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Central Indiana Lab Rescue & Adoption, Inc.
Lab Rescue serving Indiana, Illinois, and surrounding Midwestern states.

Happy New Homes

November 19, 2011

Just wanted to drop you a note and send you some pictures of Hannah. Boy what a week has done! She is adjusting beautifully to her new home and both her and Drew are getting along great.

First couple of days, we were all trying to get familiar with each other and learning how to let us know she needs to go outside to go potty. That is now behind us and she lets us know when she has to go out. Hannah also loves her crate and goes in there at night and when we have to leave. She barked the first couple of nights so one of us slept on the couch next to her and then she was fine. Now we don't have to and she just plays with her toys or goes to sleep. She does not even mess up the comforter in the crate!

She loves her toys (no furniture or anything she is not to have), loves to play and loves her bed. What a love bug she is! The shyness is starting to slowly go away and is not as afraid. We took her to a canine confidence class last Saturday at Narnia which we learned about shyness and how to work with that. It has helped us all.

Hannah will start beginning obediance class on Jan. 3rd. However, she already knows sit, down, off and is doing very well with her commands. Very smart and a quick learner is our little girl. Walking on a leash she has down to a "T" and does great with the gentle leader. She does not pull and just walks beautifully next to you. I just know she will be top dog in her class!

We can't thank you enough for letting us adopt Hannah. She has brought so much joy to our home in just a short amount of time. We look forward to many more joyful moments with her. She is the best Christmas present ever!

We will keep in touch,

Carol & Jim Kozola
12/20/11

 

Betty & Peter D'Amico adopted Lola

11/19/11

Last evening I adopted Ally, and my son, Brian, and I brought her to our home in Carmel where she met her new friend, Shadow. Ally is indeed a sweetheart and a beautiful Chocolate Lab. She and Shadow had a few hours to get to know one another before bedtime and Ally completed a thorough sniffing tour of our home. At bedtime Ally decided to take possession of Shadow’s bed at the foot of mine and Shadow decided to take over mine, which he rarely does. Fortunately I have a king-sized bed and we were both comfortable. This morning they got along like old friends sticking together wherever they went. Here’s their first photo together this morning. All is going well. I’ve posted a few more photos on my Facebook page. Thank you all for making this adoption possible.

- Ted von Eiff, 10/5/11

 

Meet Shadow (black) and Ally (chocolate). Shadow has been with us for about two years and Ally about two months. Both are about six years old and were adopted through CILRA. You may remember that Shadow had a left hip replacement but has been doing fine. They are pictured together on Ally’s first night in her new home with Shadow showing off for his new girlfriend. We have a pool and it was still open and heated when Ally arrived. She dove in at every opportunity and swam like a pro but Shadow who has always avoided the pool just looked at her like she was crazy. They have very different personalities but quickly became best friends. - Ted, 11/15/11

 

We adopted Maxx Bear when he was 4 months old directly from another family who no longer could “handle” him through CILRA. I remember Jan telling us he was a puppy and she wanted to make sure that we wanted a puppy. This would be our 3rd lab , but the first male Labrador. I thought oh he should be a good watchdog being a male. He was a puppy – a male lab puppy, energetic and full of mischievous behavior. We thought he was cute, fun and just what we loved about labs……we had our concerns on how he would adapt to rv living as we had a motor home and loved to go camping. Our previous lab loved it and we never had an issue with her. We never changed his name…..sometimes we call him Maxx sometimes we call him Bear and sometimes it is MaxxBear. When he was a puppy, it was NO-MAX!! Our first camping trip was to southern Ohio, Maxx was 4 months old and we thought it would be a good time to teach him “camping” rv style. We bought a harness for him and thought that would be good enough to keep him in “tow” until he learned the rules of camping. We tied his chain to a picnic table and just sure that would hold a “puppy” just fine. Well, I was doing dishes one evening and Maxx was outside exploring the area he was confined to. The next minute I looked out the back window and yelled to my husband that there was another puppy that looked just like Maxx. We looked out and said “awhhh….how cute “ let’s get maxx and go say HI! Well, you can imagine what happened next…..we went outside, and it a split second when we saw the empty harness lying on the ground still hooked to the chain….that the little Tasmanian devil that we had saw out the other side of the motor home WAS Maxx!! He had escaped his harness and was headed into the woods of southern Ohio.! We panicked but he was a puppy and had not yet learned to respond to the come command and he was gone in a flash to explore. We searched and searched…..until I thought I might as well tell them at the campground check in station what had happened. Just as I arrived, the phone rang, and it was a permanent resident of the campground saying that a stray dog had appeared at her patio door knocking at the door wanting in. He had looped all around that campground and came right back to our area, but was a row behind us…wanting in! We learned quickly he needed a stronger heavier harness.

This picture is of a healthy soon to be 13 years old, very happy Maxx!

He swims every summer, loves going camping and hiking and exploring in our 4x4 truck. He has no health problems other than some arthritis but it is still manageable. We are so lucky and he is a big part of our family. Our travels are always around Maxx and when we have to fly and can’t take him…we make sure there is someone who also loves him as much as us taking care of him. We know we are on borrowed time for a lab but I am sure that he will be here for a long time to come to make us smile like he is in this picture. To all you do at CILRA for unwanted labs…THANK YOU! Your love and care and concern for unwanted dogs is a gift in itself.

Oh and about being a watchdog….that never happened. He is the biggest marsh mellow I have ever seen…but that’s ok, he is our marsh mellow!

Mike, Deb and Maxx Bear Rotonda
Pickerington, Ohio

We adopted Sam on the first of January. We have been thrilled with the addition to our family! Sam has adjusted beautifully and has become very comfortable and happy in his new home. He is just a little spoiled but that's our own fault! It's hard not to spoil him because he is such a lover. He is very intelligent and has learned quickly. We are able to take him to the park without a leash and he will come on command. He is still a little distracted by people and other dogs but generally does a wonderful job! We wanted to thank you for the work you do finding and placing these wonderful dogs in homes instead of allowing them to perish in shelters. We will definitely work with your organization again when looking for our next addition and have recommended to several friends and family that they work with you as well!

Keep up the great, important work! It is truly appreciated.

Susie and Mike Hasselfeldt

 

Eddie was adopted in May 2008. He's my little buddy, and loves to stay close to me. He won't go upstairs to bed unless I'm going too. We added a new baby to the mix in 2009, and Eddie's really taken Maddy in stride, ear and tail pulling and all!! Eddie and our other lab Ally have always gotten along really well, and love to wrestle and play together. We really enjoy having Eddie in our lives!! Eddie is the chocolate lab on the right and Ally is the black on the left.

Dawn, Jason, and Madalyn Back

Sam has been a wonderful addition to the family. We have a Jack Russell, Cookie, who is almost 13 and he has learned from her and she has learned from him. Cookie lays on the couch and he sometimes licks her ears. You can just tell that he would love to get up on the couch but since he is not a furniture dog, we're not changing that. Sam retrieves well, sits when told, is a very good walker, and a great traveler. We took him to Mike's cousins in northern Ohio where they have a pond. He loves the water! At first he would go to the garage door and just sit there, so apparently he spent a lot of time in the garage. But he figured out that the house was now where he belonged. Sam has 2 girlfriends over the back fence that he and Cookie run with everyday. The little 7 year old girl who lives there has learned from Mike how to train her dogs. It's adorable.

Debbie Jacobs

Lola gets splashing relief from the summer heat!

Buffy and her new family, "The Kelly's".

I adopted Casey (black lab/basset hound mix) back in August of 1999. She is such a great companion! She has faced some health issues, but they never keep her down. She is a tough little girl. She is my (55 lb) lap dog! I adopted Ernie in June of 2004. He is my buddy! He jogs with me every morning and keeps me company every evening! They go with me everywhere…shops, walks, dinners out! I cannot imagine my life without either of these great babies! Thank you CILRA for filling my house with love!!!

All My Best,
Missy Wright

(Casey - left, Ernie - right)

Dear CILRA Folks - We wanted to write and let you know that Cooper (formerly Tyson) is doing very well since he came to us in March. We've spent much of the summer at a little cottage outside of Traverse City, MI where the order of almost every day is a 3-5 mile hike in the woods. Early in May during our first visit, he was skittish about the lake - just wading and running out of the water. Now he's a super fast swimmer and loves to go after his bumper. He's still a puppy in a big strong body but he's learning many commands and socializing with other dogs every chance we get. I'm enclosing some photos as well of Coop enjoying his summer. Thanks to CILRA fro bringing him to us.


 
Michael Stephens
Steven Hoggatt

 

Hello from Dexter! Well, here I am.........  on Sunday I arrived in Rockford, IL at my new home after a long trip in the car from Indiana.  Art and Fran Kneller picked me up at the home where I was being fostered.  Since I arrived, I have been a good boy and have been busy checking out the house and following Art and Fran wherever they go, mostly Art, as he and I are best buddies.  When Art is not home, I stick pretty close to Fran.  I have also met most of "the kids" as they have been over to swim in the pool.  I tried the swimming but I need to practice some more.  Everyone says I look a lot like Shadow, their other dog they adopted in 2002 through CILRA and passed away the end of March.  They say my head is a little different shape than his, plus my ears are not quite as long as his were.  When people come to the house, I get all excited and try to jump on them.  I know I need to learn to not get so excited but I just love people!  Plus I am only 3 1/2 years old and still considered young.   Thank you, CILRA, for matching the 3 of us up together!

 

I wasn't sure if you would remember me.  I am hoping you would remember Woody (Woodstock), a big goofy Lab, whom you fostered so many years ago that I adopted in March of 1998. I thought you would want to know that we recently lost him to cancer - March 12th.  He turned out to have quite a personality and he loved life.  I am very honored to have had him in mine for all those years. I've attached a photo of him taken this past Christmas. Thanks for fostering him and more importantly, thanks for letting us become his permanent home. -- Mary

 

 

It's been a year this month since we adopted our chocolate Lab Rosie (formerly Josie). She is a wonderful girl and we're so grateful to CILRA and to her foster family for helping to make her a part of our family. Rosie is sweet and gentle and has made a great companion for her yellow Lab brother, Samson. Rosie and Samson are never far from one another (whether they're romping around the backyard or lounging on the couch) and we appreciate the work you do to help great dogs like Rosie find permanent homes.
 
Thanks so much for taking care of Rosie and enabling us to adopt her! -- Mike, Meegan, Emma and Samson Isenhour 

 

WE HAVE RENAMED STARLA TO BELLA.  SHE IS JUST A DELIGHT AND WE ARE SO ENJOYING HER.  SHE LOVES TOYS, LOVES IT OUTSIDE IN THE SNOW, RAIN, OR BETTER YET THE SUNSHINE.  SHE ALSO LOVES WATER IN WHICH SHE WILL BE SWIMMING A LOT THIS SUMMER.  LOVES CHASING AFTER BIRDS AND EVEN CAUGHT SOME LITTLE CREATURES.  SHE IS JUST PLAIN FUN AND WE WANTED TO THANK YOU. -- LISA

 

This is our Betty, enjoying the snow last month.  She would run with her nose down in it, and then eat it.  What a joy it is to watch her, so happy and healthy. -- Dave, Maureen, and Clark Wehmeier
and Betty
Who says house dogs don't make good hunting dogs. Zoe was rescued with the help of CILRA in the summer of 2003 when she was 15 months old and with some training she has been hunting waterfowl ever since and loves every minute of it. In the off season she is participating in Retriever Hunt Tests to keep in shape, earning ribbons and titles. She seems to really enjoy going to these dog trials where she gets lots of attention from the other participants and spectators. -- Steve Cook Evansville, IN

 

 

Bear is the greatest addition to our life! We have now had him for almost 5 months, and we couldn't image our lives without him. He just adds a great spark to our life. Bear craves love from us, which he always gets (most would say he is SPOILED)! He enjoys walks and of course a good belly rub session on a daily basis. He gets a thrill from car rides and enjoys spending time with his "girlfriend," Maggie, who is a close friend's Pointer. Bear can't quite keep up with fast Maggie, but he tries his best! Bear loves his Scooby Snacks, which he normally performs sit, shake, and catch for. Overall, we are enjoying Bear as much as he is enjoying us, and we love him greatly! Thank you so much for helping us to find such a wonderful Lab...he's perfect!!

 

To CILRA,
Just a short note to accompany our donation in memory of our first CILRA adopted boy, Gunnar.  We lost Gunnar suddenly on December 2nd.  He was 10.6 yrs old.  The vet told us he had a very large mass on his spleen.  It ruptured during play with his two lab brothers.

As soon as we noticed he was not quite himself, we rushed him to the animal hospital, but it was too late.  Our decision was already made since there was no help for Gunnar.  I have enclosed his last picture with his two rescue brothers at his most favorite place on earth - our vacation home in Florida.  Gunnar loved the boat!

Thank you for giving us 9 great years with our boy.  Mason, our black Lab is 7 now.  He was adopted from CILRA when he was 18 months old.  He has had two ACL surgeries and is doing just great.  Shane, our newest boy, is 18 months now.  He was on his way to a shelter when we recommended the family contact CILRA, but as you can see he never made it to you.

We have supported CILRA and our latest efforts have had hyour Thunder adopted to family friends.  His name is Payton now and he is so loved by his new family.  Thanks for all the great work you do. 

 

Thunder is doing so well in his new home! He is very calm, well behaved and loving. We don't have to crate him during the day and unless it is food, a treat, or one of his toys, he stays away from it, we have not had one instance with him chewing!
 
We got him tags to get into the Chicago Dog Parks, he is a little shy but has made some new neighborhood friends. We can't imagine our lives without him! Payton has definitely found his forever home, we feel so lucky and blessed with this guy!!
 
Thanks again for everything,
Tim, Kelly & Payton Stahl

 

Here's a picture of our Maisy with her big sister, Tanner.  We adopted Maisy on Christmas Eve 2003, she was fostered by Jan.  Last year she was diagnosed with Addison's disease, but she is doing so well that you wouldn't even know she has this illness.  It was a long road when she got sick and finally got a diagnosis, and then frequent lab work and medications.  She gets medication every day and an injection once a month.  With that diagnosis, we just believe it was another reason she was sent to us.  We are fortunate enough to be able to take care of her the way she needs.  She is living life to the fullest and never slows down. She has her other Labbie sisters to keep her on her toes--Trixie, Tober and Maggie.  Thanks. -- Tracy and Marty Toy 
Hi, we wanted to update you on Ali, it has been a little over two years and Miss Ali’s life has very much changed. We have all moved twice in the last year, first to North Carolina and 5 months later to Georgia . Needless to say these were stressful times for all of us, but we have now finally settled into our life in Georgia and loving it! Our family came to visit from overseas and spoiled us all… here is a picture of Ali with her chocolate big brother Spencer. Thanks for bringing wonderful Miss Ali into our family. -- Christina Hoover

 

*Some Letters Have Been Edited for Length*

 

All images, documents, and text on this web site are owned by Central Indiana Lab Rescue & Adoption, Inc. and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

All images, documents, and text on this web site are owned by Central Indiana Lab Rescue & Adoption, Inc. and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.