In Memoriam Year 2022

Our Gunny boy was the best! He joined our family about 12 years ago and has brought so much joy and happiness ever since. A true gentle giant. He was so loving and sweet even though his intimidating size. He was very much loved and will forever be missed- no longer by our side but forever in our hearts.

Demi is resting now and although my heart is just broken, I am searching for serenity. You were the best dog who changed my life for the better in many ways. You were always there for me. My adventure buddy. We surfed, reached the summit of almost every mountain in Southern California, stayed in fancy hotels, survived a snowstorm while backpacking, invited another human to live with us (Andrew), and then welcomed home 3 additional humans together. You always put up with my shenanigans of wearing clothes that don’t fit you, going on any adventure with me with no hesitation, and complete trust in me. I will miss you forever, but I find peace in knowing you are no longer in pain. I love you Demi ❤️ 💔

For us, Lizzi was love at first sight. She was almost 6 months old when we first met her. She was unbelievably charming and we only found out later that her charming side was very selective.

During the 15+ years, Lizzi was with us, she told us so much about how she felt without uttering a single word. She listened to every word of ours without a blink of her eyes. She loved with all her mighty despite being only 14 pounds at max. She never understood privacy because she always wanted to know exactly what we were doing, so that her paw prints would be on every page of our lives. Her happiest moments were having us all back from school, and work and she walked among us, stepping on us here and there, which I always suspected she did on purpose to remind us of her presence. For the last year and a half, she fought fiercely against cancer, giving it all to be with us for as long as she could.

Now Lizzi is resting for eternity. Our lives will be filled with her memories, the love and joy that she had brought with her, and a special place in our hearts that forever belongs to her and her only! Sleep tight and sweet dreams, our love!

Lily was the most loving dog, she loved going on walks and playing with her little brother Marley ❤️ she will be deeply missed! Thank you, Lord, for blessing us with Lily and the time we had with her ❤️

– Nannette M

She loved the beach and walks and was very patient with everyone including other animals.

Snuggles overcame years of profound neglect and loneliness, physical injury, and disability, to bless our family with two glorious years of post-rescue life. She was about 12 years old when she came to us. Snuggles’ determination and spunk were astonishing. And loved the way her front paws lifted off the ground whenever she barked excitedly. Or how she’d back up like a little engine on a train track because she was so long it was easier to put it in reverse than to turn around. We were lucky to have her snuggles and support during the covid lockdown. Snuggles had a serene passing over the rainbow bridge three days ago. Senior dogs are deserving and precious. They just need time to acclimate and show their character. Please consider adopting seniors.

This is our sweet baby Alex. She will always be in our hearts and our memories. She is a special princess. She brought more love to our lives than we could ever imagine. She would howl along with me if I sang a song. She could melt your heart with just a look. She brought so much inspiration, love, happiness, and enjoyment to our family that made us feel whole. She will forever be with us in spirit and will never be forgotten. We love you, sweet girl.

Rocco was our loyal protective caring dog. He went thru all of our ups and downs with us. Thru all the hardship he was always our protector. He brought us joy for 15 years. He will be missed but never forgotten.

We love you Rocco

– Romy V.

It’s been a week since we had to say goodbye. We miss you so much Akira. You were such a fun crazy boy who always kept us entertained. Such a good boy. We miss your “talking” and your boundless energy. RIP sweet boy. We will love you forever.

Oreo was a lovely boy, he lived 14 years filled with love. I had him since he was a baby and I was 8, I miss him barking at possums or how he would eat/get the flies in the house. He was such a cute baby and my heart aches without him. He is missed tremendously.

Such a wonderful girl- 14 years of pure love. We will miss you so much.

Chico was our little buddy for 18 years. He was a great friend.

My mother recently passed away. Casey was her dog; a border collie mix. I was more than happy to bring Casey home and integrate her into my pack of 2 small dogs and a cat.

I remember when my mother first got Casey. She had a ton of energy. She was like Tigger; she would jump to meet you face to face.

Unfortunately, when I got Casey, she was a senior and fighting some issues (severe obesity, deaf, blind, incontinence, and weak rear legs that regularly collapsed). In the short time, I had Casey, She became a special part of our pack. She was the sweetest girl and would follow me around the house. She would regularly come up to me and give me kisses. She once was a cat-killer but not anymore. She & my cat were very curious about one another and I caught them face to face sniffing each other a few times. My cat is normally very fearful so I think even my cat could tell Casey was a sweet girl.

I took Casey for walks around my large yard and after a few times, she could do it on her own. I swear she lost some weight too. While a big part of me wanted to see if I could help her, I was worried she was in pain. She still groaned when laying down and getting up. She adjusted frequently and was always panting even though I kept the house cooler than normal for her. I believe she was in pain and at her age, I had to be realistic and acknowledge that she would only continue to get older who knew if arthritis would be any better with less weight?

On Casey’s last day everyone got fresh marrow bones from the butcher. We all went out to the back porch in the morning before it got hot. It was a nice morning. Every 10 minutes or so, she would come to give me kisses. At one point, Casey walked away from her bone. So she & I went for a walk. She found some shade in the yard and lifted her nose to the breeze. I knelt beside her and wrapped my arms around her. She was a great hugger. I told her she would be the breeze, the birds, the trees. She would be the leaves and the bees. She would be free. She would be in me and all around.

This photo is from that morning. She looks so happy. I hope I was able to give her some joy in the short time I had her.

You will always be a part of our pack, Casey. We Love You

The most caring German Sheppard… He looked scary, but that was all fake, he had the biggest heart and was very gentle, especially around new people. Always on high alert, making sure he kept our family protected. He wouldn’t stop being the big dog protector, even in poor health.

He fell in love with the water hose and really liked getting wet. He loved picking up rocks and collecting them, that was Diesel’s weird hobby. He is and will always be our best boy!

As each day passes it slowly gets a little easier knowing Diesel is free of pain and is running around heaven.

Miss you Bigpoppa.

– Charlie B.

July 17, 2022. Fifteen years ago, I rescued a 1-year-old Terrier mix, and I haven’t been alone in the bathroom since…until today. My sweet Olive has gone to sleep. She went peacefully in my lap in our home in the good hands of Dr. Nicole to whom I cannot shed enough praise. Olive was what everyone hoped for in a pet—happy, well-mannered, loving, playful, trusting, and completely content as long as she had me in her sights. While only 14 lbs, her absence is immeasurable.

– Rhonda B.

My family and I had Kobe in our lives for almost 14 years. His favorite things were eating (he never missed a meal) and exploring a park or local trail (in his younger days). He was a faithful friend and companion who gave us many memories of the funny things he would do. He would always wait for the last bite of the peanut butter toast I was eating for breakfast. Now I always think of him before taking that last bite. Kobe will always have a special place in our hearts.

Miles was a very happy and enthusiastic member of our family. We found and adopted him from a pound in San Bernardino. They grow up together with our son Luke and they shared good memories together for 17 1/2 years. Losing him was very heartbreaking to the entire whole family. We used Miles scratching our bedroom every 5:30 in the morning just to be around with my husband. Remembering Miles looking eye to eye with my husband asking for his breakfast? Looking back at all these wonderful memories it’s really breaking 💔 our hearts to pieces. Thank you Miles for being such a wonderful member of this family. We missed you and ❤️ love you more. Will see you at the edge of the rainbow buddy. Enjoy your new journey.

We are all heartbroken, 💔 we know she’s @ peace running & rolling in the grass.

– Janet B.

Moving to California in general was overwhelming and scary but you add on traveling for 5 days across country with 2 large baby pups and a cat and it became even more chaotic. Roycee has ALWAYS been the best travel buddy. He was PERFECT the whole way to California. They were in the car for 12 plus hours a day and in and out of hotel rooms each night. Honestly you wouldn’t have even known Roycee was in the car. Virginia on the other hand was on Vanessa lap the ENTIRE time taking care of her mom who is deathly afraid of the car. When we finally made it to California it was a bit of a rough start. They were country Florida dogs and the move to the big city was such an overwhelming adventure from them. They would look at us with a look on their faces like, “mommies why are we at this place that we hear sirens and gunshots”. As we became more comfortable, they shortly overcame their fear of the noises and smells after a few weeks. Virginia and Roycee got to experience so many big things together, we packed so many life experiences in the short 6 years he was with us. He got to climb the Rocky Mountains, travel all over the United States, vacation in the desert and those are just a few of our adventures together. He protected us and filled our hearts to the top with an overflowing amount of love.
Vanessa was Roycee’s EVERYTHING! He was obsessed with her from the first time they laid eyes on one another. If Roycee could have lived in Vanessa’s skin, he would have. This loss for her is the biggest she has every experienced. Their connection can’t be matched, it was as if they were one soul. We couldn’t have imagined our life without him. He has changed us forever…time will hopefully fill the emptiness we now feel now that he is gone. I promised him that I would take care of his mom, sister, and kitten brother. I reassured him that it was okay that he is getting tired and that he can be done fighting. He looked at us deep in our eyes, his dark brown eyes…we will miss them so much.

Roycee,
“You are mommies’ sunshine our only sunshine, you make use happy when skies are gray, you’ll never know Roycee how much mommies love you, please don’t take our Roycee away” …you will forever be remembered as the perfect boy you were. You will forever be the sun that hits our face and the wind that blows through our hair. This isn’t goodbye, it’s see you later…until we meet again my perfect son, we love you Papi.

I found princess A year and a half ago. When I found her she was on the street and it was raining and when I went up to her she was so sweet and seemed like she just needed someone to love her. I took her home and some time went by and I realized her stomach was getting big… she was pregnant! From the beginning me and princess had the best bond, I’ve never felt attached to an animal and she was the first animal I felt attached to. When she was pregnant she would sleep on the top of my pillow with her stomach on my head every night. I always thought animals were very protective of their babies but for her I could tell she wanted me to be 100% involved in this journey with her. When it came time to her giving birth she even let me cut one of the babies umbilical cord‘s! Me and my family always thought of princess as A real person, she was our family and still is. She has always been such a good cat. Princess has always been there for us when we were going through things, it’s like we could really talk to her and she would listen and she would comfort us. Princess loved playing outside as soon as we let her out to play she would go to the grass and she would roll, she loved to adventure and when she wanted back in she would come to the door and meow to let us know, it was so cute. I pray that princess is running in a field chasing butterflies in the sun and one day I’ll be with her again. Mommy loves you princess… till we meet again.

– Carolina J.

I truly knew HOW special you were, when you taught Daisy, a 7 year old beagle who was rescued from a research lab in San Diego (and had lived in a cage her whole life) how to be a “dog”. I watched your gentle spirit guide her to doing what comes natural, being comfortable in this “strange” environment with trees, squirrels, birds, and skunks. And yes, you taught Daisy how to howl along with you and “sing” when police sirens went off. What a wonderful big sister you were! You were slowing down and getting much more winded last summer. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but something did not seem right. When we got the diagnosis of not just one, but two cancers in your kidney and liver, my heart sank. I was truly hoping it was just Cushing’s Disease and we could “manage” it. Hemangiosarcoma is very aggressive, and most said the life expectancy is weeks to a few months. I knew I was on borrowed time. My sweet strong girl did beat those odds and I was grateful for each day with her. But alas, Tilly lost her battle this week (and I think she just hung on that long to comfort ME, people pleaser that she was 🙂 Her last day was filled with joy (seeing the “rainbow” illuminate her when she did her last walk around the yard) AND incredible sadness, but I know Tilly’s transition with Dr Nicole and being at home was the most peaceful and best possible experience for this beautiful soul. Thank you for your compassion, love, and gentleness. Tilly, you were so loved and will be dearly missed! Run free and swim (if you can). I hope you are getting to reunite with Dixie, Lexa, Daisy, and Bella at the Rainbow Bridge. I feel blessed I got to be your Mom. x0x0x0

– Cyndie L.

– Rina R.