's kind, gentle and loving to all animals he meets - people, canines, felines - except squirrels. Those rascals and their wily tails unleash Otto's chasing instincts, so I get a nice resistance workout when we encounter one on our neighborhood walks. I've discovered his favorite activity is fetching (yay!) and he loves carrying around his big Kong tennis ball around everywhere we go.

Otto's best friends are a Dachshund named Dax and an Alaskan Klee Kai named Dexter. They run circles around him and steal his toys, but he loves to give chase (and secretly just lets them win anyway).

Those who tell me how lucky Otto is to be picked up from the streets of Taiwan, cleaned, fed, flown and adopted by a SoCal mom is wrong. They are so wrong! They neglect to realize how my life is absolutely filled with so much love because of this big handsome blond drooler. I love my Otto-bahn. Photo album, HERE.

Update from Rita's Evan, now Buzzy

Evan (Buzzy) is doing great.  He has gained some weight and he seems really happy.  He gets along great with all other dogs – and he has a bunch of friends at the park.  He has met his cousins (Benny, Wally, Toby and Maggie) and they are all great friends.  We have taken him camping to the desert, but he hasn’t been to dog beach yet.  I am sure he is really going to love the beach and I bet he is a really good swimmer because of his enormous paws.  He has even gotten used the kitty and they are friends. 

Thanks
Nancy A.

Rita's Bella adopted!

As of today, Rita's Bella has a new address. Bill and Susan W. came down to see this little oriental beauty this afternoon. When Bella came out to the yard where Bill and Susan were waiting, it was like they were watching a debutant coming down the stairs. They both were charmed by this sweet little girl finally in person (they've been watching her videos online). They threw a tennis ball which Bella promptly fetched and brought back. They both had doggie biscuits hidden in their pockets and gave her when she sat in front of them.

Bella will be spoiled rotten. Both Bill and Susan assured me of that. They brought a brand new red collar (which was a little too big for Bella - she'll get a smaller one), a matching leash, and brand new toys one of which she carried in her mouth when they drove off. Susan said there are tons of toys at home waiting for Princess Bella.

Bella would like to send her heartfelt thanks to Rita and MJ for saving her life (from the shelter AND the illness) and sending her off to the U.S. to find her forever home. She also appreciates the wonderful Welcome Waggin' committee who welcomed her and her buddies in their arms when they touched down early April. Also a special paw touch and nose lick from Bella to Eva I. and Hayley for finding her new Mom and Dad. And thank you to Mariko and the boys for being such a devoted foster family! Finally, Bella sends her appreciation to Barbara D. for overseeing the whole process.

Rita's Kim adopted!

Rita's Kim went home this morning with the Piibe family! The Piibes were charmed by Kim's antics, and she's off to grace the South Bay with her puppy-like charms!  Kim will always be grateful to Rita and MJ for saving her life and finding her safe passage to the states. She's also most appreciative of the Welcome Waggin' crew who made her arrival such a joyful one, and to Kate J. for allowing her to stay overnight on her first night. Thanks also to Kate for making introductions this morning, and a special shout-out to Colleen and Gabriel who scouted out this lovely home for her. Congratulations, Kim!

Rita's Melissa: video update

Coming Soon: Rita's Fiona

Fiona is a very sweet girl, about 4 years old, rescued from an animal shelter and suffering from erlichiosis and Babesia canis. She has been treated, thanks to Rita and friends, and has fully recovered.

Coming Soon: Rita's Michael

Michael is a 4-yr old male found as a stray.