“Dixie”

DayZ (f/k/a Dixie)
When we committed to fostering Miss DayZ we had no idea how quickly she would steal our hearts. She quickly established her place as pack clown with her endless antics, has given our 9 year old Westie a second puppyhood and is nothing but pure love & affection, lifting our hearts, brightening our days and making us laugh. Of course Kathy wisely knew that DayZ had me at first kiss, took me 2 weeks to get with the program. When you adopt a rescue they rescue you right back. Thank you Kathy for Valley of the Sun Dog Rescue and your band of angels!

“Hudson”

Hi! We rescued one of your boxer/shepherd/lab puppies back in january and we wanted to give you an update. We have named him Hudson and he is already over thirty pounds at nearly 4 months! They vet said he could get as big as 100 lbs. Wow! But we love all of it :) He is growing up to be suuuuch a well behaved mellow sweet gentle boy in our family. He gets along great with our two chihuahuas and our other mixed mutt. I can't even begin to tell you how wonderfully gentle and sweet he is. He has the greatest disposition. We actually keep in touch with two of the other rescue parents that adopted some of his brothers. We get together often and have family puppy play dates. We had doggie super bowl party and meet up for sunday breakfasts at the park. Its great!:)we just wanted to keep in touch and thank you for giving us a wonderful dog!!

“Benji”

We adopted Benjie (now called Pugsy) in July, he is the funniest pup, always a clown! He and his sister & brother play well together & he has learned to treat the kitties with respect. He's a great dog

“”

We adopted him from your shelter on July 3rd. The neutering, chip, and pickup of the pup went as smooth as can be. He's also taking to potty training perfectly. In fact he's only had a couple accidents in the house since we got him. In addition he's more or less sleeping through the night in his crate and has yet to "mess" in his crate.

“Bubbles”

Bubbles had a hard first few months of her puppy life. She was found injured and went through oral surgery and many stitches and drainage tubes. We also discovered that she is deaf. Bubbles was a fighter and pulled through like a champ. Here is her Happy Tails story from her loving new family...

Bubbles (now Aggie) is loving her new forever home!! We are all loving her being with us too. Her big brother, Murphy, is her right hand man. He always makes sure she is close to him or following him, if she isn't he goes looking for her. She's his shadow!
Aggie has started training and is doing GREAT with it (it's funny how much better she does at training than murph, who isn't deaf)! She has learned "stay," "down," "watch me," and is working on "leave it". She is so smart! Soon Aggie will start training to be a full service dog so she can go to schools for the deaf to be their new best friends,mascot, and teach them the wonders of the "bull breed".
I can't begin to explain how perfect she is in this family. Aggie was the missing puzzle piece and I love her with all my heart Everyone who meets her loves her! She is the sweetest and most loving little baby, I am so thankful for her. Without a doubt, one of the best things that has happened to me.
Thank you sooo much for being so good to her and doing so much for her. Thank you for doing so much for all these dogs!
-Julia

“Bandit”

Bandit found her new forever home at the PACC 911 Fountain Hills adoption event we participated in. She is thriving and her new family loves her.

“Mia”

This is Mia after playing in the pool with her dog friends.
I do volunteer work for Valley of the Sun Dog Rescue. One day I was at Kathy's house and saw Mia. She was a very cute, but scared. She was one of the New River dogs that were rescued a few years ago. She had been beaten for having a potty accident on the floor right after giving birth to her puppies. She was terrified of men and was acting a little defensive in her crate. I am not really sure what happened that day, but when she barked at me and our eyes met I felt an instant connection to her. I offered to take her home and foster her to help her overcome her fear of men. She is now a free spirited loving dog that loves our other dogs and loves my kids...including my adult son who she never showed any fear towards. Since she has been here I have introduced her to many people and she has overcome all of her fear issues. She loves playing in the baby pool with our other dogs and loves to race around and play chase with them. She is so playful and happy. She fit right it with us so well that I decided to adopt her. Now she helps with our other foster dogs that are fearful. She even helps with foster puppies that are in our care. She is a great dog and I wouldnt trade her for the world. I am so glad we found each other that day!

“Enzo”

Prior to Enzo, our family had 2 dogs, both in their senior years. We had been toying with the idea to get another dog for about a year when heard about Enzo’s story. We talked each other in and out of going to see him over the course of several weeks, until it was too late - he was adopted. Then, about a month later, we got notice that he was back. For whatever reason, it didn’t work out. So, one Saturday afternoon, we drove down to Mesa to ‘visit’ Enzo - although we both knew darned well it was more.
We adopted Enzo in June of 2010 from VOTS Pit Bull Rescue. When we went to see him for the first time, we brought Scout with us. She is our Boxer/pit mix and it was love at first sight between the two of them. We didn’t plan on signing any papers that day but once we met this little guy, we couldn’t take any chances of him going to someone else.
We enrolled Enzo in puppy class right away and 8 months later, after Puppy, Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced, the big guy graduated and successfully passed his CGC!
We’ve also had Enzo in an Entry to Nose Work class as he’s exhibited a great passion for finding toys we hide around the house. This game is a great mental and physical exercise for Enzo and we enjoy it too.
Enzo goes to day camp twice a week and even got “Camper of the Month” recently! On the weekends, we like to take him to the Biltmore Fashion Park. He likes to go to Saks. He has about 5 girlfriends in Saks that oohh and aahh over him.
He LOVES our family and is the perfect fit. He brings us so much joy and laughter. He is such a love. His favorite place to be is asleep on one of our laps - all 60+ pounds of him.
We feel so lucky to have rescued him from VOTS. This breed is so fortunate to have you fighting in their corner. Thank you VOTS !! (3/21/11)

“Stormy”

This is little Maggie (Raya's sister).....now know as Stormy! Thanks for one of the best little doggies anyone could ever have.

“Cooper”

Cooper

In this busy world, in our busy lives, we often assert that we don’t need or want another responsibility. We don’t need, nor want to indulge in another emotional liability. We decide that we have enough love and we are already giving at our maximum capacity. But then pure innocence arrives. A handsome boy with big copper eyes and a squishy red nose. Cooper was supposed to be a foster but he quickly worked his way into our hearts with his easy going personality and his endless reservoir of affection. Cooper is super intelligent, very soft spoken, but always fun –loving. We gave Cooper a second chance. In return, he has given us unconditional adoration. He is truly a cherished member of the family.

“Jax”

Jax was found stray and about 30 lbs under weight. After being rescued by VOTSDR he had to undergo emergency surgery on Christmas morning becuase he had an intestinal obstruction that could have been fatal. It turned out that he had a large corn on the cob stuck in his belly from rummaging through the garbage when he was stray, trying to find a meal. I begun to foster Jax while he recovered from surgery. When I brought him home he didnt even know what a toy was and he would crouch in fear with any sudden movement or noise. Jax recovered well from his surgery and came out of his shell with lots of love and encouragement. He quickly learned that his rough life was over for good. I quickly saw how amazing he was. He loves all other dogs, children of all ages and even cats. I couldnt imagine a better dog then him. I adopted Jax a little over 1 year ago. He loves to go for weekend hikes and play with the other dogs at the dog park, but his favorite is just lounging around the house with his teddy bear and blankie.... YES my 85lb pit bull carries around a teddy bear and blankie :) He is the perfect example of how friendly and loving pit bulls really are! Jax took part in a special event at the Arizona Science Center in 2010 called "Face your fears". He was there to show the public how amazing pit bulls really are. The event was a huge success. I plan on getting Jax certified as a therapy dog by the end of 2011. Owning such a wonderful dog has brought me to educate people about the breed every chance I get. Thank you for such an amazing pit bull! (01/27/2011)

“Scooby”

Hello Kathy! Tell his foster mommy he's doing so great. He's in love with our boxer Harley and me (probably because I spoil him with love constantly!). He follows me everywhere around the house, if I'm in the kitchen he's there taking a nap while I'm making dinner and if we are watching a movie like we do most nights we are all cuddled up on the couch together. He does really good with our cats. Better than I expected him to. All he wants is to figure them out and play but they aren't having it. We all absolutely love him and I'm so so happy that I went back that day and adopted him. He's such a sweet baby and I fell in love the second I saw him. He makes me feel very safe at night too. He's the perfect addition to our family !! And whats funny is that when we got home that first day we all came right out back well he didn't see the pool right in front of him so he walked right into the pool. Hilarious!
ps. Tell his foster mom thank you for teaching him some good manners. He's getting better with the whole jumping thing too. He doesn't do it as much as he did when we first came home. (2/28/11)

“Boomer”

We rescued Boomer on July 11, 2010. I was told that he was very sick when he was rescued and had to be nurtured back to health by the foster family. We are proud to announce that Boomer is a healthy 52 lb. lap dog!!! Boomer is about 11 months old and has the energy of a jackrabbit. He had his first grooming on February 10th and was very cooperative. Boomer has his own lounge chair in our yard, but insists on lounging with us on our chairs. He is a bird chaser!!!! We are so happy we picked him. He is so smart and an excellent watch dog. He babysits our 90 year old Mom when we go out and she loves every minute with him. He plays with all our grandchildren but sometimes doesn't realize his own strength and knocks them down. Thanks to the rescue we have a healthy and happy companion. (2/17/11)

“Minnie”

I was shopping for dog food at PetSmart when I walked over to the adoption center to just look at the dogs. I was not intending to adopt another dog since we already had three at home (Manchas 17, Lucky 7 and Rudi 2). When I saw Minnie it was love at first sight! I called my husband to let him know I was bringing another dog home to join our family. Minnie was adopted last year and is a lovebug. She gets along well with everyone – all our dogs as well as our three cats when she comes inside. We call her Minnie Mouse as she flies across the yard when she hears the door opening – she is always happy to see us. Her new trick is to jump up and down the patio couch sideways when we are handing out treats – like step aerobics! Her favorite toy is a stuffed duck which she walks around with constantly. When she comes inside she is definitely a lap dog and will gladly stay and fall asleep and cuddle. She has brought so much joy and love to our home. Thank you to the Valley of the Sun Dog Rescue for having Minnie at PetSmart that day! We love her very much! (2/17/11)

“Nacho”

He is a gem of a dog. My husband and I love him to pieces!! He is such a unique spirit, he's in a class all his own. He gives endless kisses and love and adores his sister, Kona, as does she him. He is always the life of the party when we have company over, without fail he usually ends up on someones lap before the night is over. He is healthy and happy and I swear his tail never stops wagging. Food time is his favorite thing, the utter mention of it, he flips out and starts dancing and jumping all around. He is extrmely easy to train, he is as smart as a whip! He's been a great addition to our family! (3/1/11)

This is Nacho's rescue story and how we came to have him in our rescue!
Local Man Receives Award for Rescuing Abandoned Dog in Foreclosed Home‏
http://www.examiner.com/animal-welfare-in-scottsdale/valley-man-receives-national-award-for-rescuing-abandoned-dog

“Petey”

He is a two-year-old Pit bull that Kathy Swaney and I rescued from the Apache Junction animal Shelter. If I may take a few moments of your time to tell you his story and to make a special plea for your help. We first saw Petey at the animal shelter on one of our trips to check out the dogs that we might rescue or take in for foster care. He was standing at the front of his cage, all wiggles and happy Pitbull smiles. He was distinctive in that he could not walk around, but rather had to drag his back half around with his front legs, and appeared to be about twenty pounds under weight. We could see from his stance that he was in a lot of pain, and that he could possibly have spinal cord damage, as his back legs appeared to be paralyzed. This did not stop Petey from trying to jump up and down and lick every hand that came near.

In talking with the animal shelter employees, we learned that a lady that had rescued him from the side of the road had brought him in. It appears that his owner and another man were going to euthanize him by shooting, because of his injuries. The lady took him, kept him for three days, then, for economic reasons, turned him over to the pound. After talking further with the pound employees, we learned that he had been beaten across the back with a baseball bat by an irate neighbor who was mad at his owner. He was not expected to recover, and was slated for lethal injection.

Here was a lost cause! A lifetime of abuse, can't walk, so skinny I could see his pelvic saddle and count his ribs from across the room, and filthy dirty. But there was something in his eyes that wouldn't let me walk away. Then and there, we decided to try and get him a second chance.

Sooo, after talking with the folks at the shelter, and getting permission to take him out, we took him to a vet that has agreed to work with us. After a thorough examination, it turns out that he does not have severe spinal damage, but rather has damage to his rear knees. This condition is quite painful but correctable if treated in time. If not, the condition will deteriorate, and he will end up crippled. In fact, if surgery is performed, he has every chance of living a normal life!

Needless to say, while I was in the examination room with the doctor and Petey, Kathy was on her cell phone calling around to see if anyone would want to foster a crippled underweight dog. She found someone.

Petey was taken into surgery on Monday morning, the 7th of January. After being put under anesthesia, the veterinary surgeon began to repair Petey's knees. After several hours of work reattaching his ligaments and generally reconstructing his damaged knees, he was sutured and moved to a recovery area.
We are pleased to report, that the operation has been a success, and that he has begun to move about, although his back half is being supported by a sling of sorts to prevent any unnecessary weight from being applied to the repaired areas. He is able to move about in a limited fashion, and appears happy and well. He will need physical therapy, of course, but all looks good for a total and complete recovery at this time.
The brothers, who are his foster care providers, were with him during and after the surgery, and have brought him all of his favorite pillows and toys. A young lady who is one of the surgical assistants is taking special care to insure that he is comfortable and well looked after. You can see her in the posted photos tending to him. He is, and will continue to be, well loved and looked after.