Happy Dog Story: Lil' Bit Joins the Family

Meet Lil' Bit, the cute Pit Bull mix pictured above enjoying a snooze on the couch. Lil' Bit's mom Sheri recently shared her story with us and we are pleased to share it with you.

Sheri is an area representative of Dogs Deserve Better, a wonderful non-profit organization that raises awareness about chained and penned dogs and helps rescue and place them in homes.

As a small pup, Lil' Bit and another Pit Bull mix puppy were rescued from being chained outdoors in Nashville, Tennessee. Sheri received an email looking for foster homes for the pups. Sheri, however, already shared her home with two happy senior pooches: Shea, a 10 year old Rottweiler, and Max, her 7 year old son. Being seniors, Shea and Max were set in their ways and were not always pleased to welcome other dogs. Sheri was, therefore, hesitant about offering to foster one of the pups.

After seeing Lil' Bit's photo and visiting her in Nashville, Sheri was hooked. "It was love at first sight!" she reports. Sheri brought Lil' Bit home and introduced her to Shea and Max, slowly and safely. Although Shea and Max "were not overly thrilled at first, now they are best buddies." Lil' Bit has found her forever home!

Max, Shea and Lil' Bit relaxing together

Sheri is overjoyed with Shea and Max's acceptance of their new sister. "Lil' Bit will jump on them and aggravate them, and they snarl and growl, but they have never hurt her." Sheri writes. "They all play so well. Shea and Max are probably not as happy as Lil' Bit, but she is certainly happy to be loved, played with, cared for, and not have to be chained another day in her life!"

Lil' Bit playing with Shea

We are pleased to hear that another homeless pooch has found a wonderful loving home. Sheri thanks for sharing your story with everyone in Happy Dog Land!

We'd love to hear your story too. To share your story, click here.

Meet Shabba, A Lucky Pooch Reunited With His Mom After A Fire

Today, we are pleased to share a lovely story from Beverly, a dedicated dog mom. Meet Shabba, Beverly's beautiful four year old 96 pound Japanese Akita.

In in late November 2008, Beverly's house burned in a fire. Shabba survived the fire by hiding in the back of the yard. On the night of the fire, however, he stepped in a gopher hole and injured his ACL. Tragically, Shabba's pal Sassy, a little red Shiba Inu (pictured below playing with Shabba), passed away after being overcome by smoke.

Unfortunately, Beverly's temporary housing did not allow pets and Shabba lived with a caretaker. Shabba's ACL was recovering quite well until his caretaker moved him into an open dirt lot behind a 12 ft fence. As dogs walked by the fence, Shabba jousted with them, which aggravated his ACL. In addition, Shabba suffered from severe flea bite dermatitis. As Beverly noted, "My dog was simply not in a good place."

Happily, Beverly and Shabba were reunited in May 2009! They now live in a new home with a nice yard and Shabba is no longer living outside. As Beverly reports, Shabba is now once again a happy dog. "He loves looking out the windows with views of three streets and sleeps at my door like he is on sentry duty." In addition, canine aspirin and glucosamine have increased Shabba's mobility.

Beverly and Shabba enjoy two daily 20 minutes walks together. Of course, Beverly does not allow him to taunt any dogs that are locked behind fences. "It's just not a nice or neighborly thing to do," she adds.

We are so pleased that Shabba and Beverly are happy together again! Beverly, thank you for sharing your story with everyone in Happy Dog Land!

We'd love to hear your happy dog story too! Here's how to share your story.

Cute Holiday Pooches

When we receive photos of our Happy Dog Land furry friends, we like to share. Here's a few we just received.

Abbie Bella from Alabama is enjoying her first Christmas. We're certain that Santa left her lots of presents!

Even champions let their hair down--especially when it snows. Yoshi playing outside in New Jersey.

Send us your photos and we'll share them with everyone in Happy Dog Land.

Why Are (most) Dog Owners Great? Let Us Count the Ways

Washington Post colunist Ezra Klein offered some thoughtful words this week on Why Dog Owner's Make the Best Citizens.

Hero Dog Saves 11 year old boy

Wow!! This is quite a story about a family's Golden Retriever who saved the 11 year old son from a cougar attack. What's truly remarkable is that the after sustaining serious injuries from the cougar attack, the dog checked to see if the child was safe before collapsing.

Steve Dale's 2010 Pet Resolutions Rock

Steve Dale is a nationally syndicated journalist, animal advocate and all around great guy. Steve's Chicagonow.com column covers the myriad issues related to pets and animals. His work is sometimes serious, funny, sad or controversial, but always insightful and interesting.

Steve's Top-10 Resolutions for Pets for 2010 caught our eye today and we think you should check it out too.