Name: Piper (3 y/o in June) & Raelynn (2.5 y/o)
Family Members: Mom’s: Melissa & Angela Fur siblings: Lexi, Jax, & Graycie
How long have Piper & Raelynn been in the family? Piper for 2.5 years. Raelynn became our foster July 14th, 2016 and was officially adopted May 3rd, 2017.
Professions: Melissa is a corporate lawyer for Suntrust Bank. Angela is a research chemist at the Center for Disease Control. The are also owners of 5 Dog Design Boutique , a pet collar company that donates part of it’s profits to animal rescue.
Location: Smyrna, GA
Nicknames: Piper: Stinky Puppy, Piper Princess, Pouty Piper Lip, Princess Piggy, Piper Pig
Raelynn: Kermit, Brown Cow, Dumb Dumb, Rae, Rae-Rae
5 words/phrases that best describe Piper & Raelynn?
Piper
Terrorist
Pouty
Loyal
Beautiful
Spastic
Raelynn:
Cuddle Monster
Dumb
Sweet
Dumb :)
Lover
What makes Piper & Raelynn unique? Piper truly enjoys affection. You can see her ask for it and relish the time she gets it. She is one of the most affectionate dogs with her mom. Raelynn has an annoying and super sweet trait. She loves to cuddle but it is more of a cover you entirely and become dead weight kind of thing. The more you press against her to move her the more of a dead weight she becomes. Moving her or getting her off of you takes a lot of strength and patience.
Beautiful Piper!
Sweet Raelynn, aka Kermit
Rescue Story: Piper was part of a litter of puppies rescued by You Lucky Dog Rescue. There were 9 of them picked up in Bartow county. A few days after rescue they all got extremely sick with Parvo. 2 of the litter didn’t make it and Piper was next in line to succumb to the disease. The rescue moved her to Rose Animal Hospital to give her a fighting chance. She made it and sat in boarding looking for a foster for 2.5 months. We fostered her sister, and our best friends fostered her brother (who are fostering again after a return). After her sister was adopted we agreed to bring her in to our home. I picked her up from one of the volunteers of the rescue in the Home Depot parking lot and as soon as she pulled her out of the car I said to Karen…my wife isn’t going to let this one go. Little did I know that the bond and connection this little terrorist would have with my wife. The bond is unmistakable and is unbreakable. I feed her, walk her, discipline her and play with her…but she will pick Melissa any day of the week. We foster failed with her after 3 weeks. In the first 6 weeks she was with us she was being raised with our Elderbull Belle. She loved her and vice versa. We lost Belle in November right before her 11th birthday to cancer. We were always grateful for the time they had together because we are positive it made Piper a better puppy.
RaeLynn was posted on Fulton County Lifeline’s urgent dog list. She was adopted out and returned 4 days later. The adopters claimed that she had seizures. The staff at the shelter said she was in the medical ward with no signs of seizures, but she had become depressed and listless. We were looking for our next foster when we saw her and I fell in love with her sweet face. I asked Kim at BarkTown Dog Rescue and Sanctuary if she would pull her for us. She came out of Fulton sick. Started as kennel cough and progressed to an URI. So for the first month in our house she was just sick and then all of a sudden she wasn’t, and we got to see RaeLynn grow. Her personality started to come out and she started to grow and gain muscle. She is the best friend of every dog in the house. They all love her and seek her out for playtime and cuddles. She has never once in the last 2 years had any signs of seizures. We had her as a foster for 8 months. She had a few applications that didn’t work out. She got a good one and I (Angela) was so depressed at the thought of her leaving our house even though we at the time were at 6 dogs (4 perm and 2 fosters). I, Angela, asked for nothing but her for my birthday and my wife delivered. She became a permanent pack member on May 3rd, 2017. It was a good thing too because we started a dog collar company called 5 Dog Designs so she kind of needed to stay!
Baby Piper at the vet.
Are you my forever family? YES!
What is your favorite pastime as a family? Piper loves to play fetch, tug-of-war, and she loves to hike. We enjoy her each and every day. She is our little terrorist and she is a bit crazy but man she is an amazing dog.
RaeLynn is amazing on leash. I love to take her hiking, or just walking. Her and her Pit Bull mix siblings love to play fetch together. We call the 3 Pit mixes in the house the 3 Terrorist because they do everything together, which mostly includes trouble.
What is life like since you rescued Piper & Raelynn? For Piper, the answer is different according to which human you ask. Melissa would say her life became better and more complete. The connection they share is amazing and she can’t imagine her life without Piper. If you ask me…my life got harder. She keeps me on my toes, makes me crazy and I constantly wonder why life did this to me. She is a perfect example of life gives you the dog you need, not the dog you want. She has taught me so much about myself, and the way I train my pack. I can give her all those kudos and then some. She has been nothing short of a blessing for this family and she got us through losing Belle. She has been the best foster sister to so many that have been through these doors in the last 2.5 years. Because of Piper I am a better mentor to those in the rescue who might have a dog like her and she made me an over-all more patient and understanding person to dogs and to people. So I guess I like her alright :)!
Life with RaeLynn is fun. She has added the glue to the pack. She just moves continuously through the pack as she always belonged. She brings us so much joy and love that it’s hard to think of the world before she was here or after she leaves. I plan to enjoy every second we have together and we couldn’t be more thankful we were chosen to be her parents.
Photographers Note: This is round two for this wonderful family. They first volunteered with Graycie back in November of 2016 (http://www.shineliteatl.com/new-blog-1/2016/12/4/graycie-112616). At the time they were fostering Raelynn and I quickly fell in love with that sweet silly girl. Her coloring is gorgeous and then she just has the best smile. I actually went home and started the conversation about maybe adopting that adorable girl, but alas she ended up with the family she was meant to be with! Piper is just a beauty, with that blonde coat and those piercing eyes; but she is much more then her looks. This girl loves to play ball and play with her rope. She spent a good portion of the photo shoot showing off with her sister, in still very warm fall weather.
I have gotten to know this family over the last two years; they are big supporters of this project and I have become a frequent customer of their dog collars.(which could start to be a problem) They are true advocates for rescue dogs everywhere, responsible pet owners (with 5 big dogs they have their hands full, but they are all so well behaved) and just wonderful, fun people in general. So happy I was able to meet them through this project and who knows maybe a 5 Dog Design / Shine a Light collaboration could be in the future! ;)