Happy Tails - Recent Stories

2022-03-08     Chuck

Chuck is a now I believe 11 (almost 12?) year old big grey tabby cat. My dad adopted him from KAR in about 2016. My mom had passed away in 2014 and my dad moved into an apartment all by himself and was lonely so I offered to pay for him to adopt a cat to keep him company. He found a then 6 year old Chuck on KARs website and decided that was the cat he wanted, because he reminded him of my Tiana (formerly known as Ginny Weasley, whom I adopted in October 2011.) I went with my dad to an adoption event at PetSmart and helped bring Chuck to his forever home with my dad.

My dad LOVED Chuck! Every time I would call him on the phone, my dad was always talking about Chuck. I would go visit my dad and find that he has made "beds" for Chuck in the closets, because Chuck likes closets. My dad would keep a container of Cheetos for Chuck, because Chuck likes Cheetos. Chuck was my dad's boy, and they were quite the dynamic duo!

My dad was diagnosed with lung cancer in around April of 2019 and passed in Hospice the following June.

The night my dad was transported to Glenn Arbor in Battle Creek, I had to go retrieve Chuck from the apartment. This did not go well, as Chuck was obviously scared and confused, and also not my biggest fan. I had to leave Chuck alone overnight. The following day after visiting my dad in Hospice, I went back again to get Chuck. He was not happy at all, but that time I was able to get him in his carrier and bring him home to my apartment. My dad passed a few days after I brought Chuck home with me.

At first, I didn't think I was going to be able to keep Chuck. The apartment I lived in had a strict 2 pet rule, and I already had my Tiana as well as my dog Chloe (adopted from a different rescue.) I even contacted KAR at one point asking if I could surrender him, even though I didn't want to do that. From my understanding, Chuck had already been adopted and returned to KAR a few times in his life before my dad adopted him, and I really didn't want that to happen to him again. But then a few days after my dad passed, that apartment complex notified me that they wouldn't be renewing my lease and I had to move (long story, I'm not an irresponsible tenant, it was an irresponsible management company and I should have sued them. They no longer manage that complex as of last year.) I found an apartment where they don't care how many pets I have, so Chuck got to stay with me!

Chuck has lived with me, Tiana, and Chloe for almost 3 years now, and I think he's grown pretty happy with our living arrangement! He likes to play with Tiana, they chase each other through my apartment. He likes to sit on my lap and kiss/groom Chloe who is usually sitting right next to me. He still likes closets and has figured out how to open my hall closet. He has lots of toys now that he likes to play with too, and sometimes I catch him playing with his tail! He's a senior cat, but in a way it's almost like he's a kitten again sometimes. He's a very sweet, happy boy. I know he was very happy with my dad (how could he not be happy with all the Cheetos he got to eat?) but I think he really enjoys his life now too.

Chuck did find his forever home with my dad, because my dad had him for the rest of his life. Literally death was the only thing to separate them, and I'm very grateful to Chuck for being such a great companion for my dear old dad in his final years! But Chuck now has a 2nd forever home with me and my girls, and I'm so happy that he's so happy, especially after all he's been through in his life! I think Chuck may have been the best gift I ever gave my dad (I paid Chuck's adoption fees, and my dad thanked me all the time for doing so) but he's also one of the best gifts my dad ever gave me.

2021-10-13     Lisa now know as Rumor

Rumer's story. We spotted Rumer aka "Lisa" on the KAR website in September. We decided to look for a kitty to add to our family after the tragic loss of our tuxedo girl Buttons to mega colon earlier this summer. When we saw her picture and read she had been waiting for her forever home since April we were determined to meet her. Her surgical history didn't scare us because we have had numerous cats with special needs over the years. We visited KAR to say hello and agreed she was the perfect fit for our family. She arrived at our home on September 28 and immediately crawled into a cat bed we provided to her. Within three days she was strolling the whole house and challenging her three cat brothers to play. She's been a delight and has filled a huge hole in our hearts.

2020-12-28     Bella Bea

From the streets of Kalamazoo as a starving stray taken in by a kind samaritan and then relinquished to KAR, Bella (now Bella Bea) is now living her best dog life with her new found family who absolutely adore her. Bella was so skinny, needed to learn to be loved and house broken still as an adult dog. But her foster family was up for the task. With love, patience and a lot of snacks she was soon a completely different dog ready for her fur-ever home.
And find her fur-ever home she did, with Jena and Rudy. It was love at first sight during the meet and greet. Since living with them Bella has continued to thrive and has taken well to her life of a spoiled fur baby!
In an update Jena thanks KAR for saving her baby and picking them to be her family. Bella is just perfect for them.
KAR couldn't ask for a happier ending. This is why we do what we do!

2020-05-16     Roman (now Toby)

"He's doing great! He's fitting in wonderfully. Lots of running, walking, and couch lounging! All the animals are still figuring each other out, but all civil and hanging out! He goes off leash in the woods. He's very attentive to us always. He does great! He's such a good boy."

2019-10-18     Alice and Spencer

Alice Puff and Spencer Cheese have brought such joy to our lives. What funny, playful, smart, purring, curious, cuddly, sweet and soft additions to our home! Alice and Spence greet us at the door when we come home. They cuddle with us at night and make us laugh constantly with their crazy antics and total lack of fear. Alice, the Floofy Princess (with a tiny sweet meow when she wants something) is hilariously (dare I say demandingly) affectionate and wakes my daughter up every morning for school, marching back and forth over her purring loudly. Spencer, an elite athlete, perches on the highest point in every room, helps himself to every beverage, and is pretty sure he’d like to take a shower. The kitties’ very presence lowers the collective family blood pressure. I am pretty sure that when my son is away for college he misses the “kits” as much as he misses the humans. Every single day, Alice and Spencer remind us that life is good. We are so happy they joined our family!

2019-10-17     Lance

" He goes to bed now with Payden and after Payden falls asleep he curls up under the bed. 5 o'clock am rolls around and he jumps on me to wake up and play with him. He and Luna are playing chase off and on so their relationship is coming along slowly but surely "

2019-10-16     Macy June (formerly Juniper)

"Macy June replaced our missing heart WE CANT THANK YOU ENOUGH."

"She is such a lover,she loves the cats and protects them and her momma, she loves to give kisses on the lips, yucky poo but you cant help but not to love her so much we are so happy with her it took along time to potty train her but now wakes us up to go, we are proud parents"

"She is a happy girl for sure and full of kisses and hugs"

2019-10-15     Etta (formerly Lucy)

"She is the best snuggler I have ever met. Her barking is WAY better too and she has calmed down a lot!

Obedience and agility and having a 1 acre fenced back yard to play in have helped a lot!"

2019-01-04     Mimi

Another heartwarming KAR rescue story

From Dusty, Mimi's foster mom:

A year ago in December I went to Animal Services and asked for them to give me a dog to foster who would probably never get adopted from there. They brought out Minnie, whose name I changed to Mimi.

Well.....Mimi had hook worms, was blind, and they said about ten yrs old. She was sad and depressed. After I took her home I enlisted the aid of a volunteer to walk her in my large back yard. Mimi enjoyed that and she got to know the yard...so I began taking her out myself because my helper only came once a week.

I can't walk well now but I sat and watched her and called out to her if she got too close to a tree or any obstruction. She would stop immediately and come back to me.

I decided to try to help her eyes and with help from a friend we drove to Williamston MI where a reknown animal ophthalmologist practices. He said she would be a good candidate for cataract surgery But it would cost about $3500. I then went on Facebook and raised close to $3000, the rescue would cover the rest. Also the vet said she was younger than 10, maybe six or seven.

We set the surgery for the end of August. The vet said he could not attach a lens in the right eye but Mimi could see with somewhat blurred vision. I guess he was able to get that much out of it. The left eye has a new lens and she now has perfect vision in that eye . So, with a rescue discount and credit for no lens in the one eye. Price came down to a bit over $2500

The next step was administration of five eye drops, four times a day, waiting five minutes between drops. My wonderful friend who has a boarding kennel and grooming facility graciously took this on and Mimi stayed with her during this process which took almost two months.

Then Mimi was put up for adoption. A friend and fellow longtime KAR volunteer introduced me to Donna, who used to work at the Humane Society and is very much an animal lover. The idea was that maybe Donna could help find a home for Mimi. She walked Mimi often, and took her to her home to see how she did with cats. That was very successful .

Mimi received several applications, but the handwriting was on the wall, Donna and her husband adopted Mimi and it's a perfect home for her. A fairy tale ending. She left Animal Services a dejected sad little girl who now is beautiful and so happy. She wakes up in the morning and runs a circle around the house, then waits at the door to get her leash attached then off they go for the first of many walks a day.


Update from Mimi's forever mom:

Mimi is totally housebroken, crate trained and loves to ride in the car.

When she arrived at Animal Services her weight was 14 pounds and now she is a furry, healthy and happy 22 pounds.

She is a smart girl.

She even stays in her crate in the morning without a sound until her feline siblings have their breakfast, then she has her 1st walk of the day and returns for breakfast.

She is truly a Diamond in the Ruff who now shines brilliantly.

I don’t know who is luckier Mimi or me.

Donna

2018-10-01     Stanley

Stanley's story is one of those especially heartwarming adoptions that will stay in his foster mom's memories forever. He came into the rescue as an owner relinquish with the breed listed as "probably a Leonberger mix", but that was not his first re-homing. Unfortunately, Stanley had been in several homes, some of them foster homes with different rescues.

Although he could be very sweet, Stanley would do best in a special home with no other pets and a family that would take the time to introduce him slowly to new people. Lucky for him, KAR was able to find that perfect home. As expected, Stanley's transition into his new home was a little rough at first, but they stuck by him, and he became their perfect fur-baby. They have provided some wonderful updates and pictures to the rescue over the past few months:

"Thank you for the opportunity and your support. He is such a sweet boy and deserves so much goodness. If only he weren't so small hahaha!"

"Hi there! Thought I'd check in and give you an update and a pic. Stanley is doing great with his "stranger danger" issues and we found out thru the DNA test that he's St. Bernard-Shepard mix. I don't really see it but it's pretty interesting. The Leo mix really made sense. We don't care. We couldn't love him more no matter what he is."

"He continues to give us so much happiness and love and also continues to show us new naughtiness. When he gets mad because we're gone, he gets in the downstairs bathroom garbage and strews it thru the house so we have to keep the door shut. He also has decided that the couch is way more comfortable than the floor. He is such a good boy and so, so sweet. Hope all is well with you!"

"He recently had his first 'neighbors over' bonfire and just hung around us all, greeted each person with his ferocious, hair up barking and then was like "oh yeah, I know you" and got all wiggly and "pet me, pet me". He just loves to be loved"