Category: Tales with Tails

Missy

Last September we were coming home from our cabin in Alpine when I stopped at Lucky’s Place to see if they had any dogs that would be a good addition to our family. Mary Ann showed me a dog, but I wanted something different. She told me to put my name down on a list and let her know what kind of dog I wanted. I added my name and wrote down Border Collie. By the end of October, I was considering calling a friend who breeds miniature Labradoodles and getting one for my husband for Christmas.

It was a Saturday when I received a phone call from Mary Ann at Lucky’s Place saying she thought she had the dog for me. She sent me a picture of her, and I instantly fell in love. I told her I would take her.  I spoke to Missy’s foster mom, Lisa, who volunteers for the shelter. She told me “Missy Moo” was a very sweet dog, but she also let me know that Missy was extremely timid and shy. She said we would have to work with Missy, but that she could be a great dog if given the chance. Lisa would continue to foster Missy for another two weeks to get her spayed. Around the middle of November, she would be coming to live with us.

On the day they were to arrive, I was so excited! My husband also came home from work to meet them. They arrived at my home where we immediately took Missy on a walk with my Kelpie, Gracie May, who was also rescued from Lucky’s Place four years ago in April. We let them go out and play in our backyard. There were some things that Missy had to get used to… such as a dog door and two other dogs. (In addition to Gracie May, we have an older Border Collie named Wookie). After a heartfelt goodbye to Lisa and Mary Ann, I felt I had made new friends, and we received another fabulous dog from Lucky’s Place.

We had to start working on the basics with Missy. I taught her how to sit, and we had to work on her name recognition. Now we are doing even more training and working on some food aggression issues. She is still shy, but she is the best dog ever. She and Gracie May are a little “snarky” with each other, but we have learned how to work through it. This has been a very wonderful experience, and we have just fallen in love with Missy. She has the best godmother ever in Lisa, and I have made a friend for life.

                                                                                                                                                                   Tiffany and Mike

Colter

We adopted Colter last summer.  He is almost 10 months old and still growing. He is now over 65 pounds. He’s been a great addition to our family. He loves to run in the yard, play frisbee, and best of all, keeps us in better shape with our walks. Thank you again for providing us with this wonderful dog. Hope things are going well.

Rick and Becky

Happy Anniversary, Noel!

Join us in congratulating Noel with 2 years of service in our detention facility. That is 14 years in doggie years. Thank you, Noel! 
Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, WY

Milo

It’s been almost 4 months since we adopted sweet Milo! He was 100% the perfect addition to our little family. He and his sister Sully’s personality, compliment each other so well. We recently did an embark DNA test and found out his breeds! Surprisingly no Aussie! But border collie explains his gorgeous coat.  We were able to connect with one other dog that shared 42% of DNA and they are in Salt Lake City. We are hoping to meet up with them in the future. Hope all of you wonderful people are doing well. We are so grateful for you all and everything you do.
Best,
Megan and John

Kipp

Kipp continues to make progress even three years after adoption.  He is now great with adults of both genders. As long as my husband or I are welcoming someone as they come through the farm gate, he will most often walk right up to strangers and let them pet or scratch his head.

He is still cautiously shy around other dogs and doesn’t exactly understand most play cues from other dogs. However he’s accepting of all but the most persistent puppies, and just gives them a grumpy no thank you. He’s perfectly happy to trot along and be around other dogs as they fetch, wrestle, or chase each other.

It took him almost six months to warm up to sharing his home with the exuberance of a loud, high energy child without trying to slink away to a quieter place. Now, however he and my 8 year old step-daughter are best buds. She has a slew of nicknames for him including “Kippy Poo” and “Kippy Boo Boo Bear.” She wrote a poem about him for school just before break called “Kipp the Mighty Kipp”.

He works hard on the farm at jobs he gives himself. He helps herd chickens and wrangle hogs. He chases off the wild birds that eat the chicken feed. He keeps the hawks and owls away. One time when my bull yak got loose he even jumped in to help me bluff-chase it back into the corral.

Thank you for your believing that this “dog aggressive, male fearing, child aggressive” dog deserved a second chance. Thank you for caring for him for 13 months at your shelter, and taking him back from another adoption that didn’t work out right. He is a celebrated part of our family. I am so grateful to have him.

Best,
Heather

Gus

We adopted Gus (Gustavo) From Lucky’s Place in October 2012 at the Jackson Fair.   He is 12 years old now and a wonderful companion.  He is the best boy in the world.  We recently moved to Arizona and Gus enjoys the warm winter. 

This picture was taken on Day 1 at the Jackson Fair.   Gus continues to brighten our days.  No more hiking but lots of walks!  We thank you so much for the work you do and how you have made our life and Gus’s life so rich and happy!

Best,
Anne & Doug

Clark Grable

“Clark Grable is starting to shed his old coat and beautiful healthy fur is coming in.  He has gained a significant amount of weight but he isn’t quite as plump as our other kitty yet (we’re sure he will get there eventually).  Salmon (our other cat) and he are tolerating each other well after a bit of a rocky start. 
Clark Grable has successfully won the battle of the electronic train set we put up for Christmas (he hated it and as soon as it was off attacked every component😊).  The work you do is probably thankless but very important and we appreciate it.” 
Merry Christmas!
Sean and Heather

Hopper Finds a Home

Hopper lived at Lucky’s Place for over three years before he found his forever home in June 2020.   Though it took quite a while for Hopper to choose his new dad, we think he couldn’t have made a better choice!  Below is what his new dad had to say about this special guy.

“Since the day he came to his new home, Hopper has gone on so many different adventures and has made even more friends.  While some know him as a rescue dog that is troubled from his past… I now know him, as many other people do, as the sweetest and most loving companion a person could ever know.”

Hopper had the type of past that you would see on the animal rescue commercials. But that’s not who he is anymore, at least not to the average person he meets. Hopper has gained a lot since becoming a member of my family.   He’s made countless friends with dogs and people alike.  Whenever a guest comes over he likes to introduce himself right away and he’s still shy when people try to touch him, but he is almost unrecognizable from who he was back in June. He might have stayed in the shelter for 75% of his life, but he’s far from being a shelter dog anymore. I have plenty of pictures of him doing cute things, but instead here’s a picture of him today, an average Sunday.”

“We have a long journey to go with each other, but I know I speak for Hopper when I say that I can’t wait to do it with him.”

Trapped No More

Last fall we received a message that a Great Pyrenees was found up the Greys River Mountains, caught in a trap and badly injured.  He was scared and starving to death, weighing only 50 pounds.

The poor boy had been up there for many days.  A couple of heroic hunters managed to free him from the trap, get him out of the wilderness, and to the amazing vets at Bridger Animal Hospital.  Miraculously the dog made it through the night and, under the care of Bridger Animal Hospital, continued to improve.  Unfortunately, he did lose a foot due to his injuries.

He was adopted by a family who named him Trap (“Trapper”) and received a prosthesis to replace his lost foot.  Trap’s new dad, Ed, says that he is amazingly fast playing with their other dog in spite of the lost foot. 

“Overall, the prosthesis has been a real success and I want to thank you and all the people involved for arranging to get it for him.”

Trap is very happy with his new family and his bed, which is in front of the television.  Ed says, “It amuses me to see him lounging in his bed watching TV with my wife and I in the evening, and he is particularly happy if we make popcorn.”

Trap seems to consider himself to be the roving ambassador of good will for the house.  “He is Mr. Personality and greets all visitors and assumes everyone comes to see him.  Maybe he’s right.”

Dog Gone – Darn Near

Ten month old Dale, a 35 pound Airedale Terrier mix, and his litter-mates had made Lucky’s Place their temporary home. Fortunately, Dale was deemed a match and quickly adopted by a wonderful family from Seattle, Washington.

All was well until the first break of their long journey home. During a quick stop for gas, Dale decided an open window was his invitation for a walkabout – much to the dismay of his new family. Out of sight before they could replace the nozzle on the fuel pump, Dale took off to explore the town of Alpine on his own. Fraught with worry and on a tight schedule, the family was forced to give up their search and proceed home without their new family member.

Social media postings, radio classifieds, posters and word of mouth all served to quickly put Dale “on the milk carton” in Star Valley. A few days later, sightings began to come in and numerous attempts to capture Dale were undertaken by the caring folks of Alpine. Dale, still dragging his leash, proved to be too skittish to even be approached, let alone caught, by strangers. After two very frustrating days of missed capture attempts, a decision was made to take Mickie, Dale’s brother, to Alpine and attempt to lure this very frightened puppy to safety.

Mary Ann, Director of Lucky’s Place, Susan, and Mickie searched the neighborhoods around the Alpine airport for hours. Determined to find him, they finally received a break from a neighbor who alerted them that Dale was last seen hiding in the woodpile in their backyard. Utilizing Mickie as bait, and being very, very patient, the group waited for Dale to appear. Having finally recognized his brother and seeing other familiar faces, for the first time in days Dale eagerly ran toward a human being. With a wagging tail and jumping for joy, Dale and the group were successfully reunited hence the stressful adventure came to an end. The Seattle family had already returned home, but family member Matt, living in Idaho Falls, was in touch with Lucky’s Place and happily fetched Dale the afternoon of his rescue.

Lucky’s Place is committed to the animals and the communities of Star Valley. We want to sincerely thank everyone who helped in Dale’s rescue.