Archives: Success Stories
Tess #4
Cliff
Carter (was Carl)
Carter has been living the city life for almost 6 months now and is loving it. His parents found what they said is an AMAZING dogwalker and between his time with her, with them, and daycare, he has really hit his stride as a happy city dog. Truly an example that our amazing dogs – even ones like Carter who clocked miles and miles a day and daycare and dog parks with me – don’t always need big fenced-in yards and pools, but love and owners who recognize and attend to their needs.
Georgette
Quentin
Eliza (now Millie)
Bianca
Harriet (now Hillary)
Hank #5 and Hunter #10
Leo (formerly Leon)
Sheila #3
Tip
Cortland
Brooklyn
Mocha #8
Molly #24 (now Pepper)
Jessie #3
Hank #4
Lars
Mac #4
Fuji (now Stella)
Mac #3
Zack #2
Bo
Dozer #6
Dixon
Jona
Red
Pippin #2
Liberty #3 (now Libby)
Murphy #7
Katherine (Kat)
Charlie #13
Tiny
Senna
Tootsie (now Charlie)
Max #26
Rosie #9
Hudson
Baci
Bentley #5
Abby #9
Hattie
Nelson (now Tucker)
Martin
Cooper #12
Katie #6
Ella #3
Daisy
Lazy Days – Sleepin’ in the Sun
Daisy lives with people who love her. But Daisy’s life wasn’t always what some would refer to as “dog days.” Daisy was a puppy mill girl – a breeder girl – kept confined for 8 years in terrible conditions. Thankfully, Brookline Labrador Rescue came into her life. Brookline knew that, despite what the breeder believed, Daisy still had many good days left in her. She hasn’t let us down for a minute. Daisy came to our family with a torn CCL, scars from old wounds, missing many of her teeth, and with the obvious anxiety issues that come from years of solitary confinement. She has since had her knee repaired and her anxiety issues have greatly subsided. She loves her Orvis memory foam beds (she has two to choose from) and her special Orvis ID collar is a reminder that Daisy has found her forever home. Our many walks throughout our neighborhood are the highlight of her day. There isn’t a human Daisy encounters that she doesn’t accept unconditionally. She graciously sits and welcomes their gentle strokes; closing her eyes to take it all in. While she may never forget her past life, Daisy is willing to give us humans a second chance. We are blessed! “To err is human – to forgive, canine.” – Author Unknown.
Daisy’s life as a breeder dog was a tough one. Years of confinement to a horse stall took their toll. With love and patience, however, Daisy has not only become a loving member of our family but has inspired a Brookline campaign to save more farm dogs from the grueling life as a puppy mill breeder. Daisy’s remarkable journey is a reminder of the power of patience, the strength of resilience, and the gift of forgiveness.
When no longer of use to the breeder, Daisy was rescued and placed in a loving Brookline foster home with Corrie and her family. Daisy spent close to a year with Corrie, healing from her scars and learning to trust humans. We adopted Daisy in 2020 just before her 9th birthday. She still has her quirks but, over the years, the harsh memories of her former life have faded. To this day, however, should she get anxious, she will still pace in a perfect circle. We can only surmise that the distance she paces is the exact circumference of the interior of that horse stall. Having spent so much time in darkness, she enjoys every opportunity to lay in the cool grass and soak up the warm sun.
At the time we adopted Daisy, we had Bear. Bear was an older, curmudgeon, chocolate lab. Bear wasn’t the warm and fuzzy type of lab, but she was a confident dog and she welcomed Daisy. When Bear passed away in May of 2023, we knew Daisy could not be an only dog. Ironically, at the time, Corrie’s family had been fostering another farm girl named Abby. Knowing Daisy as she had, Corrie believed that Abby would be the perfect companion dog for Daisy. She was right: Daisy and Abby are inseparable.
Daisy will turn 13 in November. Farm life is a distant memory. Loud noises no longer bother her as her hearing isn’t what it used to be. She is thin, frail, her legs are weak, but her will to live and her desire to love are strong. She is resilient. Abby just turned 10 in May. Abby was rescued at 9 years of age and came with her own farm-life quirks, but Abby is the lab you would like to clone. She is a confident girl and doesn’t have one mean bone in her very large body.
With time and patience both of our girls have come to love and to trust. As someone once said, “To err is human, to forgive, canine.” These two former breeder girls may have had a tough career, but they are resilient, and they have learned to forgive. Now, together, they are best of friends and enjoying a well-deserved retirement. Thank you, Brookline!
Charlie #12
Twila #4
Gunnar
Freddie
Rosa #2
Jack #7
Rocco #2
Marshall #2 (now Clyde)
Raine
I lost my lab mix companion of 7 years. I live alone and was feeling very lonely. I found Raine on this website and inquired about her. Went out to meet her and was taken aback by her size and exuberant jumping nature, she needed training. I am older and these things made me stop and consider. However, took one
look at that face and decided to go for it. One of the best decisions I’ve ever made. She is smart, listens, is quirky and curious and she makes me laugh. We have done a lot of work together to bring us where we are today. To emphasize what a wonderful creature she is I will tell you what happened. I broke my leg badly, I was in the hospital for a week. My neighbor’s took care a Raine for me.
The night I got home I was greeted so enthusiastically. I was in a wheelchair and would be for 3 months. That night this 74 lb dog sat on the ottoman in front of me and licked all of the 69 staples on my leg. She then moved up on me wrapped her paws around my waist and put her head on my stomach and slept with me the entire night. She walks with me everywhere always at my side never in the way of the wheelchair, walker or crutches. Seems to understand that if she’s not careful she could knock me over. I love her so much she is truly my Wonder Dog! I feel sorry for all the people that passed her up, they ar emissing someone wonderful. Go with your heart not your head.
Thank you so much to Sue and Terry at Brookline.
Malcolm #2 (now Blue)
Gracie Girl
Sodona
Boopy
Brownie
Brutus #3
Jett #2 (now Maverick)
Coco (fka Hope)
Lily #10 (now Lu)
Lu came to us on June 29th which was mother’s birthday. My mother past away from covid in April at her nursing home. Lu was a godsend. She is a great dog and fast learner. I actually am training her myself. She is doing well. She use to go after squirrels but can actually walk past them. She will walk past dogs if I step out. I am working on meet and greets now and she is doing pretty good. She loves to lay on the sofa with me at night. Her favorite toy is a stuffed dragon which we play fetch with. We love her very much and is now part of our family.
Cindy
Harley #14
Diesel #5
JJ (fka Jameson)
Hey there! It’s Jameson. Yeah, when I had my picture on Brookline, it said JJ under it. Well, that was my nickname. In March, right after the world shut down because of COVID, my foster mom and dad took me to meet this lady, who was waiting in the park for us. She had a smaller dog (well, truth be told, I AM a BIG BOY….some say HUGE) who is also a lab. Her name was Harp. This lady talked about her cat Guinness, who was at home. Then she also mentioned one of her dogs that already crossed over the rainbow bridge, whose name was Beamish. Well, I knew she HAD to TAKE ME WITH HER. Because my real name is Jameson. What a match. And it turns out I was right. So I have been with my new mom and fur sister Harp for just a bit over 6 months. Because of COVID, we couldn’t go on vacation but boy did we go on alot of walks. Not Harp, because she is older (but doesn’t knew it). And now she has problems with her back legs. So just me and mom go for hikes in the woods and meet other dogs. She couldn’t understand why I would BARK so loudly when I saw other dogs. She thought I didn’t like them. NO, silly, I bark because I want to play with them. So I would pull and pull and pull. And as I said, I am a big boy. So mom made me go to school. Rather the school came to our house. This new lady came and started playing with me …and asking me to do alot of stuff. But it was fine….because she gave me a treat (ok…it was small but I did alot of listening so I got a bunch of the treats). Before she left she gave mom alot of stuff to read and showed her pictures of things to buy me.AND I LOVE GIFTS. Some of them were really cool. One is a big Kong that mom hides treats in. But I figured out that I just had to keep smacking that Kong around the floor and the treats would fall out. That is a cool game. And the new dog bowl. WOW…it looks like a puzzle. It was hard at first to figure out how to get the food. I even tried picking up the bowl….but that didn’t work. I finally had to slow down and take my time and then I was able to get out my kibble. AND boy is she buying me the fancy stuff. Finally she got a present…but I now know it is for her…and not me It is something called a Gentle Leader, but with padding. It goes around my nose and now I can’t pull mom…ever. I try and try to get it off and I can’t. So I put up with it since it means mom can walk me all over the town and in the woods without me pulling away. She also got me a really really big fence. I figured out really quickly how to jump over the old one. Mom didn’t like that game of run after me So now I have this really high fence and get to run all around the yard. Mom even lets me run in her flower garden. I like running through the rosemary plants and basil plants best though. I smell SO NICE and manly when I am done. I still love my old toys, especially that old stuffed chicken. I carry it everywhere. Luckily I have two of them because Harp likes it too. So we share. I have gained more weight…which the vet wanted to do….but now mom says we have to watch my figure. I love going to the vets. I do bark though when the vet only takes Harp inside. How can they forget about me??So I have been with my new mom and fur sister Harp for just a bit over 6 months. Because of COVID, we couldn’t go on vacation but boy did we go on alot of walks. Not Harp, because she is older (but doesn’t knew it). And now she has problems with her back legs. So just me and mom go for hikes in the woods and meet other dogs. She couldn’t understand why I would BARK so loudly when I saw other dogs. She thought I didn’t like them. NO, silly, I bark because I want to play with them. So I would pull and pull and pull. And as I said, I am a big boy. So mom made me go to school. Rather the school came to our house. This new lady came and started playing with me …and asking me to do alot of stuff. But it was fine….because she gave me a treat (ok…it was small but I did alot of listening so I got a bunch of the treats). Before she left she gave mom alot of stuff to read and showed her pictures of things to buy me. AND I LOVE GIFTS. Some of them were really cool. One is a big Kong that mom hides treats in. But I figured out that I just had to keep smacking that Kong around the floor and the treats would fall out. That is a cool game. And the new dog bowl. WOW…it looks like a puzzle. It was hard at first to figure out how to get the food. I even tried picking up the bowl….but that didn’t work. I finally had to slow down and take my time and then I was able to get out my kibble. AND boy is she buying me the fancy stuff. Finally she got a present…but I now know it is for her…and not me It is something called a Gentle Leader, but with padding. It goes around my nose and now I can’t pull mom…ever. I try and try to get it off and I can’t. So I put up with it since it means mom can walk me all over the town and in the woods without me pulling away. She also got me a really really big fence. I figured out really quickly how to jump over the old one. Mom didn’t like that game of run after me So now I have this really high fence and get to run all around the yard. Mom even lets me run in her flower garden. I like running through the rosemary plants and basil plants best though. I smell SO NICE and manly when I am done. I still love my old toys, especially that old stuffed chicken. I carry it everywhere. Luckily I have two of them because Harp likes it too. So we share. I have gained more weight…which the vet wanted to do….but now mom says we have to watch my figure. I love going to the vets. I do bark though when the vet only takes Harp inside. How can they forget about me??
I guess you want to know what I like to do? I love shopping in the refrigerator when mom is putting groceries away….(I just love BUTTER). I love getting my belly rubbed…and am very gentle even though my paws are really, really big. And I love my chicken and Harp…and my new mom. OH…and I LOVE to smile. Say cheese…and rub my belly.
Signing off….remember the name is JAMESON…like the whiskey. We love Irish things in our house.
Love,
Jameson, Harp and Mary (she is the mom) The Graham’s
Marley #12
Jack #6
Jazzy
Brandy (fka Blondie #5)
Finn #3
Brooklyn
Mickey
Coco (fka Hope)
Sugar #5
Marley #11
Hazel #2
Enzo
Nellie #2 (fka Sheila #3)
Emmie (fka Blondie #3)
Journey
Bonnie
Misty #9 (now Oakley)
Polly
Hi! My name is Polly. Well, at least it is now. I found myself in a shelter a few months ago and I was very sad. Thanks to the nice people and Brookline and the Bedminster Kennel, who found and took care of me, because, boy, has my life has changed!
My new parents came one day and took me for a long car ride. I really liked the ride, especially when we got to the country roads, because I could put my head out the window and let my ears flap in the wind.
Upon arriving at my new home, we all went for a long walk. My new parents said, ”this will be the first of many”. They were right! I now go walking twice every day for at least 4 miles a day. The walks are fun, although I am still adjusting to all the weird animals I see, like deer, horses, and goats. Mom says I will get used to all the sights and sounds of the country, eventually.
The best part of my new home is all the playtime in the yard and cuddle time on the couch. My dad thinks my name should be “Herbie”, as in Herbie the Love Bug. Yeah, I do like to cuddle.
Although it has been hard on my new family, this virus thing has been nice for me. My people are home a lot now , and I like that. My parents always say “Polly, it seems like you have always lived with us, which is good because this is your home now” and I really like that!