Description:
Tonya, a beautiful white Labrador Retriever, is a perfect example of how loving and forgiving a dog can be despite mistreatment by its owner. Tonya was adopte from us a year ago last March. Imagine our suprise when we received a phone call from Orange County Animal Control that they had her. Thank goodness for microchips. They had scanned her and found the microchip registered to us. Here is the terrible way she ended up there: her owner brought her to a vet, claimed a tenant had left her behind and told the vet to put her to sleep! Aside from a bad case of mange, there was nothing wrong with the dog. In fact, she was so sweet the vet couldn't bring himself to do it. Instead, he turned her over to animal control. Thank goodness they didn't take the woman's story at face value but went ahead and scanned Tonya, and thus finding out she was one of ours. Judy is furious!!! What a nasty woman, to want to kill an dog because of a simple case of mange, so common in dogs and so easy to treat. And to lie to the vet! Does she think we don't keep records of who adopts our pets? Oooooh, Judy may be a little thing, but she has a lot of Italian in her, and you don't want to get her mad!!!
Michelle was heartbroken when she saw Tonya. That is her in the photos. She took care of Tonya before she was adopted a year ago. She couldn't believe the condition of her baby. Tonya remembered her and just leaned into her, her tail gently wagging. Another volunteer called me this morning to say that she saw Tonya yesterday and when she heard her story, she just cried. She said this is the sweetest dog. Well, I guess we blew our first effort at finding her a forever home, but we'll do better this time. Tonya deserves all the love a family can give her!

9/2 Foster Update:
She’s coming along very well. She has more fur growing in every day. We looked at her yesterday and said, wow, she’s got a new clump of fur on the tip of her tail! We are working on her housebreaking. She’s getting better but not all the way there yet. She has some separation anxiety issues which are improving. Having another dog around really seems to help her. She loves to ride in the car and go on walks. At first she would walk so close I’d bump my knee into her face but she is getting to where she can walk next to me without constantly running into me. She never pulls on the leash. She’s excellent with other dogs, cats and kids. She has a healthy appetite and loves to play fetch. She’s a talker and loves to vocalize(not bark) to get her point across. She is a snuggler who can sneak up on the bed without even making the bed move but will stay off if told. She’s a great dog with lots of love to give.

*** According to www.dogbreedinfo.com, the Labrador Retriever is a loving, affectionate, lovable, patient dog. Once known as the "St John's Dogs," the Labrador Retriever is one of the most popular breeds in the United States. Originally from Newfoundland, Canada the Labrador was trained to jump overboard into the icy waters to haul fisherman's nets to shore. Specimens were brought to England in the 1800's by English ships coming from Labrador, where the dog's fine retrieving instincts were honed and developed. One of the best family dogs and canine companions because of their gentle, loving disposition, the highly trainable Labrador also excels in drug detection, as a guide for the blind, and service dog for the disabled. The breed is also an outstanding obedience and field trial competitor. Highly intelligent, loyal, willing, and high-spirited. Lively and good-natured, they love to play, especially in water - for they love to swim. They have an excellent, reliable, temperament and are friendly, superb with children and equable with other dogs. They crave human attention and need to feel as though they are part of the family. Labs are easily trained. These dogs are watchdogs, not guard dogs, although some have been known to guard. They have a life expectancy of 10-12 years.