# A Diamond in the Rough



## Locket (Jun 21, 2009)

I posted this about a month ago, but I'll do it again (hope that's okay)

Mitch wasn't a rescue in the sense that he was in bad living conditions, but he was in need of a new home as his owners had to move to England and they didn't want him to have to go through the 6 month rabies quarantine. He was a wild child when we got him, under exercised and no sense of self control or boundaries, and he had some medical problems that needed attention, but we loved his temperament.

Here he is on his first day home:









A few weeks later after a muddy trip to the dog park. Here you can see his red belly/legs due to his urine leaking from his untreated kidney problem:









A few months later, still had residual red legs, but his medication stopped his leaking:









A year later...such a happy goof, no more leaking, no more red legs, and usually well behaved:


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## Skye (Feb 19, 2010)

Aw, I'm glad you posted this, as I did not see it before! Love happy stories!


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## CharismaticMillie (Jun 16, 2010)

Love it!!! He's such a sweetheart! What kind of kidney problem does Mitch have?


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## grab (Jun 1, 2010)

Newt was found wandering a freeway in the desert (all four lbs of her). She has an old (likely from puppyhood) healed injury ..her hip was broken and allowed her leg to twist and then heal. At the time she was found, she was apparently severely matted, so the person who found her had her shaved and then brought her in to the clinic I work at to see if an owner could be found. No one claimed her, so I adopted her after the appropriate amount of time. She was riddled with hookworms, ticks and had an awful skin condition.

We got rid of her various parasites and once she was more healthy, had her spayed and her teeth cleaned. We discovered she had a uterine cyst during surgery.

She's a great little dog. We're still in the process of growing out her ears and tail, which were completely bald when she was brought in (the vets weren't sure if it was from shaving or a medical condition) but they're much fluffier now

When she came home this past spring









and several weeks ago


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## neVar (Dec 25, 2009)

Bernie i picked up on kijiji... a "who ever shows up gets him first... Free" they were doodle breeders and didn't care one bit what i'd use him for. 

this was him when i got him after i cut the hair that was completely covered his eyes. 










after a bath and pro trim and two weeks of weight gain... he ws so weak we thought he had HD but he ws just weak










Right before i found him his forever home... i cried... but hes got a gret family with two kids and is the only dog with a huge house and yard the oldest is iming to do Obedience with him


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## apoodleaday (Feb 22, 2010)

What a great thread! Thanks for sharing your wonderful stories.


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## flyingduster (Sep 6, 2009)

Paris' full story is here: http://www.poodleforum.com/5-poodle-talk/5182-paris-story-bit-long-book-here-sorry.html

But in a nutshell, Paris was owned by an elderly lady and given up for euthanasia, at 12 months old, at the clinic next door to me but taken in by the vet nurse there. 

I first saw her like this:









then she went 'home' to the vet nurse looking like this:









after 18 months of falling in love with each other, she finally came home to me. It's been 4 years since I first saw her and now she looks like this:


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## Locket (Jun 21, 2009)

Oh little Newt!! Too adorable!
and Wow, Bernie is really handsome!! What a lucky boy!
and Paris, it was just meant to be!!

Mitch has protein-losing kidney disease. It's not curable, but it's managed through diet and some medication. You would never guess that he has any problems at all.


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## Fluffyspoos (Aug 11, 2009)

I started working at Petco two years ago, my manager at the time, Karee, had a regular she had been grooming for years, Molly. Mollies owners decided they wanted to breed her, so Molly had 11 puppies. They kept one puppy, Buster, and found homes for the other ten. I know of a few puppies in the litter, Buster, Brody, Max, Bently, and Zika. I'm not sure about the others..

Karee continued to groom Buster and Molly, who were two to three week regulars. Bently, Molly, and Buster became therapy dogs, Max and Brody were owned by the same man and come in every 6-8 weeks, and Zika was owned by a friend of the breeder (Molly and Busters owner.)

Zika would come in every five to six months to us to be groomed, with no brushing inbetween. This is how she looked the first time I groomed her.









Despite being skinned with mats, she was patient and sweet through the whole stripping process. She didn't protest for anything, not for nails, not for her face, not for feet, not for ear hair. Most dogs that only got groomed completely twice a year would hate the groomer, but she seemed to just love being touched.

I didn't see Zika for a long time, I groomed her in that picture July of 09, and I believe she came back in November for another groom, having to be stripped down again, and again March of this year, having to be stripped down completely once more. The family that owned Zika got a new puppy, and decided they couldn't keep up with her grooming and gave her back to their breeder, Molly and Busters owner.

When I heard about this from Karee, I was estatic, knowing that Zikas groomings would be regular and she could start looking like a poodle again. This was around May. I made the comment, "Heck, I would've adopted her if I knew they were giving her away." To which my manager replied, "She'll probably let you adopt her for free."

That's when I started making arrangements to bring her home.

I visited them while they were bringing in the three dogs to be groomed at Karees shop in June, 'Zika' was still short from being stripped down, but starting to grow out. I talked with the breeder, but it was a little chaotic with three poodles running around, and I took some pictures of her.

I was living with my parents at the time, and knew that if I was going to bring this girl home I had to move out. There was no way they were going to let me have TWO poodles. My boyfriends mom had left the state for the city, leaving her house to my boyfriend and I. It was a wreck.. it took us three weeks to clean it up and make it liveable, and another week to move in.

I moved in on a tuesday, and was driving to pick up Zika early wednesday morning.

I've since renamed her Vienna, and I've had her ever since. The breeder told me she suspects Vienna spent 90% of her life either in a crate or outside.


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## HiSocietyPoodle (May 2, 2010)

flyingduster -- What an amazing story about Paris.


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## PonkiPoodles (Feb 25, 2009)

OMG... it's amazing how just a little bit of love, care and attention can change a dog so dramatically! Good for you guys... I think it's wonderful that there are people willing to take in these "lost souls" and nurse them back to health. 
I've fostered many cocker spaniels, but they usually get adopted out so quick where I live that I don't really get to see major transitions like this.


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## Spencer (Oct 7, 2009)

What lucky dogs we have here on PF!


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## Skye (Feb 19, 2010)

I am absolutely loving these stories and pics! What a blessing each of you have been in these dog's lives, and what a blessing they have been to each of you!


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## jester's mom (Nov 25, 2008)

Locket said:


> I posted this about a month ago, but I'll do it again (hope that's okay)
> 
> A year later...such a happy goof, no more leaking, no more red legs, and usually well behaved:


Awww, what a lovely story! I am so glad for him and for you. What a lovely thing you did for that boy!


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## Skye (Feb 19, 2010)

grab said:


> Newt was found wandering a freeway in the desert (all four lbs of her). She has an old (likely from puppyhood) healed injury ..her hip was broken and allowed her leg to twist and then heal. At the time she was found, she was apparently severely matted, so the person who found her had her shaved and then brought her in to the clinic I work at to see if an owner could be found. No one claimed her, so I adopted her after the appropriate amount of time. She was riddled with hookworms, ticks and had an awful skin condition.
> 
> We got rid of her various parasites and once she was more healthy, had her spayed and her teeth cleaned. We discovered she had a uterine cyst during surgery.
> 
> ...


Newt is so stinkin' cute, and I love the name!!!


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## flufflvr (Mar 20, 2010)

FD I remember when you were going through all of this. We were all waiting with baited breath, hoping beyond hope that you'd get the house, and that all would work out so that she could go home with you. What a great story.


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## Beach girl (Aug 5, 2010)

Pippin was taken from an abusive/neglectful situation. He was down to 8 lbs. when the animal rescue people took him. He was then in a foster situation for a few weeks, and got back up to 10 lbs. That was when we got him. Here is a series of pictures, starting shortly after we got him in September 3 years ago, then posing for his "profile" shot after his first grooming (he had been shaved down to nuttin' when we got him, and then with bells on for his first Christmas.

The last two show him with his coat all grown out, about six months after we got him, and the final shot is with his "brother" Casey at the beach last October, 2 years after we got him

He has been an absolute gem since the day we got him. Whatever happened to him in the abusive/neglectful home, I have no idea, but I think someone must have loved him at some point, because he is a sweet, smart little dog, with absolutely zero "issues" from having gone through whatever it was.


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## Skye (Feb 19, 2010)

Aw, Pippin is so precious! Thank you for sharing!


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## flufflvr (Mar 20, 2010)

I so love reading these stories and can't help but think that we could sure learn a lot about how to handle life from these inspiring poodles.


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## jak (Aug 15, 2009)

Fluffyspoos said:


>


This is how Saffy looked when I first met her :/

She hadn't been groomed for 6-7 months ... everything, and was Apricot when I saw her, and she was the same, she loved going to the groomers, and was an angel about getting groomed.

She was from a home that basically neglected her. They hardly spent time with her, and were mostly at work or the pub..
They mentioned something about her being tied up, and we think she must've been attacked by other dogs.

Basically, if she saw another animal, she would lose it... uncontrollably barking, frothing at the mouth... just so incredibly anxious, displaying this as aggression.

She was a lot of work to begin with, but now I have such an awesome friend, who I can take anywhere, without having to worry.

She loves obedience, rally o, and agility, she's my heart dog.
This is her after two years now ! at 5 1/2 , with her best bud Paris (=


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## Skye (Feb 19, 2010)

Jak, I had no idea about Saffy! I did not know her story...it's so amazing. This thread is so inspiring to me. I love seeing what all of you have done for these dogs. Because of you, they were able to become the dogs they were meant to be!


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## Skye (Feb 19, 2010)

jak said:


> This is how Saffy looked when I first met her :/
> 
> She hadn't been groomed for 6-7 months ... everything, and was Apricot when I saw her, and she was the same, she loved going to the groomers, and was an angel about getting groomed.
> 
> ...



Jak, P.S. Have you seen my calendar thread? I was wondering if you or anyone else on this thread going to send me some pics for the calendar!


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## Spencer (Oct 7, 2009)

I'm sure many of you know about Tate already, but I thought I would post anyway, as I have ooooodles of time right now.

Tate was found by my brother in the heat April of 2009 - we're talking in the 90's. My brother was helping some friends move in to their new rent house that day, and he and one of the tenants had gotten there a few minutes before the other guys and the U-Haul. While walking up the steps to unlock the door in preparation of moving everything in, they noticed a dirty, fuzzy lump curled up in the corner of the porch. My brother, being just like me, walked over to the lump to see what it was and discovered it was an unmoving dog. He sadly assumed it was dead, as it wasn't moving at all, but reached to touch it to check just in case. Just then, Tate sprung up, startled by the touch and (as my brother put it) slammed himself further in the corner - as close to the ground and as close to the wall as he could go. Thus began the coaxing to try and get him out of the corner. 

My brother said it took a few minutes of soft talking to get Tate to come towards him, but any sudden movements sent him right back in to the corner. Much to the dismay of the guys my brother was helping, he stayed with Tate until he was able to lure him out and start petting him. Instantly upon getting loved, he said, Tate was a completely different dog. Cue my brother calling me at work saying, "Hey, there is this wooly puppy over here, I don't want him to get run over, and the guys don't want him... can you come get him and take him to the pound or something?" Just tear out my heart while you're at it, brother dear!

I packed up the little boys I watched and drove straight there, deciding that I wasn't going to take him to the pound as I had just seen on the news that they were over crowded and only keeping dogs 3 days before euthanizing them. I pulled up in the driveway to see my brother enter and exit the house to get a new box with this huge panting ball of fluff leaping off the porch to follow him inside the truck then back out and back in to the house and back out. I got out and Tate immediately ran up to me, so I picked him up (the stench, oh the stench!) My brother explained that they hadn't brought any food over yet, so he hadn't eaten... and no one had any water/the utilities weren't on yet, so he hadn't had a drink. 

I took him and put him in a crate at my house, bathing him that night. Took him the next day to get shaved down, and the day after that, to the vet for a check up and shots. I posted ads on craigslist, and at both PetsMart and PetCo, called the pound, and made fliers hoping his owners would step forward. No bites. I had him for a week and a half to two weeks (juuuust enough time to fall in love with him) before rehoming him with my Granny. She decided she couldn't do two dogs, and gave him back. It was then that I decided he was staying with us! He has been here, spoiled and loved, since!

We speculate that he was possibly someone elderly's dog by the way he acted with strangers, new dogs, doorbells, and the fact that he would only eat soft food (nipped THAT in the bud!) We think that perhaps this person had to rehome Tate with a family member for one reason or another, and the new owners weren't as dedicated to him as they had been. Whoever had him had failed to have him groomed but taken scissors to his face (it was much shorter than the rest of him, but still long!), neglected him to the point of starvation (he was 2-3 pounds when I took him to the vet), and had lost him or let him go. There were NO fliers in the neighborhood or surrounding areas where he was found, no one had called the pound to report a lost dog, posted on CL, or really searched at all it seemed like.

Regardless, I am the happiest poodle/small dog convert, and can't imagine life without my little man. He is wonderful, and I am forever changed!

The picture I posted on Craigslist to try and find his owners (collar was mine):








Going to get shaved down, you can't see, but he was all matts:









I am so thankful for my snuggly boy!


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## Fluffyspoos (Aug 11, 2009)

It's amazing what a little soap, water, clippers, and love will do to a dog.


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## Sutton Bend (Jul 28, 2010)

Awwwh. These are beautiful stories. Every one of them. Full of love, and hope, and happiness, for your parts anyway. Thank you all for sharing, your stories and your lives.


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## LEUllman (Feb 1, 2010)

If there's a better forum than this one anywhere on the web, I'd like to know what it is. Poodle people are the best! :angel:


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## plumcrazy (Sep 11, 2009)

In late 2008, I saw an ad in our local online classifieds for a "free" 1 year old neutered standard poodle. I happened to mention it to my daughter, Katy, (my first mistake  ) and she called the number in the ad to get some information.

Apparently, the owner had purchased Dolce from a man in Bismarck who had purchased him from his breeder in Texas. The original owner couldn't keep him anymore and sold him to this man who decided HE couldn't keep him anymore either (this dog wasn't even a year old yet and had been in two homes already)

The current owner explained that he had health limitations which made it impossible for him to walk Dolce and since he didn't have a fenced yard, Dolce had lived at the end of a chain since coming to live with this family. The man also had 2 year old twin boys and Dolce was extremely protective of them when we went to see him. The boys were hanging off of Dolce - grabbing his coat with their grubby little fingers (Dolce had what looked like dried spaghetti sauce squished into his coat in spots!) and he put his body between the boys and us and barked like he meant BUSINESS!!

We decided we couldn't leave him there (even though we weren't prepared to OWN another standard poodle - we wanted to be able to find him the best possible home) The man who was giving him away said that he paid $700 for Dolce and he put him in the classified for sale for $100 and not one person called. He dropped the price to $50 and not one person called. He dropped the price to FREE and Katy was the ONLY person who called!! We were afraid he was getting desperate enough that he wouldn't take the time to interview potential owners and Dolce would end up getting passed around indefinately.

So we tossed him in our car and after she dropped me back off at work, Katy drove directly to PetSmart (where she was working as a dog-bather) and had him groomed. Dolce lived with us for about a month or so and one of my co-workers adopted him. It's awesome because we still get to babysit Dolce when Judy and her husband go out of town and can't take him with (although he does go most everywhere with them anyway!) Here is a picture of the day we picked him up, one of him after his groom, and a short video of one of our babysitting services after Lucy came to live with us - Must have been Thanksgiving 2009, so almost a year after Dolce moved in with my co-worker. Judy and Loren love Dolce completely and unconditionally and he now has a home for life!!

I LOVE poodle rescue/foster and would do it again in a heartbeat!


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## Chagall's mom (Jan 9, 2010)

*Locket*: I LOVE YOU for what you've done for Mitch!


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## Chagall's mom (Jan 9, 2010)

*grab:* Dang! I should've worn waterproof mascara today, what you did for Newt made me cry happy tears. Bless you!


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## Chagall's mom (Jan 9, 2010)

Oh *p**lumcrazy*: You and your daughter Katy have hearts of pure gold! Dolce's story is good enough to be a children's book!


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## LEUllman (Feb 1, 2010)

Wow, Dolce sure cleaned up beautifully. What fantastic coloring! And the video is hilarious - poor little Lucy, trying to keep up with those long-legged spoos!


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## Chagall's mom (Jan 9, 2010)

*Jak*, I knew you were a cool guy with a lot of talent, but I had NO IDEA what an amazing human being you are! To be able to see Saffy for her potential, and to be so mature-minded as to invest the time and effort in her that you have, well, you just make my heart soar--in a nice, grandmotherly kinda way. (If I were 50 years younger though....) You're _wonderful!!_ And your Saffy, well, she's a total goddess.


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## spoowhisperer (Apr 26, 2010)

I was so depressed after the loss of my red boy Koi, I needed a reason to move forward. So I decided to volunteer at a shelter and groom the "diamonds in the rough" so they could shine for their potential new homes. I entered a photo contest in hopes of wining and be able to buy a few grooming necessities. Didn't want to use my things and risk my dogs health for bad stuff to bring home. I won the contest, and groomed my first shelter dog. When you go through a shelter, a poor shelter, it stinks terrible, and the dogs look horrible. Hard for people to imagine a dog in their home that is filthy, matted, and stinks! But to walk by a cage with a pretty, groomed, sweet smelling dog does something.
Here is Toddy before. I didn't know he was a poodle until I started grooming him.

Toddy before.. by maryac58, on Flickr
After. He was hard to photograph, but still I was so happy for him.

Toddy after by maryac58, on Flickr

All done, time to go home. by maryac58, on Flickr

Good news! by maryac58, on Flickr


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## Chagall's mom (Jan 9, 2010)

Fluffyspoos said:


> It's amazing what a little soap, water, clippers, and love will do to a dog.


Just to amend your thought a bit, "A little soap, water, clippers and A LOT OF heart can work miracles!" Wow! I think some of the kindest, warmest, most wonderful people on the planet are on this forum (good thing I didn't have to pass to join!)


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## Chagall's mom (Jan 9, 2010)

*spoowhisperer:* What an awesome thing to do! You've definitely earned your "halo" in my book! There's a groomer in these parts that donates her time to do the same thing, making dogs more appealing to potential adopters. She's renown for what she does, you're like her angel-twin to me!


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Spoowhisperer - what a transformation! And how wonderful to be able to use your skills to transform a dog's chance for a happy future.


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## Chagall's mom (Jan 9, 2010)

*Spencer:* Please hug your brother for me and accept my deep regard and admiration for saving Tate and giving him such a beautiful life. I just adore you for being such a lifesaver!


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## Purple Poodle (May 5, 2008)

My Sonny was a Diamond in the Rough. 

A local rescue had gotten a call during their spay and neuter clinic about a blind toy poodle. They knew I did work with small dogs and had a fondness for Poodles. His owner was supposedly in prison but the people who were watching him did not know the lady's last name or when/if she was getting out. I figured it was just a lie worked up to get rid of him. He was only about 5 pounds, very skinny and had unkempt hair everywhere.

Now he is almost 8 pounds & such a happy go lucky little man. He was the perfect addition to my little pack. I could not have asked for a better boy.

The "before" picture was a few days after I got him in June and gave him a bath/FFT (lol @ Clover in the background) the "after" picture was just about a week ago.


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## lizzyc1974 (Mar 31, 2010)

Wow, such great stories! I posted a while back about my dog Jester. We rescued him from our local animal control, when he did not have much time left. At only 11 months old, he was pretty excitable and the shelter tried to "gently discourage" me from taking him. He was a terribly matted mess, he peed nervously/excitedly and was very hyper. After only a few day of love and attention, his problems were gone. He is a great dog, loves kids, and is constantly being stopped on the street by people commenting on how beautiful he is. Everyone is always so surprised to hear he was a shelter dog. I hope he encourages others to check out shelters and see the potential of the dogs there. 

Although he does not look bad in the first fluffy pics, after many hours of brushing he was still very matted at the skin and had to be shaved down completely. I have now committed fully to the poodle look (shaved face & feet) and have been growing his fur out for many months. He looks beautiful now.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Jester looks beautiful - and so much happier.


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## Winnow (Jan 2, 2010)

I have fosterd 3 dogs, toy, miniature and a standard.
The Standard I would say was a rescue.

I got a call from his breeder asking me to pick him up since the person who had him was giving up on him, she only kept him in a small room or the back of her car. She said that if he was let inside the house he would pee everywhere and she just could not take it any more.
So I called her and within 30 min I had him in my care, I got her to sign the papers to put him on my name, then I go him neutered and started looking for the right home for him.
He found one with his brother  the people who took him in had bought his brother 4 months earlier and they had a old spoos at that time too. 
The old spoo had just died and the young spoo was not happy about begin home alone so they thought it was perfect to reunite the brothers again. 

2 year later everything is going great, he is even used for hunting 

The toy and the mini are dogs I fostered while they where looking for there forever homes.


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## Chagall's mom (Jan 9, 2010)

It truly lifts my heart to read these wonderful stories of rescues! It's unthinkable how many dogs, cats, horses and other animals still suffer at the hands of soulless people. Still, seeing what one person's commitment and compassion can do is inspiring, and it fortifies my faith in the goodness of people. And to think so many PF members have opened their hearts, homes and wallets to neglected, unwanted and abused dogs, well, it's just another high point of belonging to this on-line group.


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## Sutton Bend (Jul 28, 2010)

Chagall's Mom,

You put exactly what I was thinking into more beautiful words than I ever could... I am not even going to try to top it...Ditto


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## Skye (Feb 19, 2010)

I just wanted to let all of you know about a new project I'm working on! There are so many wonderful stories here, I wonder if you'd like to share?

I am going to collect short stories and pictures of our poodles, and put them into book form. Part of the proceeds from sales of the book will go to CARES, and a poodle rescue. I'm going to link to my new thread, please reply or PM me if interested! Thank you!!!!

http://www.poodleforum.com/5-poodle-talk/11157-do-you-have-story-tell.html


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