Success Stories »Nala & Tayga

Success!!! - February 11, 2008!

After 6 months of hoping and praying we've found a home for the two lovely older Shiloh Shepherd females, Nala and Tayga! Eternal thanks to Julie Evans who kindly fostered these sweet girls in her Connecticut home for the past 6 months. Thank you to Brad Black and Michelle Bowler for bringing the girls to the attention of their now "forever home". Thank you to Dave Herz and Robert Grieves for making the weekend long trek from Toronto to Connecticut in order to transport Nala and Tayga up to Canada!

Nala and Tayga have finally found a wonderful home with a loving new mom on a beautiful 80 acre country property in Ontario. They are both adjusting well and seem to realize they are there to stay. To their new owner, Karen, THANK YOU for opening your heart and home to Nala and Tayga. Thank you for offering them both a chance at true happiness and contentedness in their older years.

Click here to see pictures of all the wonderful volunteers who have helped them along their journey home. This outcome would not have been possible without you.

Update June 18, 2008

An excerpt from an email update on Nala and Tayga;

"There are so many great things to say about my girls, they seem to have blended in effortlessly with my life. I think they are now settled in and are comfortable in their new space.

Tayga no longer feels the need to run up to the side of my bed several times in the wee hours of the morning, crying and putting her paw up to poke at me and then try to lick me and make sure I am still there. She only does it a few mornings each week now so I think she is finally at the stage where she knows this is her house and she is starting to relax.

She could have been a great dog with a job, she just seems to have that quality. She also would have been a great dog for shows. I knew right from the start that she would be the one to come when called and that I would be able to trust her without a leash before I would trust Nala. She is also quite the water baby. She flops in every puddle she sees, leaps into any deep water with glee, runs out and over to me, looks up, smiles and with a twinkle in her eye dives in again. It’s quite comical.

Nala makes me laugh every morning, she is such a big goof. She lies on her back with her paws in the air and moans like Chewbaka, she even looks like a Wookie (if you remember Star Wars). When she gets outside, her favorite spot is under the tree by the birdfeeder. When there is a squirrel trapped up the tree she sits 2’ from the base as still as a statue waiting for the squirrel to be lulled into a false sense of security. At those times she reminds me of Wyle E Coyote, she sits there with her mouth open, waiting, thinking that the squirrel will eventually just walk right in.

She reminds me of a Husky I used to have, she is stubborn and calculating. She will come when called but she tries to make me think she’s in control by taking her time. As I learned with old Max all I had to do was ignore her and she would be right there to get the attention.

Nala and Tayga are funny when we get back home from our walks. When the house just gets in sight, they try to fake each other out to be the first one to get back to the bird feeder to maybe catch the squirrels off guard. Tayga is always faster so Nala has had to get creative to get the jump on her.

The other day as we were getting close to the house and as usual Tayga was ahead, but she does not start running until she hears Nala speed up from behind. This time I could see the wheels turning in Nala’s head as she nonchalantly walked over to the side of the road to sniff something very interesting. The moment Tayga came over and put her nose down to check it out, Nala took off on a dead run to get to the squirrels first. Tayga conceded the game to Nala and has had a new respect for her tactics ever since."

Thank you, Karen! Your updates on Nala and Tayga are so amusing and very special. They couldn't have a better home than yours!