Sponsors & Their Pets

Bob & Vicki Wheeler, owners of Meadowood Retirement Community

As we raised a family we felt that having a dog would help to instill the merits of responsible behavior toward living things in our children, in return for the love and joy they give in return. We only adopt pets from shelters as we know that "mutts" as well as purebreds are there, and we recognize that "saving" a dog would bond us deeper, than buying a dog that was bred for sale. We never had regrets at our decision to adopt from a shelter. Pets who are there are "waiting" for a home situation again, or perhaps for the first time. They seem to understand the connection between "shoppers" and their destiny. They give all they have to give as a result.

We have been impressed with the quality of care the animals receive at the City of Bloomington Animal Shelter. Our daughter Jennifer was the first to adopt a dog at the City’s Animal Shelter. Her choice was a nearly grown dog called "Buddy" and he became her constant companion after she graduated from college. Buddy lived with her until his death at 13 years of age.

Then our daughter Jill found a dog for us after the death of our family dog. It was Suzie (renamed "Sadie" by us) and she was a hound/setter mix. She reminded us of an Oreo cookie and joined our family around 1995. Sadie knew dog obedience well, to the point that I had to sign up for classes so she could train me! We enjoyed working together so much that I continued in several more classes. Sadie was naturally in obedient and was a wonderful house pet, even though when we adopted her she had never been in the cab of a car, nor allowed in the house, nor gone up stairways, or so many things we took for granted. Eventually she would lay beside the crib of our grandchildren as they napped, and was a constant companion to us all, even traveling with us on trips. I had her tested to become a Therapy Dog with Therapy Dogs International, and she passed with shining colors, so that by 1998 we were visiting nursing homes and a county children's shelter, once a week. Sadie was so well loved and received that it would be hard to imagine what would have become of her, or Buddy, if they hadn't been adopted by us.

The experience we have had with shelter dogs, and right now we have two who came to us in 1997, is that orphaned dogs make the best pets, as they assign to their new owners an almost angelic love, one that is never forgotten by the dog, as they recognize you as the rescuer of their fate. And indeed you become that and more to them. Once you save a pet by bringing it in to your home, training it in dog obedience, feeding it conscientiously, and treating it as a member of the family, there is no other greater satisfaction. The love and companionship the dog offers in return become an element of your life that you can't imagine living without. They live only to serve the family, and their mission is to simply please you.

Animals, I feel, have an inner soul that takes in more than we can understand, and they are deserving of the care we would give a helpless person. The City of Bloomington Animal Shelter understands this, and provides a wonderful shelter where success stories can become the "norm" for homeless animals. We would happily choose our next pet from the shelter, when our home again becomes too quiet from the absence of a beloved pet. We are grateful there are such places for pets, and we support them in their endeavors to make Bloomington more educated in the care of animals.

 Click & Pick Me

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