Hello SCARS, I’m writing to share a success story about a dog we adopted from SCARS.  Almost 12 years ago, we adopted a shepherd mix named Tasha, who we renamed Zoey. We knew right away she was the sweetest pup we could ever have found, and she proved that and more over the years.

When she was almost two, we moved from the city to the country, where she thrived in a place where she could run as fast and far as her long legs would take her, chase rabbits and squirrels through the forest, lie contentedly on our big front porch and fall asleep exhausted and happy each night on her bed in our room. We lived at a summer camp and retreat centre, and she met thousands of people during our time there, and was loved by everyone she met. One of her favourite things to do was run along behind the hay rides and sleigh rides that we’d do for guests. She learned to come with a whistle no matter how far away she was.

We had two children during our time there, and she greeted those babies with careful curiosity. We came to trust her completely around them. She never knocked them over or played rough with them, never stepped on them or even chewed their toys. She would always sit patiently with her tail wagging while they fed her treats, which she would take very carefully from their small fingers. They had bedrooms across the hall from each other and at night she would lie down in the hallway between their two closed doors. Whether she was looking out for them or just wanted to be near them, we don’t know, but it was clear she loved them.

After eight years, we moved back to Sherwood Park, where she would spend the rest of her days sleeping in beams of sunlight on our living room carpet, staring up at the squirrel in the big tree in our backyard, and coming with us to pick up our kids from school. The kids on the playground would crowd around her, petting her soft head and asking to hold her leash.

We then had another baby and she was just as gentle and patient with him, even when he’d close his little fist around her tail or her feet or her fur when the two of them lay on the carpet together.

We took her for long walks on leash where she always walked with a loose leash, stopping to sniff other dogs as we met them, or letting the seniors in the neighbourhood give her pats. She was great at the off leash park, and when she was young loved nothing more than to play with other dogs, hoping they’d run so she could chase them. But even when they were much smaller or slower than her she would stay just behind them so that they would keep running and she could keep chasing.

Of course, she wasn’t perfect. She liked to get into the bathroom garbage, she shed like crazy, she would never fetch a ball or stick and actually bring it back, and at our house in the country she’d dig holes in the yard and even dig under the fence so she could escape the yard and be free on the property. She never really did stop doing that until we moved back to town, where she never did it again. But these things were nothing compared to what an amazing dog she was.

Zoey passed away on Saturday, February 18, 2023. We loved her so much and know that there will never be another dog like her. She was silly and sweet, up for adventure or for lying in the sun, with the softest ears and the most plush fur on her neck. She really was the very best dog for our family.

Thank you for bringing her into our lives 12 years ago. Know that she lived a full, comfortable and happy life with her family and we will never forget her. I’ve attached a few photos of her from over the years.