This story is about a TCHS dog who went through several stays and names at the shelter; now she’s spending this season with her new family. Her story starts in October 2022, when the dog then known as Chives arrived at TCHS by way of Mille Lacs Animal Control. She returned to the shelter twice over the next almost year, and she spent some time in foster care while she was awaiting adoption. At the shelter, Chives (who also was known as Luna then) could be very timid and emotionally shut down.
We are so happy to share that Chives AKA Luna found her home in July 2023. Let’s hear from her family:
“My husband and I have been ‘dog people’ all our lives … with the exception of our college years and the first year of our marriage, neither of us had ever been without a dog in our home. As a couple, we adopted our first dog nearly 40 years ago. So there was a huge empty space a few months ago when our senior dogs, ages 12, 16, and 17, all were gone in the span of about 18 months. We had said we were on the ‘no replacement’ plan, intending to enjoy the imagined freedom of being dogless as we moved into retirement. But being dogless was not a state I could tolerate. Soon after our last dog left us, I began idly looking at the shelter websites, ‘just to see.’ One day this beautiful coonhound face was staring at me and I couldn’t look away. Over the next few weeks I kept coming back to your website and she was still there, waiting for us to realize where she belonged. It didn’t take long before we knew.
Her shelter name was Chives, which didn’t really roll of the tongue for us, so we renamed her Ivy. Her new name is very appropriate, as she really clings to her people. She loves jumping into bed each morning to get her snuggles and belly rubs from the last person to rise. She is smart, loving, gentle, well-mannered, and funny, and she loves toys of all kinds. I don’t know exactly how this amazing dog came to be at your shelter, but I know she had a long and challenging journey and I just want to say ‘Thank You’ for caring for her and giving her the chance she needed to find her forever home. She has settled in so well with us, I can’t imagine our home without her.”
Now it’s our turn to say thank you to Ivy’s new humans, Kathy and Chuck, for giving Ivy a chance. We’re glad she found her place to grow. And thank you to the thousands of you who give animals like Ivy a chance, every year. We can think of no better gift for a shelter pet!
"Secondhand animals make first class pets." Anonymous
