I didn't grow up with dogs, I never realized how much my life would change when I saw Bella's story on the Bobs house website and set up a meeting with Amy thru volunteer and friend, Julie. Bella walked in behind Amy, and hid behind her legs....she eventually warmed up to me and let me pet her. When I was able to bring her home, my heart opened and I have totally fell in love with my baby girl..
Her sweet little corn chip smelling feet, her heart melting eyes, her cute tongue curl when she smiles, her soft as cotton ears, her mischievous ways...

She has not only made my world brighter, but the lives of my friends and family as well.. She is just as much a 'granddaughter' as her cousins. She brings a smile instantly to many faces! She has earned the nickname Hoover from Papa. She gets phone calls more often than me. 😊 Not only is she spoiled by mommy, but by her extended 'family' as well.. Treats, outfits, collars and leashes, and lots of pets and adoration. She is a blessing, my bright spot, my true angel. Even though she drives me nuts at times, I love her more every day. I found a quote that says 'Some things just fill your heart without even trying.' That completely describes our relationship. It seems her greatest happiness is snuggling with mommy and getting a good belly rub!

Many times, I have proudly spoke of our connection to Bob's house and hope that others can find the love and happiness we have found together. Life is definitely better with a SENIOR dog....

Katie & Bella❤

Tell Us Your Story!: All three came to us through Bob's and Eau Claire County. Molly known as "Tigger" has been a real sweetie. We truly feel blessed to have her in our family. "Tiger" and "Honey" were at Bob's last year in October. Both came from an abusive home. We love them and really give them all the care and a loving home they deserve. My wife and I would adopt again from Bob's. Nikki is awesome and we still love to visit!

AKA Smokey- Lucky's story starts in December of 2014. I came out to Bob's House to pick up some pups for a nursing home visit the day I met Lucky. It was Monday, December 15th. I instantly fell in love. I am a huge dog lover, but very partial to labs. When I came back from my visit, I asked about him, still not able to take my mind off of him. He had just arrived at Bob's House a few days before, having spent about 3 months at Juneau County. Not much info, picked up as a stray. I left a part of me with him that day knowing I would get it back! The next day I emailed Amy about him and said if I can convince my husband, I wanted to bring my family and dog Libby to meet him. Long story short......we came out on Friday after school and Lucky came home with us. We have never looked back. He is AMAZING! I enrolled him in obedience classes and he breezed right through beginners and intermediate. Next up was Therapy Dog certification. He was meant to be a Therapy Dog. Lucky is now reregistered with AKC canine partners as 'Juneau's Happy Go Lucky' and achieved his Canine Good Citizen and Therapy Dog titles as of Spring 2015. He currently is a Therapy Dog along with his sister Libby in elementary schools helping them with their reading skills. He is the happiest dog I have ever met. His tail tells me so. We are truly blessed to have him in our lives. Thank you Bob's House for Dogs!

I first knew I wanted Opie the 10 year old beagle mix when I saw Amy making a video of a large dog named Gage. Opie was there and wanted on the couch; Amy said he was too chubby to get up there himself. So we drove 4 hours from SE WI to get him. One of my kids asked why I wanted such an old dog and I said if we can give him a good life even for a year or two it is worth it. 4 years later Opie is still with us. He is a laid back sweetheart; everyone loves him. This week-end he will be taking his 12th camping trip enjoying every smell along the way. Sure we spoiled him; he eats both dog and people food but still maintaining his weight. It took 2 years but his younger lab sister finally realized he isn't going anywhere and reluctantly accepted it. In 2014 he stopped walking and was on 4 meds. We prepared ourselves to let him go. Then 2 weeks later he started to walk again! He shows everyone the positives of adopting an older dog. I am proud to say my daughter just adopted a stray 8 year old dog from Milwaukee. Opie is my little buddy and walking partner; we cherish each camping trip as if it may be his last. Thanks Bob's House.

My husband and I have always been animal lovers, especially dog lovers! I guess that is why we also chose to volunteer at Bob’s House. I started volunteering at Bob’s approximately 3 years ago, and my husband started joining when his schedule would allow. We resisted bringing a dog home for 2 years; knowing the dogs were so well cared for there, and being hesitant to extend our family of pets with another dog after already having 2 dogs and 2 birds.

And then came Willow…… I came into Bob’s on my usual Monday morning and there was this blonde colored little poodle mix sharing the kennel with Felix (a permanent resident at Bob’s house.) She weighed in at 7 pounds and when I picked her up she snuggled in right under my chin. Willow loved being held and I could tell we had a connection from the first time I snuggled with her. However, Willow needed a lot of help. She was very neglected when she came into the shelter: She needed major dental care, wasn’t spayed, and had a bad cataracts in one eye. She was also already 10 years old. Thanks to Bob’s House Willow got the help she needed. She ended up losing all but two of her teeth and part of her jaw from a bad infection. She also got spayed. Even with all of this Willow made it through her surgeries like a champ!

After about a month of trying to convince my husband we should add a 3rd dog to the family he caved and Willow came home! We had always started with our dogs from the puppy stage and I would be lying if I said I hadn’t been worried about teaching an old dog new tricks. We have a lot of stairs at our house and Willow didn’t know how to go up them. She also wasn’t 100% potty trained, and was very timid around men. Ok, almost all men….. For some reason Willow instantly fell in love with “Grandpa Don” and they have been buddies since the second they met .

Now one year later my husband and I know how foolish our reservations were! Willow has completed our family of pets and she makes us laugh and smile every day.  She quickly learned the steps, caught onto potty training, and gradually let my husband Casey into her life. The progress we have seen with her has been amazingly rewarding. But what is most rewarding is being able to tell how truly happy Willow is every day!

Even though she is 11-12 years old, is pretty much blind in one eye, and has only 2 teeth Willow is a goer! She does amazing with our two other dogs and day to day life! Willow walks each day with us for over ½ hour, gobbles up the soft food we buy, and utilizes her hearing and sisters to get past any vision issues she has. Willow also loves to burrow under the covers and snuggle with Casey every morning. I also get to have my little Willow watching over my every move when I’m at home J.

Although we know we won’t get to enjoy all of the little things Willow brings to our lives for numerous years, we know getting to know her even one year has enriched our lives more than we ever imagined! With the opportunity Bob’s House provided her it is clear she overcame all of her physical and emotional obstacles! Casey and I also know we played a part in giving Willow a second chance at a happy life. And when Willow’s time comes Casey and I will help her over the rainbow bridge. We will also look forward to the next dog from Bob’s House that can change our lives: Next time without any reservations.

We adopted "Nubbie" almost 3 years ago. Soon after welcoming him to our home we changed his name to Bucky. He is also called Bucky Bear by our daughter Kendall. Our Bucky is such a sweetheart and we are so happy we have him as part of our family. He is a great protector of both our kids and such a love who enjoys getting lots of our attention. We are so happy we were chosen as Bucky's family.
Thanks Bob's House!!!

Today marks one month since we welcomed Frieda in to our home! She is a true blessing. Feels like she has been part of our family for years!

Thank you!!

Ronda

I adopted Johnny over 2 years ago now in February. I love him to pieces. He is truly the sweetest, kindest little guy there could be. He has dry eyes and needs drops 2 times a day which he stands there and lets me put them in. I say "Johnny let's make pretty eyes" and he looks right up at me with that precious face that would melt anyone's heart. He is now completely blind but that doesn't stop him from getting around. When everything is in place at home he maneuvers all over. When we walk outside he listens to me to step up or step down on curbs and he does it. He puts his trust in me. When I board him at my dog kennel they love him. Everyone loves him. All my friends are like Johnny is the bomb, he is the best dog. I could not imagine not having him and I do hope that I have many more years with him. He is old and he does have some health concerns but so far he is going strong and I do whatever I can to make his life beautiful. He has brought enormous joy to my life.

I adopted Muneco last March. I changed his name to Murphy. He is such a sweet boy and has adjusted to life with me very well. When I adopted him I also had Lacy, my wire-haired fox terrier. Sadly, Lacy became ill and I had to say goodbye to her Dec. 30. Lacy loved Murphy, more than he cared for her, and I really think having her with him initially helped him settle into being a great dog. He had terrible separation anxiety, but now when I come home from a long day at work, or even for an hour, he is fast asleep on his bed and I usually have to wake him up. I think he likes having me all to himself. :)  

Anyway, he's very healthy and has been especially good company during my grieving of Lacy. I just wanted to let you know how well he's done in the last year.

Thanks again for all the TLC you give to these wonderful doggies,

Terri

I guess you could say it was love at first sight. I met Buddy, a 12-year old black Lab in the summer of 2010 at Bob's House for Dogs, where I volunteer.

Looking into his big brown eyes, my heart just melted. He was gentle, but a bit anxious. And who could blame the poor guy? His owner had passed away, and then someone took him in but let him get away. He was found as a stray and through a Lab rescue he had found his way to Bob's House and me.

Initially I struggled a little with the idea that I might not have Buddy for long, but then I realized that whatever time I would have with him would be well worth it to us both. I decided to take the plunge. - provided Buddy got along with Change and Payton (our current black labs). On a Saturday we took the boys out to Bob's House for a meet and greet, and it was like they had been best buddies forever.

Buddy came home with us that day, and four years later I've never regretted my deision to adopt a senior dog. Each time I look at him he has a gleam in his eyes and his tail is wagging. He seems genuinely happy to have another home with people who love him immensely and furry brothers. 

Ray Ray was adopted by a family that volunteer's at Bob's House. He now lives with his new mom and dad, and a younger dog-brother named Marlow. He spends his time napping, walking, cuddling with his new family and snuggling up with his brother on the couch!

"For me it’s all in the eyes; some dogs just connect to me through their eyes, and I’m drawn to large dogs with brown eyes. My husband, Adolph, and I heard about Bob’s House through the local media when it opened and knew immediately we wanted to help in some way.  ! We checked the Bob’s House website frequently. Suddenly Comet was there, Comet with those lovely brown eyes. We knew we wanted a rescue dog. We knew we wanted a senior dog. We were ready since all of our ancient canine/feline friends had passed on. We were retired and at home a significant amount of time. So we went to ask for Comet and whoa—there was Tulsa! We visited a few more times and then took them both home on the same day with no hesitation.    I’ll never say it was easy. They both had issues. But they were so endearing and gentle and so grateful for some special meals, casual strolls through the neighborhood and the run of the fenced-in backyard. ! Comet and Tulsa were adopted June 12, 2013, and beautiful Tulsa died at the end of March 2014. He went first which surprised us both. We just assumed he would live longer. It hurt to lose him even though we knew he was no pup. So we hung on to Comet, who was not well at the end and never a cuddly sort. But he had those eyes, those eyes that said thank you each time he woke up, each time we helped him up when he fell and each time he had an accident in the living room that was cleaned up with no yelling. We loved him until he could go no more and just days before Christmas 2014 we loved him enough to let him go.     We did not look for another friend until June this year when sweet Elsie coaxed us from the adoption page. She’s become an integral part of our family. The vet describes her as a senior girl with multiple health concerns: worn- down teeth, arthritis, hip dysplasia, some potential internal problems and deafness. Yet, Elsie is polite and gentle, eager to interact with kids, cats, dogs and us. Her expression that brightens each time we approach, along with her tail that wags in a circular motion, say she is happy to be alive and loved by us.      Should everyone jump in to get a senior dog? No, unless everyone in the family is willing to invest time in the care of an older dog, allow that dog to exhibit his/her eccentricities, habits and weaknesses. They must be willing to tend to any medical needs and have the strength and the heart to let their dog go when it’s time. The reward is the time in between. The end-of-life love from these dear dogs is indescribable and unforgettable.”