Labradors & Friends Dog Rescue

Tag: Rescue Dogs

  • Tara, Part 3: Finally Home ❤️

    Tara, Part 3: Finally Home ❤️

    Some rescue stories take you through fear, uncertainty, and a lot of waiting before you finally get to write the words you’ve been hoping for.

    Tara is home. ❤️

    When we first shared Tara’s story, she was a confiscation case who had already endured too much. After months in the shelter, she was red-listed and running out of time.

    On August 26, Tara became a Labradors and Friends dog. That was the beginning of her next chapter—but it wasn’t the ending.

    Today, we finally get to share the ending we wanted for her: Tara has been adopted.

    Tara’s journey has been one we’ve shared from the beginning. If you’re just meeting her, you can follow her story here:

    Waiting for the Right Dog

    Once Tara was safe, she headed into foster care, where she finally had a chance to settle in and show everyone who she really was.

    And Tara began to shine.

    She loved everyone she met. She was house-trained, good on the leash, and quickly showed us what a friendly, happy girl had been waiting underneath all that uncertainty.

    Meanwhile, another kind of waiting had been happening.

    Tara’s future adopters had submitted an application with Labradors and Friends back in February. Friends of longtime LAF adopter Terry Deacon, they weren’t looking to rush the process. They were simply waiting for the right dog to come along.

    When we got to know Tara better, we started to wonder if she might be that dog.

    The Meet & Greet That Changed Everything

    After Fran began fostering Tara, she took her over to meet the family. And because the grandkids were there too, it gave everyone the perfect opportunity to see how Tara would do with children.

    Tara passed the family test. ❤️

    What started as a meet-and-greet became the beginning of Tara’s forever.

    Tara standing outside with her new adoptive family on adoption day.

    This Is What Home Looks Like ❤️

    Tara isn’t just settling in—she’s embracing her new life.

    Her family recently took her to a birthday celebration at Lazy Dog in Orange, where she did great. She’s happily meeting extended family, friends, and neighbors, greeting new people with a wagging tail.

    And after her walks? Backyard zoomies. 😂

    She loves meeting the neighbors while she’s out walking and seems very happy to make new friends wherever she goes.

    From a confiscation case, to months in a shelter, to a foster home where she could finally exhale, Tara’s journey took time.

    Tara sitting with her adopters in her new home.

    But somewhere else, a family was waiting too.

    They were waiting for the right dog. Tara was waiting for the right family.

    Sometimes, the timing really is everything. ❤️

  • Jesse, Part 2: Learning to Trust

    Jesse, Part 2: Learning to Trust

    After 473 days in a shelter, Jesse finally walked into freedom. But for a dog who had spent so long waiting, freedom was only the beginning.

    When we shared Jesse’s freedom ride, it was the ending everyone had been hoping for. In reality, it was the beginning of a very different journey—one that can’t be rushed.

    Jesse is learning what it means to live in a home, to trust the people around him and, most importantly, to understand that he is safe. His foster family knows this will take time. And they are giving him exactly that.

    Jesse, a black Lab mix, relaxing outside while settling into his foster home.

    Letting Jesse Set the Pace

    Jesse’s progress has been slow, and that’s okay.

    His foster family understood from the beginning that after 473 days in a shelter, Jesse wasn’t going to suddenly walk into a house and know how to be a family dog. He needed time, space, and people willing to let him figure things out on his own terms.

    And that is exactly what they’ve given him.

    His foster mom is completely in love with him. Dad handles the late-shift walks. Their daughter helps whenever she’s home. Everyone is part of Jesse’s journey, and they understand it may be a long one.

    They aren’t asking Jesse to move faster. They’re meeting him where he is.

    Jesse sitting outside beside his foster mom as they spend time together.

    When the World Still Feels Too Big

    A week ago, Jesse gave his foster family quite a scare.

    Somehow, he seemed to have disappeared in their own backyard. His Fi collar showed that he was still on the property, but with nearly a quarter acre to search, that still left plenty of places for Jesse to hide.

    For 45 minutes, his family searched for him. Finally, they found him quietly hunkered down in a back corner of the yard.

    The relief was enormous.

    It may sound like a small moment, but it says a lot about where Jesse is right now. When things feel overwhelming, his instinct can still be to find somewhere quiet and disappear.

    His family didn’t see it as a setback. They simply kept doing what they’ve been doing all along—giving Jesse the time and space he needs while showing him, day after day, that he is safe.

    Little by Little. Day by Day.

    Jesse’s journey isn’t measured in giant leaps. It’s measured in small moments of trust, growing confidence, and a family willing to give him all the time he needs.

    https://youtube.com/shorts/7ll9qcMj46A?feature=share

    Sometimes Fostering Looks Like This

    Sometimes fostering is taking a dog home and three days later finding them curled up beside you on the couch.

    And sometimes fostering is giving a dog a quiet place to land and asking for nothing in return.

    It’s late-night walks. It’s searching the backyard for 45 minutes. It’s celebrating tiny moments that someone else might not even notice. It’s understanding that trust can’t be put on a timeline.

    Jesse’s foster family has given him something incredibly valuable: the freedom to take as long as he needs.

    Jesse, a black Lab mix, lying comfortably outside during his time in foster care.

    After 473 days of waiting, Jesse finally has people who aren’t waiting for him to become something else. They’re simply showing up for the dog he is today.

    Little by little. Day by day. ❤️

  • Blaze Is Home: From TPLO Surgery to Happily Ever After

    Blaze Is Home: From TPLO Surgery to Happily Ever After

    The Freedom Ride

    Blaze, a black Labrador, shortly after being rescued from San Bernardino City Shelter

    Sometimes in rescue, you know exactly what you’re taking on.

    And sometimes, you simply say yes.

    Just before the Fourth of July, Blaze and another dog named Gunner were at San Bernardino City Shelter. They had come into the shelter together, although they weren’t bonded, and both were on the euthanasia list for the holiday.

    They needed out.

    We said yes to both.

    At the time, we had no idea that Blaze was also carrying an injury that would require major orthopedic surgery. It wasn’t until after he was safely out of the shelter that we learned he had been limping.

    What started as a freedom ride was about to become a much bigger journey.

    First Safe. Then Healed

    Once Blaze was safe with LAF, we learned that he was limping. A veterinary evaluation revealed the reason: Blaze had a torn ACL in his knee and needed surgery.

    Blaze underwent TPLO surgery to stabilize his injured knee, beginning weeks of healing and rehabilitation.

    The surgery was only the first step.

    Recovery from orthopedic surgery takes time, patience and consistency. Blaze needed controlled walks, restricted activity and careful rehabilitation as his knee healed. And while he waited for his forever home, a dedicated group of LAF volunteers made sure he didn’t have to go through any of it alone.

    Day after day, they showed up.

    They came to take him on his controlled walks. They helped with his rehabilitation. They spent time with him, encouraged him and, just as importantly, made sure he got plenty of love and attention while he waited.

    Little by little, Blaze grew stronger.

    Those volunteers weren’t simply helping a dog recover from surgery. They were helping prepare him for the life we hoped was waiting on the other side of it.

    A Family Full of Boys Had Room for One More

    When the Gehrig family met Blaze, they already knew something about rescue.

    Longtime dog lovers, they had previously volunteered as foster parents for a Lab rescue while living in Dallas. Earlier this year, they said goodbye to their beloved 13-year-old black Lab. When they were ready to open their hearts and home again, they found Labradors and Friends.

    And then they found Blaze.

    With a house already full of boys, apparently there was room for one more. 🖤

    His new mom, Charlotte, shared:

    “Hi! My name is Charlotte Gehrig and this is my family—we’ve got a lot of boys and now another one, Blaze! Wouldn’t have it any other way—he’s simply the best!”

    Blaze with the three boys in his new adoptive family on their first day of school

    The People Behind the Happy Tail

    Charlotte knew from her own rescue experience that adoption can be a leap of faith. You’re welcoming a dog into your family based on everything the rescue has learned about them—and trusting the people helping you make that match.

    For the Gehrig family, LAF Adoption Coordinator Ruth was one of those people.

    Charlotte shared:

    “Ruth was our Adoption Coordinator and she was incredibly helpful and communicative about each step of the process. She answered my questions before I even asked, and spent countless hours discussing things with me and working behind the scenes.”

    She went on to recognize something we know is true of every successful adoption:

    “I know that she’s just one of many volunteers who make up this great organization, so thank you to all of you!”

    From the volunteers who walked Blaze through his rehabilitation to the adoption team working behind the scenes, so many hands helped carry Blaze from a shelter euthanasia list to his forever home.

    Blaze sitting with one of his new brothers at his forever home

    This Is What We Were Fighting For

    Charlotte summed up Blaze’s new life better than we ever could:

    “Blaze is honestly the sweetest dog we’ve ever gotten the pleasure to meet, let alone call our own! I cannot thank you enough for your passion, time and energy spent on giving these dogs a chance at a better life—we are beyond thrilled to spoil Blaze for the rest of his life!”

    Just weeks earlier, Blaze was sitting on a shelter euthanasia list. Then came the unexpected diagnosis, surgery, rehabilitation, controlled walks, volunteers who kept showing up, and an adoption team determined to find the right match.

    Today, Blaze is healed.

    He is home.

    And he has three boys to grow up with.