LuLu (4/12)

Let me start off telling the story of our first failure, LuLu. My two daughters and I drove to Salinas to pull a basset who was being held there in protective custody for animal cruelty. She was in very rough shape. They had just completed a pyometra spay and pulled an upper canine which was broken and appeared to have been hit or kicked. They gave us the tooth in a plastic bag in case we could ever find whoever left her by the side of the road in that condition, but we never did. Poor LuLu came out wearing a cone of shame and she was so weak she couldn’t lift her head with the cone on. I removed it right there in the lobby of the shelter over everyone’s objections and put my arms around her and promised her that nobody would ever be mean to her again. She was so scared, she wouldn’t even accept the pastrami I had brought with me to introduce myself. We loaded her into the back seat of the car next to my 12 year old daughter Natalie and drove the hour home to Campbell and introduced her to my two resident dogs (Cyrus the lab and Snoopy the basset). She was so skinny you could see every verebrae in her spine and every rib. She weighed 42 lbs (she weights 56 lbs now and is still a bit thin). She had had many, many litters and her nipples literally dragged on the ground. She had scars on her face and ears and was filthy and stinky and terrified. Her toe nails were over 4 inches long and she couldn’t walk because of them. After they were trimmed her feet took months to start to look normal, at first the vet said they may always be deformed because the ligaments had been stretched so much. At that time there was nothing pretty about LuLu but her soul. She was supposed to be a foster but this gem of a lady basset was going NOWHERE. Sweet and gentle and caring through it all she never ever has done a mean thing to anyone, man or beast. She let me clean out her ears. She let the vet examine her and trim her toe nails. After the vet said we could she let me bathe her. She let me pick her up and she let me hug her and she did everything we asked of her. She was on canned food for a while but over time she switched to kibble and she ate what we asked her to eat. She slept where we asked her to sleep (which was on a dog bed on the floor at first). Over a few months LuLu slowly put on the weight she needed. Her coat became soft and started to shine She fell in love with our family. Strangers stopped being horrified by her appearance and instead started saying how cute she was. My husband was going through chemo at the time and she would lay there in bed with him while he was going through the worst of it. Sometimes I would go in there and he would just be holding her in a death grip ….. he might not even be awake, LuLu was though and she’d just lay there and comfort him, for hours if he needed her to. LuLu loves my daughters and my dogs and me. She is the sweetest, kindest, gentlest soul I have ever met. When we lost our lab Cyrus on 8/1 (he went in his sleep) she assumed the alpha role in our pack gracefully. She’s our pride and joy. In her success story photo, she is relaxing in my reading chair in all her glory. Dale & family

Lucy (8/11)

How we found Lucy We have a mini Australian Shepard and had taken him to Animal Kind to get a tooth pulled. Since we were there I asked to see the boarding facilities for future use when we travel. When I go into the kennel I see Lucy there lying on a blanket. I started talking with Michelle and found out she was a rescue which was a huge surprise. Michelle let her out and she jumped right into my chest and bowled me over. (In more ways more than one) I knew she was the dog for us and immediately said “we’ll take her” At that point I called my wife (details, details) and she came down to meet Lucy and the result was the same. We took her home for a test weekend and she has been with us ever since. She is the perfect dog and gets along with Aussie so well. She fits right in and after a few training sessions she is just awesome. It’s amazing to think someone let this little girl go…what a mistake that was! Robert

Louie 2011

Our adorable Basset named Louie came to us just last month. We can see why they named him King Louie because of his regal like cloak around his neck. To us, he is the most gorgeous boy ever! We had prayed for the right dog for us and us for him and our prayers have come true, more then we could have dreamed. Louie fits in our family like he has always been ours. We are a close family and if anyone leaves the house, Louie misses them and gives them lots of love when they return. He loves his bone and likes to hide it in various places in the house. He is adorable when we watch him use blankets and pillows to make himself a "bed." Louie loves walks at least four times a day and he is really good for baths too. He has the deepest hound bark we ever heard and it's music to our ears. Louie loves to "wrestle" and chew on stuffed animals too. It is cute seeing all of the stuffed animals on the floor, like there is a baby in the house. Everyone in our famiily loves Louie and Louie loves all of us. We are most grateful to the Golden Gate Bassett Rescue and the volunteers and foster parents that bring Bassets home! Thank you!

Lucy

Miss Lucy Lou is doing great! She has become an integral member of the family – participating in Sophia’s make believe games, hanging out with our cat Mimi Molly and quick to snuggle whenever possible. We’ve had a lot of fun in the last few weeks going to the beach, taking walks through the neighborhood and just lounging around the house. It is like she has been with us for years, especially when she and Mimi answers the door together when we come home. Thank you so much for helping us find the perfect match for our family! We are forever grateful!

Luna

Hi GGBR, This is long overdue, it is just today that I really had a chance to write and read all the updates. We adopted Luna about 4-5 years ago? My husband was very much against the idea, but I have always wanted a Basset Hound since I was a child. So despite it all, I went ahead and got Luna after 2 months of waiting, which I believe was just the perfect time. She immediately became my husbands dog and loyal partner. She follows him everywhere he goes which would always mean tripping over her or stepping on her cute big paws. Luna is very loyal and her temperament with our 3 kids is perfect, and she is the queen of our home. Potty issues are forever an issue, but ofcourse, daddy lets her get away with it! Luna enjoys her daily walks and has shown alot of positive behaviors eversince we have taken her consistently. Luna has truly completed our home. She is now 8 yrs. old and continues to rule the house. We just love hearing the sound of her nails as she comes greet us at the door. And her thunderous barks whenever the mail is being dropped off. Thank you for allowing us to adopt Luna, she truly is a remarkable pet and we love having her in our life and home.