Feature

Liz Jaffee, Tucker & Gator

Thursday, August 16th, 2012

Tucker, Liz and GatorWhen Liz Jaffee adopted Tucker and Gator from Sunshine Corgi Rescue, who could have imagined what this dynamic trio would accomplish!

 
 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

Tucker in action

Tucker has earned a Canine Good Citizen title, AKC titles in Novice and Open Agility, and CPE (Canine PerformanceEvents, Inc.) titles in Standard Level 1, Handler Games 1 and 2, Strategy Games 1 and 2, and Fun Games 1 and 2. 

Tucker - a star is born

Tucker is also an accomplished on-stage actor, having portrayed the dog in the play “Bridge to Terabithia”.

Tucker fund raising

Tucker has participated in fund-raising activities, including a fashion show, for his local humane society.

Gator enjoys agility too!

Gator is a therapy dog and has earned his Canine Good Citizen title and the CPE Standard Level 1 title.

Tucker, Liz and Gator

Tucker and Gator, we are in awe of your achievements! Liz, many thanks for adopting these handsome fellows and providing them with the opportunity to excel in so many areas!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Special thanks to Liz Jaffee and the SPWCC board for allowing us to republish this article from the Summer issue of Sunshine Themes. 8/16/2012

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How Parker Chose Us

Saturday, May 8th, 2010
Thanks for believing in me momParker when he arrived 
Sunshine Pembroke Corgi Rescue led the way but Parker chose to stay on my lap on his own accord without restraining him. I just massaged his ears. He had the chance to walk away. He didn’t. I love him for that.
 
As we walked in from bowling last night,  he was curled up in his crate. I opened the crate to let Parker out. He was snug and decided to stay inside of it.
 
This time he stayed there because he was tired and comfortable. In 2008, it would have been because he was afraid to come out.
 
Parker has given us joy as we have watched him grow, mature and trust. We’ve given him the opportunity to feel that people can be kind. He has given us the opportunity to feel loved and amazed by his enduring love of life and the desire to give love everyday.
 
Parker has confirmed my belief that you can’t let your past keep you from loving yourself and others around you. I think we have a connection and did from the start. I think he felt that I could heal his pain because I had the life lessons to help him move on and be loved by real humans not monsters from the moment he decided to sit in my lap. I allowed him to stay there on his own initiative without controlling him. He stayed there as long as a little as he wanted to and just stroked his back gently. We formed a bond at that moment and earned his trust. I never want to disappoint him because he always deserves love and respect as a living creature. Humans controlled his life before but they didn’t extinguish his spirit for life and loving relationships.  He was abandoned gambling someone would take him in.  Luckily,someone did.  A few people did give him a quality life. I believe we have been able to turn that possibility into a reality.
 
I think the fact that he loves to offer his love and affection at all to any human after such harsh and inhumane beginnings is a miracle. It’s also amazing that he was and is willing to trust humans enough to learn and follow obedience directives. He seems to want to please people and has learned to overcome his fear of the outside world. He could have turned into a fearful aggressive dog as our dog trainer, Sara Donadei-Blood said but he is a little handsome boy who wanted to be loved and give love. Has done that in an enormous way. He fills our life with love, joy and humor everyday.
I love him, I never pitied him. Thank you for our connection to Sara Donadei-Blood. As you once said love is not enough. We knew that, we needed guidance and training. We received that with the patience and strength of Sunshine Corgi Rescue and our ”Dog Angel” Sara too.
 
I’m so thankful to each of you for helping us get this far. Parker is a happier, healthier and on his way to being a more serene dog. Sara referred us to a herding coach for him. As you know, we took him for a herding instinct test last week. We are glad we gave him the opportunity to let him experiment with his instinctual heritage as a working breed. He deserves to be a dog. (You have the video to prove he made it to the next step in his growing and healing process.)Now, he has the chance to learn to kick in his instincts of being a herding dog. We want him to exercise and stimulate his doggie brain if he enjoys his heritage of being a herding dog.
 
I can’t finish this note without a heartfelt expression of love and thanks to Helen Bowman and her Mom, Jane Cain. Their endurance, patience, expertise, and loving care provided the opportunity for Parker to live. He wouldn’t be alive without them. They nursed and nurtured him back to health literally from the brink of death. They taught him to live in a house and socialize with humans. He had no idea what it was to live inside a home with loving people that wanted to heal him both physically and emotionally. Parker’s rehabilitation is directly attributable to their dedicated efforts as Foster Corgi parents. They were essential to Parker’s life line and his transition to our home. He wouldn’t have made it with the medical attention they were able to provide and the proper nursing care that he needed. A generous and compassionate veterinarian I never met enabled Parker to heal inside and out.
 
Helen told me Parker provided her inspiration. She phrased it this way,  She admired Parker’s love of life and spirit. Every day was a new day no matter how much pain he endured. He woke up ready to start the day with a love of life and energy and left  the pain behind.
 
Dogs are often better about detecting, decoding and responding to emotions than humans- It is an ability we can’t explain or quite understand completely.  They often “listen” with all five senses which can include their hearts.  I believe this to be very true. I’ve experienced it watching my husband and Parker bond and the way that Parker is able to sense when someone needs him next to them. My husband was very distraught over the loss of his beloved best canine friend in April of 2008. He and Parker had a very delicate adjustment process because of Parker’s primal instincts to be leery of the dominant alpha male. He and Parker have worked through that transition phase and are growing to be best buddies. Parker hasn’t replaced our previous beloved companions but he has enable my husband to accept and let a new love grow in his heart again. He was able to heal my husband’s broken heart and they have learned to heal each other. Parker has begun to learn to trust men as a result of their bond to each other. I heard my husband in the background as I write these words call to Parker, after they returned from a walk in the rain ” Come here so I can wipe your footies.” Parker is his pal and provides now provides a smile in his heart.
 
He provided his trust in all of us with his little doggie heart. Now he has gained an enriching life with many people that are willing to accept the love he so desperately wanted to give. We are there to accept what he had to offer.
 
That’s the beginning of his story but that’s truly not the end of his tale. He is not just a dog or a pet. He is a family member of ours, Corgi Rescue and everyone’s life that he has blessed with his love, spirit and willingness to forgive.

 

I love him, I never pitied him. Thank you for our connection to Sara Donadei-Blood. As you once said love is not enough. We knew that, we needed guidance and training. We received that with the patience and strength of Sunshine Corgi Rescue and our ”Dog Angel” Sara too.
 
I’m so thankful to each of you for helping us get this far. Parker is a happier, healthier and on his way to being a more serene dog. Sara referred us to a herding coach for him. As you know, we took him for a herding instinct test last week. We are glad we gave him the opportunity to let him experiment with his instinctual heritage as a working breed. He deserves to be a dog. (You have the video to prove he made it to the next step in his growing and healing process.)Now, he has the chance to learn to kick in his instincts of being a herding dog. We want him to exercise and stimulate his doggie brain if he enjoys his heritage of being a herding dog.
 
I can’t finish this note without a heartfelt expression of love and thanks to Helen Bowman and her Mom, Jane Cain. Their endurance, patience, expertise, and loving care provided the opportunity for Parker to live. He wouldn’t be alive without them. They nursed and nurtured him back to health literally from the brink of death. They taught him to live in a house and socialize with humans. He had no idea what it was to live inside a home with loving people that wanted to heal him both physically and emotionally. Parker’s rehabilitation is directly attributable to their dedicated efforts as Foster Corgi parents. They were essential to Parker’s life line and his transition to our home. He wouldn’t have made it with the medical attention they were able to provide and the proper nursing care that he needed. A generous and compassionate veterinarian I never met enabled Parker to heal inside and out.
 
Helen told me Parker provided her inspiration. She phrased it this way,  She admired Parker’s love of life and spirit. Every day was a new day no matter how much pain he endured. He woke up ready to start the day with a love of life and energy and left  the pain behind.
 
Dogs are often better about detecting, decoding and responding to emotions than humans- It is an ability we can’t explain or quite understand completely.  They often “listen” with all five senses which can include their hearts.  I believe this to be very true. I’ve experienced it watching my husband and Parker bond and the way that Parker is able to sense when someone needs him next to them. My husband was very distraught over the loss of his beloved best canine friend in April of 2008. He and Parker had a very delicate adjustment process because of Parker’s primal instincts to be leery of the dominant alpha male. He and Parker have worked through that transition phase and are growing to be best buddies. Parker hasn’t replaced our previous beloved companions but he has enable my husband to accept and let a new love grow in his heart again. He was able to heal my husband’s broken heart and they have learned to heal each other. Parker has begun to learn to trust men as a result of their bond to each other. I heard my husband in the background as I write these words call to Parker, after they returned from a walk in the rain ” Come here so I can wipe your footies.” Parker is his pal and provides now provides a smile in his heart.
 
He provided his trust in all of us with his little doggie heart. Now he has gained an enriching life with many people that are willing to accept the love he so desperately wanted to give. We are there to accept what he had to offer.
 
That’s the beginning of his story but that’s truly not the end of his tale. He is not just a dog or a pet. He is a family member of ours, Corgi Rescue and everyone’s life that he has blessed with his love, spirit and willingness to forgive.

 

 

 
R
I relate to his willingness and desire to overcome other people’s past behaviors and not let it stop you from accepting love from others and live a fearless life with the opportunity to learn to love again. Everyone deserves the chance for joy and love from others with the right to have the serenity of a healthy relationship. You have to be willing to push past your own baggage and be open and willing to not take the blame for what someone else did to you. It wasn’t his fault. It’s also important to take responsibility for your own growth and development and learn to love again. It sometimes take years but it’s worth living with love and trust again the right way. Parker is doing that in his own little dog life. He is taking responsibility to learn to be a dog when he never had that chance. It was taken away from him to learn to live the right way and it’s not his fault.
 
Parker licks my face to wake up me, greet me no matter how long I’ve been away and fall asleep. He kisses both me and my husband goodnight every night and then settles down to the ottoman at the foot of the bed that he has made into his resting place at night. I feel safe when I sleep because of the comfort of a canine friend and the comforting kisses of my loving companion Parker.
 

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Doga – Yoga for dogs

Monday, May 18th, 2009

Doga

Meet Scooter Carlos and his mom who take a Doga class together. Doga in a yoga class designed for humans and their canine pals. This class combines meditation and massage with gentle stretching for dogs and their owners. What a great concept! Scooter Carlos is one lucky fellow. He arrived in rescue as a young fellow who was quite undersocialized and had little to no training. His foster mom helped him achieve a comfort level in the world around him. His wonderful adoptive mom has brought him to new heights in life. He has achieved far more than many would have ever expected. He now loves other dogs, is able to be off lead in safe places and enjoys watching his mom create works of art.

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Story about Daphne

Wednesday, April 1st, 2009

Daphne Poster Girl
Here is the little clip about Daphne. For a bit of background Daphne was surrendered to our program when her family moved into smaller quarters with dogs of other family members. Daphne lost her backyard as well as her space under these circumstances. Then the fighting began. Seems she had altercations with many dogs in the home that the owner was unable to control.

Our volunteer Irene took her on knowing her fight history with other dogs. She quickly became friendly with Irenes mellow boy and found him to be great company. They started sharing many things including napping on the bed together. Daphne quickly became a dear girl once again. Seems the lack of exercise and having to compete for space and attention just did not suit her. Irene did a great job and reminding her about the good life. In a short time Daphne was adopted.

Daphne’s new family has recently lost their beloved female. Their male was a bit on the depressed side after having a female companion for his lifetime. The Feldman family went to meet Daphne and quickly decided she would be a nice addition to their family. In a short time she has become quite the princess and now cover girl. Daphne happily posed for pictures to be used in the flyer for Greater Miami Humane Society. What a great girl. Seems she is happy to help other dogs find good homes just like she did. I think we will see her lovely pictures often since her new family has the oldest photography studio in Miami.

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