Labrador Friends of the South

A non-profit organization dedicated to the rescue and adoption of homeless Labrador Retrievers in Georgia, Alabama and the entire Southeast region

The Labrador News

Vol. 6, December/January 2008.

Text Box: To remove your name from the mailing list, click here. Questions or comments? E-mail us at labfriendinfo@gmail.com Text Box: Dog Tips Text Box: Do you need to get out the door in a rush in the morning but your dog does not want to let you go? Is your dog suffering from separation anxiety? Here are some tips to help you making leaving the house a little easier. Try to make your arrivals and departures very boring and low-key. Don't make a big fuss over saying hello and goodbye. Be very casual, up-beat and relaxed about it. Get your dog used to your getting-ready-to-leave cues, like picking up keys and jacket, or turning the radio on. Leave the radio on while you are gone to keep him company. Keep your dogs confined in a crate for his own, and your house’s, safety. Don’t’ forget that a tired dog is a good dog! A dog can sleep most of the day if he's tired enough. So give your dog more exercise in the morning and, as we talked before, don’t forget mental exercises too! To keep him busy and occupied for hours while you are gone use kongs, buster cube or everlasting treat balls. Finally, if separation anxiety is severe ask for professional help! Text Box: What happened in 2007. Text Box: Deals of the Month Text Box: News and Events

Our second year just ended and we finished with a ‘bang’. Even the weather celebrated with us by finally bringing rain to Georgia….too bad it was right during our party. Fortunately we had a huge tent so we kept partying in the rain and finished the day in style, wet maybe, but in style. 2007 was another good year: we adopted 224 dogs this year alone, we have started our newsletter, we made our TV debut, our dogs are getting bigger and better every day, and we have surpassed the 400 dogs adopted mark! Let’s recap this year and get ready to start a new one.
Text Box: In this Issue

News and Events

What Happened this Year

Holiday Party

Friends Fund

Dog of the Month

Dog Tips

Deals of the Month

Adoption Stories

Last Months Adoptions

 

 

 
Text Box: Dog of the Month: Lisa Text Box: Coming and Going

Many dogs were adopted in the past two months. Too many in fact to name all of them. In November we adopted 21 dogs and in December a record 37 dogs found a new home. At the Holiday Party on December 15th we surpassed our previous single day adoption record of 13 dogs by adopting 14 dogs! We ended 2007 with 224 dogs adopted bringing the total number of LFS dogs saved and in good homes to 423 in two years...not bad!  This is all due to the combined efforts of all our wonderful volunteers that help us out every week.  We couldn't do it without you!

 

You can meet the latest additions to our program on our available dogs webpage.  Look at Lisa, Donner, Wiley  and of course Mr. Chance who is now doing so well. Chance really deserves a chance!
Text Box: Adopted Picture of the Month

· We started our educational project to teach children about dogs and the importance of heartworm prevention in the schools.

· We designed our new logo and started our LFS fashion and marketing lines.

· We started the “Labrador News”, our monthly newsletter.

· We were voted one of the best places to adopt from in Atlanta by the Atlanta Magazine.

· We had our big TV debut on Good Day Atlanta. We were stars!

· We started the Friends Fund which to this date has raised about $6000 thanks to your generosity. Help us keep it going.

· Thanks to your help we saved 224 dogs, a 13% increase over last year. 

· We had our biggest and largest event with our Holiday Party.

· On December 29th we found a home for dog number 423...can you believe that we saved over 400 lives?!

To learn more about our adventure and see pictures go to our News and Events page.

 

The end of another good year.

Text Box: Our Friends Fund Thank You

In 2007 we started the Friends Fund to recognize all the people that are helping us saving more and more dogs. Everyone was very generous this end of the year.  We thank the following people for their generosity in the past two months:

Bronze Bone level: Sarah Tildsley, Michelle Kravat, Tina Peters with Sam and Sierra for Lisa, Michael Beardsley, Dora Chernowski in name of Ciera Scapes, Sharon Godfrey for Dolly, Cathy Hunt  and Karen Rostad for Lisa.

Silver Bone level: Sharon Sweeney and Minnie, Amy Yuncker, Ana Maria Herrera, Aleta Towels for Lisa, Frances O’Brien and Tonga, Andra Harris-Martin, Timothy Gorny.

Platinum Bone level: Kenneth Perin with Ray and Clarissa, Cherry Williamson, Melissa and Mark Donovan with Roxanne, Michael Totten, Sally and Carl Gables, Stuart and Glen Alston, Julie Fox.

Diamond Bone Level: John Sweetwood, James Patrick, Richard Hensen, Nancy and Bill Bell, Joyce Hosking with Max, Gerry Bradford Hurdelbrink with Allie and Lexi, Frances O’Brien, Bonny and Donald Hicks, Stefan Krause, Katherine Small with Topaz, Gregory Brenn, Walter Martin

 

Where is your money going?

The money you generously donated so far went to:

· Chance eyes surgery. He is doing very well and he is ready to go to a new home.

· Donner is having some small problems. We are trying to find out how to make him better so that he can find his own permanent home. For now he is jamming in his foster home.

· Lisa two surgeries and more will go to her therapy in the next weeks. Read more below.

·  Wiley’s training. He is now the perfect boy ready for a home.

               As little as $10 can make a difference! Donate today.

The best deal this month is on our silent auction page! This auction is for all the Braves fan out there: Braves own Brian McCann Autographed Baseball and Jersey are up for grab to the highest bidder.. Help support LFS while adding to your sport collection.  Go to our auction page and bid today, jersey alone is worth more than the minimum bid.

It was cold, it was raining, it was windy, and still you all came to celebrate the Holidays with us. We had a great time. Despite the heavy rain several hundred people came and 14 dogs were adopted, which is a record for a single adoption day for LFS. Kids were able to play in the inflatable moonwalk, eat free popcorn and cotton candy, and roast marshmallows on the fire pit. Adults could shop from the multiple vendors present and/or bid on items available in the large silent auction. The silent auction had items in various price ranges with a total retail value of over $9000, and raised just over $4500

Lisa is a very special girl with some special needs. Her story is so incredible that we created her own webpage. Go read Lisa’s story. She had two surgeries and so many stitches and staples on her little body that we lost count. Despite some hard few weeks for a puppy so young, she has never stopped smiling and being

Our Dogs Found New Friends.

Dixie and Buddy

Nina  and Sally

Danielle  and Sadie

Maddie Lou

Jordan and Taylor

Sebastian

Jewel

Your pictures and updates give us the energy to keep going so please don’t stop sending them to us! This is just a small sample. Check out our new beginning page for more happy updates.

We Had Many Adventures.

We Had Our Biggest Event Ever.

to help us continue our efforts to save more Labradors.

Although we did not quite reach our fund raising goal, with the heavy rains and cold wind, it was still a successful day. At the end of the day we all shared the huge and delicious multiple layered chocolate cake that was decorated with the Christmas version of our logo and the number of dogs adopted as of Dec 15th (200).  Many company donated to our party. Before you decide where to shop or where to go for dinner this year look at the list of our supporters at the end of this newsletter or on the party webpage.

Overall we had a great year and this is thanks to your support. Let’s start a new year together!

happy. She has an incredible zest for life. On January 28th, with the help of ryleysrun.org, we will start a raffle to raise money to pay for Lisa’s surgeries and future therapy. Only $5 per ticket will buy a chance to some great prizes that all the football fans out there will love. There is a reason why it will start on the 28th,..how does a SuperBowl program signed by players from the winning team sounds like?! Stay posted for more details, mark the date of January 28th on your calendar, and check the website for updates from Lisa.

New Year Resolutions

If you are reading this newsletter you are already part of our extended family. If one of your New Year resolutions is to get more involved with LFS, just contact me at labfriendinfo@gmail.com. There many little things you can help us with: do our scrap book, help us driving dogs from one place to the other, organize a fund raiser event with your friends, walk our dogs, hold a dog at adoption, or simply write a short story for our newsletter. Email me and let me know,. Our resolution is to grow even bigger and save even more dogs... and for that we need you! In the meantime we will keep writing Santa about that piece of land we dream about to build our own shelter.

After losing his owner to suicide, Sam is now starting a new life in Florida with Sierra and Tina. He loves playing with her new sister Sierra, and spending time with his new mom, Tina. He even goes to work with Tina. He is surely a happy dog as you can see in his smiling face!

Our Dogs Found New Families.

Sally

Chastain

Angel and Indygo

Marley and Hawkeye

Phoebe

Coco and Ayla

Belle