(New York ” February 14, 2010) ” From Dizzy, Jello and Kazzo, the abandoned kittens in a basket to Sanka, the dog who isn’t a “cuddle bug,” each pet nonetheless inspired their pet parents to share their stories with us. All the video submissions to the Goodnewsforpets.com “Share Your Pet Love” contest were very impressive but in addition to the winning entrants, these finalists wrote back to goodnewsforpets.com about their beloved pets. We are sharing these heartwarming stories here but you can view all the videos at our YouTube channel:
From Lisa Vallez About Dizzy, Jello and Kazzo:
The three kittens in my video were left in a box in the gutter at theshelter where I was volunteering. Their chances for adoption weren’tgood because they have a condition called cerebella hyperplasia. It’sdifficult to care for CH kittens in a shelter environment. They canhave completely healthy happy lives; they just have challenges gettingaround! Dizzy, Jello and Kazoo lived with me for the first months oftheir lives as they got stronger and learned to use the letterbox andfigured out the best way to navigate a food dish!
They were the sweetest, gentlest little guys and gave me manywonderful moments including the “purr party” I captured in my video.It took awhile and it was hard to let them go, but all were adopted towonderful homes. I’ve gotten updates from all their new people whocontinue to love and learn from them! Thanks for hosting the contest. It’s great to see all the videos of folks with their animals!
From Melissa Stutt About Sabre:
I was trying to capture his cute way of talking to us on video to share with some other Akita friends on Dogster.com. In the process, I captured some of the different ways he shows his love for us, from the crazy flip-flopping of his tail when he greets us at the door, to how he brings us his toys whenever we come home, culminating with his awesome A-ro rororo. I just love the way he talks to us! I could go all day about my baby boy.
I had been afraid of dogs and not really liked them most of my life. My husband and daughter convinced me to let them get a puppy because he was working nights and I would feel safer. Since they picked the puppy online from the breeder, I got to choose the name. Sabre was my only choice, named after my fave hockey team. Here’s the ironic part…this puppy became mine right from the start. He picked me!! He has been mine ever since.
Being a first time dog owner, especially dealing with an Akita, it has not been an easy road. I have had much on the job training while working hard to train him. This is a totally different kind of love from anything I’ve ever known. He’s my bud, pal, constant companion. When my husband went through months of being fatigued battling an illness, our bond only grew stronger, he was my rock, and he was there for me. He has also been good therapy in getting over my fear of dogs.
Would you believe, I can stand in the middle of a dog park now?? All of my friends that knew me before having him cannot believe the total 180 I have done. When I send out pictures to family and friends they ask if I still have a daughter because I’m always sending pictures of him. I am a teacher and when I model writing at school for the children, I write about Sabre! He is my inspiration, my world, my heart dog!!
From Sharon Mikesell About Samantha:
Samantha is a Labrador retriever/Border Collie mix we adopted from ourlocal Humane Society last summer. She’s about 9-months-old. Samantha is very photogenic and loves to play and loves to cuddle–by using a mix of still photos and video, I was able to capture her in a variety of situations. Samantha is a lab mix so she’s a good sized dog–but she likes to think she is still a SMALL puppy…and she loves to be cute…she’ll melt your heart with those puppy dog eyes!
From Jennine Punzone About Casey:
People are always commenting about how gross it is that I let my dog kiss me on the lips. I just got so tired of having to justify why I let my dog show her affection that way. She loves kissing me and other people. I LOVED that I had the opportunity to do this video for a contest. I thought it was a great concept for a contest. Thank you for thinking of it!
From Kimberly Porter About Lola:
Lola is an almost two-year-old (one year and 10 months exactly) English Bulldog. We have always had an obvious connection to one another. She really is the sweetest little girl and, though she’s rambunctious and outgoing with other dogs and people, when it is just her and I, she follows me from room to room because she doesn’t like to be apart.
She also does this thing–that I videotaped for the contest–where when we’re sitting next to each other and she feels I’m giving the TV or my computer or a book more attention than her, she’ll wack at my hand with her little paw until we’re holding hands. Then of course you take your hand back because you were busy doing something with it and she just does it over and over again.
When I’m really busy I do sometimes get exasperated but then I think about it and it’s just Lola trying to love me in this cute little way. I’ve been told I spoil her but she deserves it. She inspires me in all ways of life–whether it be to get up and go for a run because we both need some exercise or in the case of creating this video.
From Megan Peters About Sanka:
The toughest thing was trying to scrunch everything I love about my dog into one minute. My idea for the video came from the fact that my dog, Sanka, isn’t really a dog that stands out to a lot of people. He doesn’t like to play games. He doesn’t do any fancy tricks. He’s not a cuddle bug. He’s just not a dog that many people would look twice at. But that doesn’t take away from the fact that he’s a perfect dog for me. He’s just a good old boy, and I love him to death. The thing I love most about him is the fact that he is perfectly happy just hanging with you. I tried to incorporate that into the video a little bit.
Sanka has played a big role in inspiring me. He inspires me to get out and explore. He loves hikes. I love photography, and a lot of the pictures I have taken would not have been possible had Sanka not led me over to go explore other areas. What looked like a simple tree ended up being much more once I got to it. I had no interest in going there, but Sanka insisted. And in doing so, he enhanced my creativity and broadened my horizon in that everything looks different on the surface. I tend to look at things from different angles now. I get down to his level and see the world as he sees it.
It’s amazing how different things look by just adjusting your height! Sanka has really inspired me to try things I once thought were not interesting. I thought I would not enjoy them because they looked boring on the surface. But I look at Sanka, and see what he is. He’s just a boring dog on the surface. He doesn’t do much. But there is so much about him that is amazing and entertaining that he’s not really boring. You just have to dig deeper to find out, and not be so judgmental on first impressions.