Success Stories!

I just wanted to thank the Wyoming Aussie rescue for helping to rescue not an Aussie but a Cattle dog from the Casper Wyoming shelter. This sweet little girl was found as a stray and was taken to the Casper shelter. From what I was told she was on her last days to euthanasia. It was a twist of fate, a few miracles, and a long string of people, emails, transporting and fostering to get this girl out of the shelter and on to Colorado. Every single one of those people I would love to thank personally for all that they did to get her to her forever home, from the 1st person who saw her at the shelter and contacted Wyoming Aussie rescue to the last person who fostered her and all those people in between are absolute angels to me, and I thank each and every one of you from the bottom of my heart.

Somewhere along the way she was given the name "Little Miss No Name."  I received a picture via email of "Little Miss No Name," asking if I knew of anyone interested in either adopting or possibly fostering her. Although I had been wanting a cattle dog for quite some time, I was not looking for, nor did I need another dog as I had 3 already. Still, that face just pulled at my heart strings and I just had to meet her. At our meeting I thought she was just the cutest little thing ever, she then gave me a smooch on the lips and it was all over after that. I brought her home on a trial basis to make sure she got along with my cat and other dogs. After being a perfect dog guest she then became a permanent member of our family. "Little Miss No Name" was given the name "Twiggy", which fit her perfectly as she was so skinny, tiny and leggy.

I am absolutely sure her first three years of life were more than rough. When Twiggy came to our home she was emaciated, had no manners or training, she would jump up on my kitchen counters and was a total velcro dog that would not leave my side. I think she survived by living out of trash cans as there was never a trash can she could pass by without wanting to jump up to see what was in it, and worst of all she had 3 BB's embedded between her eyes.

Today she is thriving and loving her dog life just as a dog should, she is no longer emaciated, has good manners and loves her training sessions. She can now pass by a trash can without even glancing at it, and she no longer jumps up on my kitchen counters.

I have been actively involved in doing agility with two of my dogs for about four years and was super excited to get Twiggy started in training her as well. She absolutely loves it! I have noticed it has helped in building her self esteem and confidence, which is leading her to trust and understand us as a team. Twiggy is a very high energy dog and keeps me on my toes everyday, her days are spent playing with her furry sisters, chasing squirrels, basic obedience training and practicing agility in our backyard, we also have agility class once a week. All my dogs get to go to the dog park 3-5 days a week, her favorite thing to do at the dog park is to catch the chucker ball, she can jump more than 5 feet in the air to catch that ball! People are in awe and watch in amazement at how high she can jump (and to think she didn't even know what a ball was and had to be taught what a ball was brings tears to my eyes). At the end of her day she loves snuggling with me on the couch, then off to sleep she goes in her warm soft fluffy dog bed with all her favorite blankets.

I am not bragging but she is the most eager to learn, eager to please, smartest, happiest, sweetest, cutest, snuggest dog ever!

Thank you Annette for all you do and all that you did to get Twiggy out of that shelter, and once again thank you to all the human angels that helped save her from being euthanized and giving her the dog life that she so much deserves!! I am truly blessed to be owned by this Miss Twiggy!

I wanted to give you an update on Jasper (formally Dundee) the red heeler we adopted from WAR in November, 2011. After losing our 12 year old blue heeler in August 2011, I really missed that cattle dog energy. It felt like there was a hole in our home. After spotting Jasper on your website, & after much thought & prayer, his foster mom Ronda brought him to Casper to meet us & and we brought him home from there on November 12, 2011.

Well, he is doing great! He is so puppy-like in his fun loving attitude & outlook on life. He bounds across the property, plays with our other two dogs, tosses his toys around, (I had never seen our ten year old Border Collie play with another dog in the two years we have had him until Wasperly-Wabbit came along!) He also has a neighborhood 'friend' that comes to play almost daily-I have included a picture of them sitting on the front porch taking a break. He is so good at night-gets in his crate to sleep & doesn't make a peep. He hasn't had any accidents in the house, loves to ride in the car, loves the kids & us! And we love him too-he is just fun to watch & brings joy to my heart.

He wasn't sure about the horses at first; his herding instinct told him to chase & heel & bark, but now he (mostly) ignores them unless they start running thru the field-but usually with a quick 'eh eh' he leaves them alone. Same with the cats--they have come out of hiding and as long as they don't run across the yard, he ignores them. Thankfully, it isn't anything we haven't been able to handle!

I know that there were a few prospective adopters that passed him up because he doesn't look like a 'typical' cattle dog---& we are so glad they did! He fits into our family perfectly with our blue merle dachschund & our giant border collie---both of which aren't 'typical' looking either!  We know it was meant to be that he came to live with us, & are so happy & thankful to be able to give him a forever home.

I love it the most when he follows so closely behind me after doing chores that I have to turn around to see where he is! And, he loves to lay on the recliner with whoever is up there-he climbs up 1 little paw at a time--just like Ronda said. He is so snuggly & sweet. Thank you for saving him & bringing him to Wyoming! He will be with us until his final day!

Kristen B. & family
Riverton, WY

Our new addition, Oliver, came to us in February. A co-worker has been involved with rescue dogs for years, and when my border collie died a year and a half ago, I vowed that my next dog would be a rescue dog. As fate would have it, a call came in asking for foster homes for 3 miniature Australian Shepherd mix puppies that were abandoned at a shelter in Kansas. His two brothers looked like Australian Shepherds, Oliver did not, and I quickly decided I wanted the "shaggy one." After a few failed attempts to get Oliver to Wyoming, he finally arrived in mid February thanks to many caring people's dedication to saving these dogs.
I think everyone knew our "fostering" of this puppy wasn't going to last long, and in March we officially adopted Oliver. He is a fantastic dog, with a great personality. His big sister Oakley (a Sheltie) can easily outrun him, but he gives it his best try every time with those short, little legs!! We are thankful we found each other, and couldn't ask for a better addition to our family!

After our beloved German-Shepherd mix Teri died at the age of 14, our family seemed lost without the love and companionship a wonderful dog provides.  We spent several months researching different breeds of dogs, and finally decided that an Australian Shepherd was the right fit for us.  We also decided that going through a rescue foundation was the only way to go.  Giving a second chance to a beautiful and loving animal felt like the right thing to do.  After extensive looking on the internet, we happened upon the website for Wyoming Australian Shepherd Rescue.  Seeing all the beautiful dogs there made our choice difficult, but we knew we were in the right place.

 In approximately September of 2002, we contacted Annette regarding one of the dogs on her website.  A couple of weeks later Molly (red-tri) came to live with us.  Molly had been through some hard times, and was extremely shy and underweight when we got her.  After some initial “settling in” issues, she realized that she was finally in her forever home, and that no one would love her like our family could.  She started putting on weight and her true playful and dedicated personality came shining through.  She even loved our cats!  Our sons (then 11 and 1) doted on Molly and they became the best of friends.  It was if she had been with us always.

 Soon, mom was back on the internet and spotted Sadie (blue merle) on Wyoming Australian Shepherd Rescue website.  Of course, it was decided that Molly needed a playmate, and we contacted Annette again.  Within days, Sadie became a part of our family.  Again, Sadie was a dog that had faced neglect and abuse, and had not been given the love and care she so desperately needs and deserves.  With 2 active boys and a stay-at-home mom at home, there was no danger of her missing out on anything!  She is a beautiful dog with a gentle and loving nature that has made her an integral part of our everyday lives.

How anyone could neglect or abuse these beautiful animals will always be a mystery to us, but in a way I’m almost thankful, because it has given our family the unique opportunity to have them in our lives and show them how life should be.  We will be forever grateful to all that Annette and those who work so tirelessly with her do for these amazing dogs.  Aussies are the best family dogs and will return all the love they receive.  If ever again in the future we are looking to add to our little zoo (now 2 dogs, 3 cats, a turtle, and 2 hamsters), you can be guaranteed that Annette will be our first call! 

THIS IS TRULY A SUCCESS STORY!!!

The Garrett Family, Thornton, CO

After loosing our 11 year old Border Collie "Cody" to cancer last February, my wife and I were lost.  We knew we would eventually want to get another Border Collie but were afraid there wasn't another dog that would measure up to the experience we had with Cody.  We began looking but just couldn't find a dog that was right for us.  We were afraid that if we took on a rescue dog we might get a dog with too many problems.  This thinking was sort of silly considering that Cody was a rescue from an animal shelter.  Annette called me one day and suggested I take a look at a dog that I had previously discounted based on its picture and description on her web site.  Her name was "Lucy" and she was being fostered locally.  I called the foster person and arranged to "borrow" Lucy for the weekend.  I figured it would be nice to have Lucy's company for the weekend and then return her Sunday evening.  Well, I picked Lucy up and immediately noticed she was a much more beautiful dog than her pictures had revealed.  She was a delight to be around and within 24 hours there was no way this dog was going back.  She fit in with us like she had been with us her whole life.  She was everything we wanted in a dog.  She is affectionate, playful, and gets along great with our cat.  We take her everywhere with us, she loves to go and is always well behaved.  Thanks Annette for helping to bring this sweet girl into our lives.  Our Veterinarian says she's extremely healthy and we look forward to many years with her by our side.

~Scott & Peggy Tomsovic

After losing his 14 year old poodle last fall, my father had a lonely winter without her.  In the spring he felt ready to get a new companion and asked me to help him find another dog.  He wanted one that had good house manners to please my mother who was a bit apprehensive about committing to another dog.  He also wanted a dog that would be at his side giving him companionship all day long.

I knew that Wyoming Australian Shepherd Rescue was the place to find him the perfect canine friend since Annette had found us our wonderful dog just months before.  I noticed Faye on the web site and emailed Annette to ask if she thought it would be a good match.

A week later Faye was united with my parents.  She is the perfect dog for them! She follows my father everywhere, is obedient, and doesn’t need a leash.  She loves to play frisbee and ball and came to them totally house trained.  Thanks Annette for bringing Faye into our family.  My parents love Faye and could never have found her without you.

~Joy Benson

Rio is doing absolutely wonderfully. He settled into ranch life immediately with his friend "Jake," a border collie. They are the happiest dogs on earth!  Turned out that Rio has excellent herding skills, he is a total natural, and even though our two Aussies were bred specifically for ranch life, Rio has surpassed them easily. He LOVES to ride the four wheeler with Grandma and won't get off if it's parked in the yard in case she tries to sneak away without him.  He loves to ride in the feed truck also, he is very well behaved and just lays down and naps.  Both Jake and Rio have brought new life down at the ranch, the Grandparents get them involved in everything, even when the boys are really in the way, but they are very loved and well cared for. We were so lucky to find Rio, Grandma has decided he's really a "llamadile" half llama and half crocodile, due to his desire to touch everything with his mouth. We also think he has the butt of a llama....Any way, I still have pictures to send, his coat looks beautiful and fluffy. I'll try to get on that. Take care and thanks again.

~Gill Sears
4W Ranch.

I just wanted to give you an update on Ray (we call him Rio). We have had him a year now. He is such a great dog and we couldn't be any happier with him. I ride and he hikes 3 or 4 times a week from the ranch in the foothills of the San Fernando Valley. He was the super star of his obedience class and we start agility in a couple of weeks. The class instructor said he already does things even her dogs won't do. He loves the water and he will wade in his little pool or a horse water for hours. We have a little cocker that loves to swim in the big pool and Rio jumps in on the stairs and chases him around the pool until they are both exhausted. Once again thank you for saving him from the shelter and bringing him into our lives. I thought I would never find another dog to love as much as my beloved Flash, but Rio is such a special dog and he is finding his own special place in my heart!!

Have a wonderful summer,
Trudy Wolfe

Timmy (now known as "Sparky") was deemed unadoptable by an animal shelter because of his shyness and the fact that he was black and plain.  Following is a letter and photo from his new, happy family...

I hope the Holiday Season is being good to you.  Wow!!!  Our Family is so busy. I must apologize for not getting back to you sooner.  I'll keep this short.  Sparky is doing great!  I promised you some photos and have attached them.  I'll write again when things slow down a bit.  Keep up the very important work you're doing.  I for one can say you made one dog, and one family, very happy.
Todd, Donna, Katie and Sparky