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Daisy & Princess - 11/4/17

Name: Daisy (2 y/o) & Princess (2 y/o)

Family Members: Caitlin - Dog Mom, Sandi & Will (Caitlin's Parents), Christian (Caitlin's brother); Family Pets: Cash, Dixie, Shawty, O'Malley

How long have Daisy & Princess been in the family? Both one year. 

Profession: Founder of Caitlin’s Vine Of Bravery Dog Rescue 

Location: Roswell, GA. 

Nicknames: Daisy: Daisy Duke

Princess: Babe, Block Head Beauty

Daisy

Princess

5 words/phrases that best describe Daisy & Princess: 

Daisy

  1. Lovable
  2. Caring
  3. Sweet
  4. Beauitful
  5. Perceptive

Princess: 

  1. Energetic
  2. Playful
  3. Silly
  4. Loyal
  5. Smart

What makes Daisy & Princess unique? Daisy is my service dog. She follows me everywhere and sleeps as long as I will sleep. She will sleep with me even if I sleep until 2pm in the afternoon when I am sick. She never leaves my side. 

Princess learns new tricks very fast. She is very hyper and full of energy. 

Diving Daisy

Princess playing in the water

Rescue Stories: Daisy was rescued from DeKalb County Animal Shelter before she was to be euthanized. She had been run over and had a broken pelvis. She needed FHO surgery (femoral head ostectomy). She was the first dog I rescued. 

Princess was about to be euthanized at Fulton County Animal Services for fear aggression. She was severely beaten and left on a balcony for two weeks without food or water. She is terrified of new people touching her or approaching her but is making amazing progress.

Daisy getting ready to go home.

Gotcha day for Princess

What is your favorite pastime as a family? Swimming with them, playing fetch and agility course. We also play with bubbles and lasers, along with taking walks by the creek and swimming in the lake. 

What is life like since you rescued Daisy & Princess? My life is filled with so much more joy, happiness and laughter. Love from a rescue dog is the most amazing feeling ever. They are so spoiled and are the happiest and loving dogs. 

Photographers Note: I really enjoyed spending time with these two adorable pups Both are so striking in very different ways and have such funny personalities. Being able to see Daisy loving her pool and Princess playing with her water game in the beginning of Nov, was such a treat!  As Caitlin mentioned Princess takes some time to warm up to strangers, so I just let her take the lead and started out taking photos from a distance with my zoom. I didn't reach out to touch her when she came near (as much I as I wanted to), and by the end of our time together she was coming right over to me and sticking her head through the chair I was sitting on to get some attention. This is a big family with a lot of animals and as could happen they don't all get along. Instead of giving up on any of them, they are committed to doing what it takes so each member of their 4-legged family has a wonderful and spoiled life. It's truly a great to thing to see. 

                                                                              

Lucky - 10/29/17

Name: Lucky - 3 y/o

How long has Lucky been in the family? Since Nov. 2014

Family Members:  Alyse, Gabriel (Gabe) & a shepherd mix named Bailey who is 7 (also a rescue).

Professions: Alyse works for Marriott International and Gabe is a musician.

Location: Decatur, GA. 

Nicknames: Luckster, Snoots (he’s an inappropriate sniffer), Donald (he sneezes like Donald Duck), Waggles, Goober, Fat Head

5 of the best words/phrases to describe Lucky?

  1. Snuggler
  2. Waggly
  3. Happy 
  4. Goober
  5. Lazy (he sleeps a lot)

What makes Lucky unique? He truly loves everyone he meets: strangers, other dogs and especially kids. 

Lucky enjoying the park with his sister Bailey.

Rescue Story:  It was the Saturday before Thanksgiving 2014, and temps were in the 20’s. Gabe was walking Bailey and took a shorter route than normal because he wasn’t feeling well. It was on a street he never usually walks down that he spotted Lucky in a pile of leaves on the side of the road. Lucky tried to get away but didn’t have strength to stand and just rolled over. Gabe scooped him up and carried him home. He was only 17lbs (3-4 mos. old) and a skeleton, covered with fleas and just pathetic. He got several baths, was wrapped up in a towel and sat with me by the fireplace. We fed him a little food at a time and he was happy to eat. When we took him to our vet they found no microchip of course and said other than some skin issues they just wanted to see him put on 20lbs or so; otherwise he was healthy! We did NOT intend to keep him. Well… Gabe wanted to keep him from day one. I was happy to foster him until we found a good home. In addition to Bailey we also had a 15-year-old shepherd mix named Buddy. I did not want a puppy pestering my senior dog. Buddy was my #1 priority. 

We had someone interested in Lucky but they were going to make him an outside dog which I was not ok with. The more time Lucky spent in our house, the more I got attached to him. He is a lover! By December I decided we were keeping him. As Lucky got healthier and had more energy he did pester Buddy a bit, mostly because Bailey was not very nice to him. Buddy obviously wasn’t going to play with him though and over time Lucky figured out that Buddy made an excellent napping partner. He could often be found snuggled up next to Buddy. It was so sweet! Bailey was not nice to him, as much as he obviously wanted to be friends with her.  He refused to give up. He was determined to make her his friend and over time he wore her down. Now they are brother and sister, they play all the time and I’ve even caught her being a bit snuggly with him a few times. 

Buddy passed away in Feb. 2016. That was hard. Gabe and I adopted him in 2001 when he was 2 and he was our first baby. Lucky and Bailey didn’t seem to have much of a reaction to the loss. If they had mourned him like we were that would have been even more depressing. Having Lucky around really helped us to get through that sad time. 

Sweet Lucky just after being found. 

What is your favorite pastime as a family? Lucky’s kind of a lazy dog. He enjoys a good walk every day but otherwise he sleeps a lot! So snuggling is a favorite pastime. I’d say Lucky’s favorite pastime after napping is laying in our backyard sunning himself! He loves to meet new people! He also loves to pester Bailey. 

What is life like since you rescued Lucky? Lucky brings so much love and laughter into our home. We had no experience with pits before him and we’re absolutely enamored. I’ve never had a dog that made me smile as much as him. He’s pretty spoiled now and I’m not sure he even remembers life on the street!  

Photographers Note: I met up with Alyse, Gabe, Lucky & Bailey on a very cold and blustery day in Piedmont Park, especially for Atlanta in Oct. In texting with Alyse before hand, she mentioned they would be the ones with the pit bull in a bee costume. Sure enough I turned the corner and saw Lucky immediately. They thought a bee fit his personality and I have to say it really did. Just as Alyse described Lucky, he was ready to meet every person, child and dog that was in the park that day! Thankfully the dogs were really cooperative because the humans were darn cold. Pretty sure between Lucky's fuzzy bee outfit and Bailey's beautiful coat, the dogs were loving the chilly weather! 

 

Optimus - 10/21/17

Name: Optimus - 2.5 y/o

How long has Optimus been in the family? 2.5 years

Family Members: Andrea, Martin, human brother Victor (8 y/o) and Baby on the way (due Feb. 2018

Profession: Andrea is an Account Manager at BB&T. Martin is a Catering Assistant at Northside Hospital (Forsyth)  & Victor is a student at Little River Elementary.

Location: Woodstock, GA. 

5 of the best words/phrases to describe Opitmus?

  1. Big Baby
  2. Loving
  3. Patient
  4. Attached
  5. Lazy

What makes Optimus unique? He has been socialized since we got him and he is such a people person. When we are in public he doesn’t bark at anyone. He is so friendly that he wants to say hi and give kisses to everyone! 

Hot pup!

Rescue Story: At the time, I was a single mom and my son was begging for a dog. One day I took him and a friend to the Atlanta Humane Society (Howell Mill location) to just “look” at dogs. Well, on that Sunday, Victor found “Finnigan”. He was the smallest of his litter. He was 8 weeks and 8 lbs. His mom had a litter of puppies and the family couldn’t keep them, so they took them all to AHS. That Sunday, we walked away. Victor really wanted the dog and I couldn’t stop thinking of him either. It was April and Victor’s birthday was coming up in May. That Monday, I kept going on the website to check if “Finnigan” was still available. I even called AHS to see if they could put him on hold but they told me “first come first serve”. That day I had my parents pick up Victor and I went straight after work to AHS and adopted the cutest little Pitbull/Terrier Mix that was black with white markings. I showed up to my parents with an early birthday present for Victor. He was so excited and we started going through names and we came up with Optimus, as in, Optimus Prime from Transformers. He has been the best addition to our family. He sleeps with Victor every night. He is our love bug that always wants to be by your side. 

Little Optimus heading to his forever home.

What is your favorite pastime as a family? When time and weather permits, we like to take Optimus to Piedmont Park. We take him to the dog park there, buy him a King of Pups Popsicle and walk around while Victor rides his bike. 

What is life like since you rescued Optimus? We always tell Optimus that he won the lottery with us but it’s definitely a “who rescued who” situation. I noticed a big change in Victor after adopting Optimus and now they are always together. They are best buds. It is very true that a boys need a dog to grow up with. I know that we always feel better when we get love from Optimus and he has been a companion for all. Even though Optimus is super sensitive, super allergic and breaks my bank account, I wouldn’t change him for the world. I love him and I know he loves each and every one of us right back. Life without Optimus would be a life without laughter. 

Photographers Note: I was able to meet up with Andrea, Victor & Optimus (unfortunately Martin had to work) on a gorgeous Saturday morning at Woofstock, a lovely park complete with walking trails and a dog park. It was not hard to find good spots to take pictures because there were many. Our bigger challenge was trying to avoid photo bombers from all the other pups that were out with their owners enjoying the lovely day. Optimus wanted to greet and play with all of them! One of the things that I love most about their family photo above is, if you look closely you will see that Optimus is standing on Victor's foot. After reading Andrea's comments about what a pair they are and how bonded they are, this made me smile. Even in this situation, Optimus wanted to be as close as possible to his boy!