2. Bongo by Stephanie Pullen
When I first moved to California, I started looking around at rescue agencies for a cat. The goal was to just look around and get an idea of what I wanted before adopting, as I had just that day signed a lease on an apartment. I happened upon one adoption event at a local pet store and I saw two ragamuffin kittens in a cage at the back of the store. Their fur was rough from not being brushed or touched and they seemed so frightened. To top it off, they were both solid black, so few people seemed interested. I just wanted comfort them, so I opened the cage and the older (and definitely braver) boy took a chance and nudged my hand. That’s all it took for me. I knew I had to save them both and make sure they wouldn’t be split apart. I made arrangements for the rescue agency to mind them until I moved into my apartment the following week. I cried when I picked them up to take them home, I was so happy. Although her brother passed away after a hard-fought battle with kidney disease three years ago, I still have the littlest Bongo cat who was so small and scared when I first got her home, that she hid underneath the kitchen cabinets for 3 days. Fifteen years later, this black cat is still all heart.
16. Buster Catdude
by Brenda Wong (3rd place)
My name is Buster Catdude and this Valentine’s Day, I’d like to tell you about the nice people who found me last spring. This is my first Valentine’s Day with them.
You see, I spent last Valentine’s Day with a different family, who adopted me from San Francisco Animal Care and Control when I was just a kitten. I never thought I’d find myself back at ACC but that March, my family took me back there after only a few months of having me, citing financial difficulties. Naturally I was pretty sad about that, but I’m a determined sort of guy and I like to make the best of things, so I made the best of things. I played around in my new smaller quarters, and I made friends with all the nice ladies who work and volunteer at ACC. (There are some very lovely ladies at ACC by the way.)
Around the end of March, my soon-to-be family showed up and paid me a visit—a lovely lady and some guy who was with her. (Did I mention that I like ladies?) They played with me for quite a whole and then left, so I resumed napping, but a few days later, they came back for me.
Since then my life has been a lot of fun. My lady friend and that other guy who lives with us take me on car rides around San Francisco and feed me treats like organic lettuce and spinach (in addition to my usual healthy balanced diet of quality cat food, of course). I guess you could say I’m not your typical cat.
There’s another lady here too, of the feline sort. Her name is Nellie. She is quite a bit older than me, reserved and elegant in her coat of black and white. She’s always looking at me funny though, while I get my exercise by tearing around the apartment at full speed. I get the sense that she hasn’t quite warmed up to me yet, but she will. Sooner or later, the ladies fall for my charm.
I say it’s important to let your loved ones know every day how much they mean to you. That’s why I always make a point of kissing Brenda whenever she leaves home and whenever she returns. I kiss Nellie too, whether she likes it or not. Barry also tries to kiss me. I don’t really like that. No offense dude, but I like ladies. I thought I made that clear. I’ll give Barry a little nudge though, to let him know, “Love you too, man.” Nothing wrong with a little bromance.
So this Valentine’s Day and every day of the year, be sure to let all your loved ones know just how much they mean to you.
6. Sophie by Lei Lynn Lau
My sister found Sophie running around on her own, a cute 6 month old puppy, completely lost. My sister's first instinct was to take her to the local animal shelter so her owners could find her, but when she got there and put her in the cage, the dog was shaking so bad that my sister scooped her up and brought her home. We registered her with the local shelters and tried to find her owner, but to no avail.
We first thought that placing her with a family would be the best thing, but that didn't turn out well. Her separation anxiety was so bad that she scratched up and destroyed their hardwood floors. They sent her back. My sister was going to keep her, but her issues with potty training made her bf say “no.”
I wasn't ready for a dog, but how could I say no to such a sweet face?...so I took her in. Her separation anxiety was horrible. She dug up the carpet, ate my glasses, destroyed my roommate’s shoes...but with lots of love, care, and patience, Sophie has been the perfect companion. She'll be 14 this year and is still going strong. Her anxiety has been replaced with a confidence and friendliness that makes everyone love her and thankfully, she no longer eats glasses!
Valentine “Love Your Pet”
Story Contest
Many thanks to
all the wonderful
stories. Enjoy!
1. Hugo by Liz Smith
I will never forget the day we adopted Hugo (then Victor) at ACC 5 years ago. He is a funny and delightful cat and lives happily at home with his 3 dog sisters and older cat brother. We later learned of his story of how he got to ACC when a well-meaning person gave him dog flea medication and he almost died! Thank goodness they had the sense to call you. Thank you for saving him, and we treasure him every day. ♥
3. Ernesto by Audrey Thompson
I love my sweet kitty so much!! We met at your ACC establishment in March 2005. One Saturday morning after the gym I decided I wanted to visit the animals. While in the first room, I noticed litter being tossed from one of the kennels…. when I peeked in to see who was making the mess, I saw the sweetest brown tabby face looking back at me!! Then, volunteer suggested that he and I should play. Well, he was just so loveable and sweet and had the most adorable markings (spots on his tummy and ink-black paw pads). He then started purring and “head butting” me when I held him also and it just melted my heart! I brought Ernesto home with me that day and we have been together for 7 years now. He is just as sweet as the day I brought him home and is the best cat ever!
4. Daisy Mae, by Brad Meador (Honorable Mention)
This is our Daisy Mae.
When my fiancée, Erin Connolly, and I moved in together in December 2009 we chose an apartment that was dog-friendly. When we started our search for a new family member, it became clear that we both wanted different things. I was interested in a hound dog like the beagles and bassets I grew up with; Erin was interested in a fluffier friend. So I spent some time breaking her down. :)
In November 2010 we were walking down the Embarcadero when Erin stopped, grabbed my arm. “OMG look at that puppy! It’s so cute I want to steal it.” Playing at Cupid’s Span park was a bluetick beagle puppy. I had finally broken her down. :) So I put a stuffed toy dog in Erin’s Christmas stocking and promised to get her a friend.
In January, the first place we looked was the SF ACC. The second dog we saw, Erin grabbed my arm. “OMG that looks exactly like the dog I wanted to steal!” ACC’s Fergie was a bluetick beagle puppy that had been left by the side of the road in her kennel in the rain. We knew we had to have her when we saw how loving she was with Denise, the officer who found her. We adopted the re-christened Daisy Mae straightaway. People in the neighborhood seemed to recognize Daisy. For weeks, every time we walked by a building next door she pulled and tried to go inside. A dog owner from the building told us that a bluetick beagle puppy with a broken tail had lived there as late as December. Daisy has a distinct kink in her tail. She WAS the puppy Erin wanted to steal in November. We often ponder what journey Daisy went through to arrive in our family; but it was simply fate. Because we saw Daisy in November, we decided to get a dog in December and we wound up with HER in January. However she got here, we are so thankful that she is in our lives.
5. Gracie by Samantha L Bryer
It has been almost 6 years since I adopted/rescued my Gracie girl. I cannot tell you how much joy she has given me over the years. My story is as follows... I had been through a terrible ordeal and doctors/friends encouraged me to get a dog that would help protect and heal me. I had looked at several local rescue agencies but did not think to look at the SF ACC, when a neighbor told me to check out their Website I was encouraged to come meet a few of the recent dogs that were up for adoption. The moment I met Grace (at the time her name was Joyce), I new instantly that I had to have her and I think she felt the same way about me. It is true what they say when adopting an animal, that dogs/cats will pick their owners. Grace's back story is unknown - she was a stray living on the mean streets of Potrero Hill, the ACC found her malnourished and slightly skittish. With a lot of love & training, she has become the best companion a girl could ever ask for. I will ALWAYS rescue my future animals and I continue to support local SPCA, SF ACC & a few other wonderful groups that help to find forever homes for animals. When people ask how I came to name her, I tell them she was my 'Saving Grace!'
7. Gentle Ben by Mary Lam (2nd place)
Find love where you least expect it. This is the story of how we went to the shelter for a guinea pig, but came home with a rabbit.
Adopting a rabbit never crossed our minds. We have two guinea pigs at home and thought of adopting one more, so we dropped by the SFACC when we saw one available on the website. A black rabbit named Gentle Ben was having his floor time in the room and approached us with curiosity. When we offered our hand in greeting, he lowered his head, asking to be petted. We were instantly charmed and later left the shelter thinking of him. We’d been a guinea pig only household for many years but Gentle Ben made an impression on us. Were we ready for a rabbit?
At lunch time the next day, we visited him again and the more we interacted with him, the more we fell in love. Adopting a rabbit started to seem a little less crazy. That night, we discussed seriously on whether we were ready for the responsibility and researched rabbit care on the internet. There were a lot of similarities with guinea pig care and we had most of the supplies needed. The more we thought about it, the more we knew there was only one thing to do. And so it was, we brought Gentle Ben home the next day.
Seven months later, we can’t imagine our life without Gentle Ben, aka Benny. He delights us daily with his mad binkies around our room in the morning, his stealthy 007-esque hops around the living room, and adorable sudden sideway flops when he’s content. My husband nicknamed him “the mommy tracker” because he likes to follow me around the house. He’s also a complete gentleman with the guinea pigs when they have floor time together and they’ve become fast friends.
So though we went looking for a guinea pig that fateful day in August, we came home instead with a bundle love in the form of a rabbit named Gentle Ben. Thank you, SFACC staff and volunteers, for caring for him and never giving up on him despite his long stay at the shelter. Sometimes it takes a while to find “the one” but when it happens, it’s magical! May all the shelter animals find their forever home soon!
Love from all of us and Gentle Ben (A299266)
8. Otter by Jennifer Barnhart
Meet the Peruvian Bat Dog.
People ask us all the time what kind of dog we have and rather than answer “Border Collie-Aussie Shepherd” mix, we decided to assign him a breed. If there’s real breeds out there like the Tibetan Terrier or the Labradoodle, then it’s not a far stretch to have a class of dog known as the Peruvian Bat Dog. The Peruvian Bat Dogs were raised to ward the vampire bats off cattle in South America. They’re black so they can be undercover in the dark of night and with bat-like ears they blend in even more.
Frankly, the made up breed and its story is much happier than Otter’s actual early beginnings. Found wandering the streets of Oakland, he was taken in and fostered through a rescue organization. He bounced from home to home until he was adopted by my friend’s roommate. She loved Otter, then known as Felix, but realized she wasn’t home enough to take care of him properly. Having already fallen in love with him during many visits to the house, I offered to take him. I had just purchased a house and had planned to get a dog. Working with the rescue league, we transferred the paperwork and Otter became mine. So I didn’t find Otter – he found me and my life is better with a Peruvian Bat Dog in it.
9. Hans Solo by Michelle Lesowski
Hans Solo wasn't supposed to be mine. He originally came to me so he could be someone else's. See, I’m a volunteer at SFACC-in the small animal room. We occasionally (ok, regularly) get in a heap of small animals at once- 20 white rabbits, dozens of mice, or buckets of rats. In the spring of 2011, a large number of rats came to the shelter, rats that were once someone's pets, now running lose in a hotel South of Market breeding out of control. Who can foster a few, get 'em socialized? I can. Could you take this one in, he seems to be fighting a lot with his buddy, Chewbacca. SURE, no problem. I figured a 2 week stay with me, and Hans would be 'adoption ready'. He was calm, he took treats like a good boy, and he was small and blonde- after his neuter, everyone thought he was a girl. Hans should have gone back to the shelter, but...every time one of my friends picked him up, he bit them; each and every rat lovin' friend I had. Another friend said, “That rat is smart; he knows what he needs to do to get to stay with you!” Nah, I thought; he’s just slow, he’ll get there. Well, after 3 months and no more friends who would risk their fingers, I had to admit that Hans Solo was the first pet who picked me, not the other way around. To this day, Hans cares for no other rat (he’s the only rat I know who likes being single), and no other person- all he wants is to snuggle under my fleece and be with me. Now...that’s devotion.
10. Newman by Ann Nelson
It was early 2000; I was driving through Danville & sad over the recent loss of our young cat Wally from a heart defect. We knew we would be heading to the shelters soon to add a new family member to our world when I came across a barely legible crayon written sign that said 'Free Kittens'. I wasn't sure if it was time but the house felt empty without a cat owning us..;-) I made my way to their house & although there were about 6 kittens to choose from, I fell in love with that orange rowdy kitten in an instant. When he bounced near to his mother she gently licked his face and looked up at me. She pushed him in my direction. That was all I needed to know that she knew I could deal with the little devil. The little girls told me his name was Kevin but I swear he shook his head & smiled when I looked at him and whispered, ”No, your name is Newman.” I expected our drive home to be with the cries and meows of a very anxious kitten, but he surprised me by jumping onto my lap and raising up to look out the window as though he knew our adventure together (that turned 12 this year) was about to begin. I taught him to kiss me and I know that that crayon sign was in my path at the right time in our lives!
11. Fanny by Linda Beenau
Two years ago today little Fanny came into my life. She was a gift from a Boston terrier breeder. My 3 1/2 yr old rescued frenchie, Raja, died from a brain tumor only 9 days earlier....
Fanny loves everybody! She plays with and socializes many of the rescue dogs, especially the shy ones, and gives kisses freely to anyone who'll accept them! This sweet soul has taught me so much about love, patience, acceptance... and PLAY! I'm grateful for her companionship and loyalty. May we *all* be so blessed! ♥ ♥ ♥
12. Simon by Lindsey Lyons
A Valentine's Story: This will be my third Valentine's Day with Simon, a really sweet Spaniel mix that I adopted from San Francisco Animal Care and Control in September 2009. Once I found a dog-friendly place to live, I had been counting the days until I could take my future friend on outdoor adventures. I knew we'd be a perfect pair the second I saw Simon. Proud to adopt from SFACC, I kept the name the volunteers gave him. Since Simon’s exact birthday is a mystery from his previous life, it worked out well that I adopted him the same month that I have my birthday. This way, we get to celebrate together! Simon loves running, catching waves, and digging in the sand at Fort Funston. He falls in love with everyone he meets (dog and human) and is a huge fan of road trips. In 2010, we took a two-week trip to New Mexico with stops along the way to watch the sunset from the Grand Canyon and to hike in Bryce Canyon. What a feeling to see Simon soak up 4,000 miles of sun and fresh air with his head out the window! This photograph was taken in the Nevada desert during the split second I got Simon to sit still. Sir Simon, as some of my friends call him, is an instant dose of happiness for anyone who crosses his path. He’s a ball full of energy at the park, the kindest dog I’ve ever met, and the best couch snuggler I know. As a stray that found his way to you, I'm thankful for everything you do at SFACC. I still look at the photos I took of Simon the first day I saw him (in his adoption cage with a bright pink blanket) and the first day I brought him home (fast asleep on the couch) as a reminder of one of the best decisions I ever made. The absolute best way to enjoy the Bay Area is with a dog…adopted, of course!
13. Ginger by Kelli Louie-Quon
Since I am experiencing difficulty accessing your Valentine Story Contest, here is my story. On August 4, 2006, I saw a posting on craigslist for a female, white poodle - miniature mix. She was at the Animal Care Control. I immediately gathered my kids, 7 yrs, 14 yrs, 16 yrs and husband to the ACC. When we met Ginger, it was love at first sight for us but especially me. However, she was classified as a shy dog with behavioral issues and I was reluctant to adopt her. In the end, we adopted her. When she arrived at our home, she was terrified. I think she was abused by a man. She cowers down when she's approached by a male and starts to shake. I thought she needed a crate to fee safe. After working with her for a year - so she can be socialized with other dogs and humans and not having to hide in small corners or hidden spaces, she now takes walks with me. She lies on the sofa and enjoys the sunshine. Since I worked with her for a year, she has become my loyal companion. She is completely social with humans and other dogs now. There are moments when she gets scared of men she's not familiar with and I calm her down by telling her it's alright. In return, she has given me so much unconditional love and companionship during these six years. I can not imagine my life without her. I always tell my friends how rewarding it is to adopt a dog from a shelter knowing that you saved a life and to work with the dog so they can be socialized. It's so rewarding. I truly love my dog, Ginger. She has given us so much love - especially me. She is truly my dog. Thank you Animal Care Control for letting me have Ginger in my life. I love her and she loves me.
14. Juno by Molly Timmerman (1st place)
I was a fourth year medical student doing an international medicine clerkship in Santa Cruz, Guatemala at a clinic providing healthcare to underserved populations in rural Guatemala. I was prepared to encounter human suffering and illness. I had not prepared myself, however, for the suffering and maltreatment of the thousands of stray and homeless animals who live on the streets. Guatemala is a poor country where people cannot use the little money they have to spay or neuter their dogs. Thus, there are thousands living on the streets, doing what they can to survive. Many towns deal with the problem by putting out poisoned meat before the major tourist seasons so that the sight of emaciated street dogs does not disturb the tourists. At first, I tried to turn a blind eye to the problems. After all, that was not why I was there in Guatemala. I was there to learn how to take care of people, not dogs.
I met Juno on my first day in Santa Cruz, the small town where I was staying on the edge of Lake Atitilan. She lived under the bench outside the house where I was renting a room. When I would come home late from the clinics I could see her eyes watching me from underneath the bench. She rarely left the protection of her bench. She had sad eyes and was missing her tail. I did my best to ignore her for a good three weeks. The general consensus was that you shouldn't give the dogs food or attention as it would attract more of them. Much to the irritation and protests of the rest of the housemates, my roommate, Stephanie, started buying dog food and throwing Juno a handful when we got home at night. From that point on, when we returned home, Juno would greet us, venturing out from beneath her bench and crying in joy at the sight of us. Then she would do the funniest but most heart warming thing, she would hug us. She didn’t jump up in excitement like I was used to dogs doing. She would actually put her front paws around my leg and press the side of her head against me, pulling me into a “hug”. It was absolutely adorable. My Juno “hugs” became the happiest part of my day. When Stephanie planned to move to the other side of Lake Atitlan and I was nearing the end of my stay, I knew I couldn’t leave Juno.
The stars aligned to make all the parts of a seemingly impossible bureaucratic and expensive process fall into place. Before joining me for my final week in Guatemala, my partner had arranged for us to volunteer for a few days with an organization called Animal Aware, the only animal shelter in the country. Since the shelter adopts street dogs out to American families, they were able to help us complete the paperwork required to bring Juno home; paperwork that would have taken weeks to do otherwise. With Juno, we traveled by boat, foot, taxi, and airplane back to the States. She was perfectly calm and behaved the whole way. It was as if she knew we were meant to be together. Two years later, I can’t imagine my life without Juno. I now live in San Francisco with my partner, our other dog Chance, our cat Johnny, and Juno. I am a resident at Stanford. My life is markedly different from the few months I spent in Guatemala but my Juno “hugs” are still the happiest part of my day.
15. Sascha, Our Lifetime Dog
by Barbara Wein (Honorable Mention)
My daughter Ali and I had secretly been going to San Francisco Animal Care and Control after school for months. We desperately wanted a dog, but my husband had not agreed. One fateful Friday afternoon just about closing time, an elderly man brought in a beautiful American Eskimo to surrender because he could no longer care for him. We were on our way out, and Sascha took one look at Ali and jumped up to the height of her 10-year-old head! It was love at first sight for him and for both of us. We wanted to take him then and there, but I knew I would be in the “doghouse” if I did.
Knowing that Sascha would be safe for the night, we sped home. The task at hand was to convince Michael and then to rescue Sascha as soon as ACC opened the next day. We spent the evening telling Michael about Sascha, and how wonderful it would be to have him in our family. We promised to walk him and take care of him, and eventually Michael’s reservations about a dog started to soften. He agreed to go and meet Sascha the next day. That morning, we woke up early...we could hardly sleep, we were too excited. Ali and I went to the library and took out some books on American Eskimo dogs and pet care. When the ACC kennels opened, we were first in line. And when Michael met Sascha, he too fell in love. It took less than 60 seconds for Michael to agree that this indeed was the perfect dog for our family.
For 15 years, Sascha was the perfect dog for us. He became the heart and soul of our family. We have been forever thankful that he “leaped” into our lives and found his place in our “pack.” He taught us much about life, loyalty, and love. Because we did not know his exact birthday in February, we chose Valentine’s Day, because he was all about love. Sascha passed on two years ago. He lives on daily in our hearts, our memories, and our screen savers. His is our lifetime dog.
17. 4 cats: Baby Kitty, Nelly, Veda, and Shadow by Georgia Arda
I’ve gotten four cats from the street. The oldest one is 15 and the rest are all under 10. We got the first one when he was hours old, in the backyard of our neighbor’s house. We had a lot of strays around then so it wasn’t surprising when my mother heard meowing in the early morning. There were three kittens with the mother nowhere to be found. My dad asked to go into the backyard and get them. We had a lot of raccoons back then so he brought them into the house. All of the cats aside from the one we have now were very loud and frantic. They were all little and blind. Unfortunately, two out of three died. At the time, my brother was 3 or so and my mother was teaching him to be nice to the kitten. “Gentle with the baby kitty,” she would say. So when we only had one left, it came time to name him. James (my brother) named him “Baby Kitty”; it was the only name he had heard used for the kitten. Fifteen years later he lives up to his name, being the most babyish cat I’ve ever met. He’s also the only black cat I’ve met that has a pink nose.
Years later we got another cat—another black cat. Most of the strays were black. We found her stuck between in the back fence, meowing for help. At the same time, she was terribly afraid of humans, which was a dilemma. She was about 1 or 2 months old—much older than Baby Kitty had been. My mother had grabbed her to save her from the fence, and she let out the most fearful panicked scream my mother had ever heard. And she’s been around a lot of cats. We named her Nelly. A few days passed but Nelly remained afraid and Baby Kitty didn’t help much. He bullied her. My mother was fed up—she needed to feed this cat. She picked the cat up and holding her, stared petting her stomach, put the baby bottle in her mouth, and within seconds the cat’s opinion on humans changed from pure fear to grudging appreciation. Even so, she still prefers being outside than indoors. She’s large, black, and likes humans more than other cats.
We didn’t get another cat for a long time. We had Nelly, Baby Kitty, and Rosie (our dog) for years. But when I was about 11, an opportunity arose—our neighbor, who was moving, had found a stray cat in a dump a few years back. He was having his sandwich, had seen this cat walking around and called for the cat to come to him. She did and after he shared his lunch with her the rest was history. Anyways, he was moving and his cat had had 4 kittens. He couldn’t take the cat with him and so we ended up watching these kittens and the mama running around an empty yard—two of the kittens were taken by our other neighbors and we took the other two. Now the hard part was getting them. The mama cat was friendly enough. In fact, she would come into our home! But the kittens...my mom tried to catch them. She only got one—a tiny calico kitten. We called her “kitten 1”. At first, Kitten 1 was very shy. We couldn’t get very close to her but this didn’t last. One day--literally one day--of sitting with her and playing and she was ready to be a house cat. I was the first one to pet her. That first night, unfortunately, she was a bit clumsy and ended up down the vent. We had forgotten to close the heating vent! Two hours and a very scared cat later, we went back to sleep. We called her “Veda.” She fits her name well and ended up a talkative, nice little kitty.
Last but definitely not least is Shadow. Shadow is the litter mate of Veda, the one that escaped my mother during that first rescue attempt. It took four attempts to get this one. The cat was hiding in the neighbor’s house and that cat was very lucky because she was nanoseconds away from climbing up into a hole in the wall. She was that afraid of humans. She was prepared to spend the rest of her life in a wall to escape my mother’s grasp. My mother won. She got the cat and brought her into the house. Veda and Shadow just slept under a blanket, on a chair. We spoiled them rotten. Months passed. She stayed pretty skeptical of people, running away from everyone—we named her Shadow because she was so spooked and she lives up to her name very well. We kept the two kittens locked in one room (the parlor) for a while. Finally we opened the door and Veda went right out but Shadow, being a coward, refused to leave the parlor. It took a long time to coax her out of hiding. She never got over her “running away and glaring at you” look for most people. But there was ONE exception: me. Yes, for all of her acting like she thought you were about to kill her, she had a motherly side. It started with her tolerating my presence. I like to think she liked me the best, but truthfully she just liked my dark, pitch-black-all-the-time room. After a few months, I began to notice she followed me EVERYwhere. She started to yell at me too. A real mother she is-apart from being tiny and fuzzy. It became a bit of a joke—that she hated my mother for being such a “neglecting” mother—in other words, for letting me leave the house. The audacity of it all! And she wanted nothing but me sitting in bed, petting her. All day. Yes, she is quite a character. I have to go home now because she is waiting for me right now. Bye!
p.s. I forgot to mention Shadow is a tortoise shell.