Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Bella - Our Featured Animal

Our featured animal this week is Bella, a beautiful and sweet 11 month old black lab mix. Courtney, a staff member of Lake Humane Society who loves Bella dearly, wrote all about Bella and the life she has had so far. 
Bella's story is maybe one of the saddest stories I have come to know working at the shelter. Bella is an 11 month old black lab mix who came to the shelter at 6 months old. As a puppy she lived in a filthy room with her sister and was probably forgotten about most of the time. She came into the shelter terrified and did not really trust any of the staff. After a few days she started to come around and began to trust the staff and she seemed happy. The only problem is that she only trusted and liked staff and would growl at strangers that walked by her and a lot of people judge dogs by the way the act in the kennel. Months went by, and as I started to get to know her a little better I realized how amazing she is. Then we started up Canine Happy Hour in which the staff spends one on one time with all the dogs and she started to really thrive. Me and her had so much fun during this special time going for walks, playing with other dogs, learning tricks, and just hanging out. But during this time, little did we know that we were about to find out about something that was just plain unfair. Bella had started to limp on her back leg. She was diagnosed with a Luxated Patella, which is a knee problem that is very common with small dogs. She will most likely need surgery and the shelter just does not have the funds for the surgery she will need. There are already 2 other dogs that need surgery and the Angel Fund is going to be drained of money from that. I knew that sometimes life could be unfair, but this just hurts my heart. Finally we got some hope when the The News-Herald ran an article about how Bella is looking for a home and people seemed interested. She was visited by potential adopters, but the knee problem just proved to be too much for people. One step forward and 10 steps back. I just hope and pray that there is one person out there that wants to save and put the time and money into this dog that has so much potential. I would give almost anything to find her the most perfect home that she has waited patiently for. I wish people could see the amazing dog I get to see everyday. She is so special and if you rescue her she will rescue you right back. I am not saying it is going to be easy, but in my opinion, it would be well worth it. Everyone should get to feel freedom, love, friendship, and happiness... why should Bella be any different? She deserves to pass out on the couch after a long day of play, go for a walk outside the shelter environment, chase squirrels, lay in the grass, and sleep in a bed next to someone not in a kennel alone. She deserves that chance to just be a dog. 

If you are interested in adopting Bella, please call the shelter at (440) 951-6122.






Monday, July 18, 2011

About Us!

Thank you for viewing Lake Humane Society's new blog!  As many of you know, we are a non-profit animal shelter that relies solely on the generous donations of our local community.  We care for thousands of homeless, injured and abandoned animals each year.  This blog will be a great way to get our information out to our supporters.  We will have new posts at least 3 times a week about animals that are available for adoption, our upcoming events, happy tails of our adopted animals, information on our programs and services and so much more!  For more information, be sure to visit our website!  Our facebook page also has a bunch of pictures and updates on our shelter!

Stay tuned for more!