Happy Tails

Another wonderful Happy tail for LVLR, Logan, formerly Brody.

"Hi LVLR!
I'm thrilled to share with you our happy tail about our beloved fur baby Logan! We just passed our one year "adopt-a-versary" and I thought this is a good time to share how happy we are with our fur baby.

Logan was the first puppy we met through your organization and it was love at first site! When he came to meet us he was friendly, hyper and full of love. We wanted a friend for our eight year old black lab, Shea and Logan is the perfect companion. He has brought out the fun in our older pup again.

Logan loves to snuggle, play fetch and play with everyone and anyone! He's the biggest lap dog you'll ever meet and we're so thankful we have him to snuggle with.

I have included a picture of Logan snuggling with our older pup, Shea and a picture of him lounging on the couch.

Thank you,
Kelley W."

Have your own Happy Tail to share? Please email your story and pictures to: [email protected].

We received this heartwarming Happy Tail on Roger, formerly Raja.

"Hi LVLR,
This is our Happy Tail about Raja. He was adopted by us Bill and Jordan A. last January.

We had been looking to add a lab to our family and a friend for our yellow lab Tucker (8). We had heard that people have had a great experience with Las Vegas Lab rescue. The process was great. We added Roger formerly known as Raja to our family last January.
When he first arrived he was nervous and unsure of his new environment. He would stay in our living room and just go outside when need be. After love and encouragement he gained the courage to roam freely around the house in less than a day.
Roger now enjoys laying on the couch, playing fetch, walks with his brother Tucker, and as many pets as he possible can get. He is a happy and loving dog. We are so glad he joined our family and thank you Las Vegas Lab Rescue!"

Have your own Happy Tail to share? Please email your story and pictures to: [email protected].

We received this amazing & funny Happy Tail for Hank:

"Hank’s Happy Tail
We had been looking for a male yellow lab off and on for awhile, on the waiting list for over 3 years with the Lab Rescue. Finally LVLR had two brothers come into their rescue and we were lucky enough to adopt Hank on May 23rd, 2016. He got along immediately with our two older golden retrievers, Gus (10) and Booger (7). We are volunteer pet sitters for the Golden Retriever Rescue of S. NV so we had to be sure that Hank would welcome the ‘guests’ into our home as well as the old guys do. We had nothing to worry about! He is the perfect host, playing and sharing his toys with everyone.
Hank sure loves riding in the car… In fact the first time he saw my car in the garage, he jumped straight up and through the open driver’s side window and sat in the passenger seat! It took a treat or two to get him out, and now he knows how to wait until he’s invited into the car. In the past 90 days he has brought a huge grin to my face more times than I can count. He also loves to share the bed with us, although we generally don’t allow it. He has learned that if he waits until we are asleep, he can jump up like a ninja and sleep at the foot of the bed without us even realizing it.
Hank likes living in our semi-rural neighborhood where he can watch rabbits in the front yard, and eat horse-droppings on our walks. I’m trying to get him to stop that…
He didn’t take to the pool at all when we first got him, but I have slowly gotten him to get in and swim across by himself. He is funny to watch because instead of gliding in like Gus & Booger do, Hank kind of cannon-ball launches his whole body off the steps and goes completely under water. He has no problem sticking his whole head under and getting toys that sink off the first step of the pool.
We look forward to sharing our lives with this wonderful dog for as long as we are allowed to. Now that we have him (or he has us) we can’t imagine our lives without him.

D & T"

Have your own Happy Tail to share? Please email your story and pictures to: [email protected].

We at LVLR are moved beyond words to receive this incredibly loving Happy Tail for Melli (formerly Lilo). Updates like this make every day better.

"Melli's happy tail!

Melli a.k.a. Lilo came to us from the Las Vegas Lab Rescue in September after we had finally opened our hearts to bring a new dog into our family after losing our beloved black lab, Jasmine, in 2014. Our family's last name is Grant. We renamed Lilo to Melli because we wanted to have a brand-new name for her for her brand-new life, and we borrowed the name Melli from the TV show Scandal where the first lady of the United States is named Mellie Grant. Our own Melli Grant is the first lady of our household!

Roxxi, our 2006 rescue from LVLR accepted Melli from the very first visit from her loving foster mom Joni. Sweet Melli was practically only a puppy herself when she gave birth to a litter of puppies and then was discarded like trash somewhere in Utah with milk still leaking out of her from lack of nursing. I thank God every day for the great volunteers at LVLR who rescued Melli from a sad set of circumstances, had her spayed, and then brought into the rescue for us to adopt her. This sweet girl has the most expressive eyes and she lights up the room every time she is in it. When she wakes up in the morning with me, she takes herself out to potty and then while I'm making coffee she comes bursting in the doggie door and grabs a toy, and starts running around trying to entice Roxxi to play with her. Her nickname is Hurricane Melli!

Melli absolutely loves my eight-year-old daughter, and is so gentle with kids. She loves when my daughter has sleepovers. I'll never forget, shortly after we had adopted Melli, my daughter had a sleepover and Melli was the center of attention. She loved having five kids doting on her all night long and slept in the middle of their pile of sleeping bags.

Melli loves going on walks, even though she is still learning how to be a good girl on leash. She loves going to the park and playing her version of fetch, which is really a game of keepaway.

Melli does have a slight case of separation anxiety; I have a feeling it's because everything she loved in her life before us was taken away. Her puppies were taken from her when she was still nursing, and then her home was taken away. When Melli first came to us, she would tremble and cry out in her sleep - I can only imagine what her nightmares entailed! Thankfully, that only lasted a couple of months. Now she sleeps quietly at the foot of my bed. I pray that within the coming months she realizes that we will never, ever let her go, and that we will always come home to her. Fortunately for Melli, my husband and I both work from home so there is usually always someone home with her. And recently, we went on a weeklong vacation and my older niece stayed at our house so that Melli would not have to go to a strange environment.

Melli enjoys car rides with Roxxi to take my daughter to school or summer camp. The second she sees me pick up my daughter's lunch box, it is her cue to run to the back door and pounce up-and-down in anticipation of being able to run out to my SUV. It is so darn cute, I can't imagine a happier way to start our morning! When I have a morning that I have a meeting or need to run errands after drop off and can't take the girls with me, well, let's just say that the disappointment in Melli's eyes can be a heart breaker!

Melli came to us not knowing how to give kisses. She gets a little more willing as each month goes by, but she's very parsimonious with her kisses and it takes a lot of begging! Each one we receive is newsworthy for the whole family. In that respect, she is the opposite of Roxxi. Roxxi will unload her slobber kisses on anyone and everyone, that little minx!

Last fall, my daughter's school had a "bring your pet to school" day and Melli was the center of attention as 300 kids that got to pet and love on her.

Some of Melli's favorite pastimes include:
- Scamming free pets from anyone with a dangling hand.
- Rough housing with her "cousin" Monkey, a lab-coon-pit mix.
- Swimming, but only from the steps of the pool - hasn't graduated to jumping in yet.
- Terrorizing the neighbors 2 lap dogs through a tiny drainage hole in our backyard's common wall. She doesn't bark, she just looks through there and they go nuts!
- Demanding attention from the yard crew and the pool guy - scamming more free pets.
- Watching Game of Thrones and Outlander - she loves the horses. Hoping to take her to the farm with us to watch my daughter ride once it cools off.
- Laying atop Roxxi in some form or fashion, she's a snuggler!
- Being my shadow - can't even go to the bathroom alone!
- Stealing the kitchen throw rug and moving it to the dining room. She doesn't chew it, she's just redecorating every day! A regular Martha Stewart!

Melli has been such a perfect addition to our family and has helped me personally close the hole that was in my heart from the loss of Jasmine. Thanks again for finding her for us!

Thank you,
Jen Grant"

Have your own Happy Tail to share? Please email your story and pictures to: [email protected].

What an awesome Happy Tail we received for Leo, formerly know as Ace.

"Leo, formerly known as Ace came to us via LVLR in October of 2012 and our life has never been the same! Leo if full of energy and loves to compete in the sport of Flyball. He also loves to swim and hike the mountains of Utah with his brother and sister. We are forever thankful to the LVLR for allowing this sweet boy to be a part of our family!"

Have your own Happy Tail to share? Please email your story and pictures to: [email protected].

We received such an amazing Happy Tail for amazing Nala! We at LVLR couldn't be more happy for this special girl.

"Hello LVLR,
I hope this finds you well. It's been 4 weeks today that Nala came into our lives. We adore her. She has settled in as if she's always been here. The cats did not even hide when she arrived! Nala is an older lady with a lot going for her. We wanted a calm dog to help our resident choco Molly (also from LVLR) with her separation anxiety. It's working too. They are becoming besties and crack us up with their charm. Nala is just as sweet as they come. Also, she continues to improve since her surgery in January. She goes to the park twice daily to gallop around and watch rabbits.
Thank you so much to the Las Vegas Labrador Rescue for all that you have done for this exceptional sweet dog.
Kristin and Bob"

Have your own Happy Tail to share? Please email your story and pictures to: [email protected].

We just love getting updates on our former rescues! Here is a sweet Happy Tail for Shadow (formally Zeus).

"Shadow is a loving, kind and energetic puppy that has been a welcomed addition to our family. Our boys figured out right away that Shadow loves racing around our backyard to play ball.  They have a blast playing keep away with the basketball, soccer and tennis balls.  In addition to chasing after the ball, we’ve found that Shadow also seems to love chasing after his new feline sister, Sage.  Other than the occasional loud HISS, we think the two of them are becoming fast friends.  We are so lucky to have found Shadow and are delighted to be his forever family!!

Have your own Happy Tail to share? Please email your story and pictures to: [email protected].

We received this phenomenal Happy Tail for Macy (formerly Simcha) and Dudley.

"Macy (was Simcha was Babs), adopted in December, has settled in with her brother Dudley, adopted a few months before, and is enjoying a life of leisure in her later years as she takes up swimming and sunbathing when not relaxing on the couch and keeping good company. Having passed through several owners and fosters, she is now quite content in her furever home."

We couldn't be happier for both of these LVLR alumni.

Have your own Happy Tail to share? Please email your story and pictures to: [email protected].

We received this amazing Happy Tail for Henny. What a way to start 2016!

"Just a little update about Henny aka Fletcher.

My wife and I recently moved here to Las Vegas and wanted to get a dog. We ended up adopting Henny aka Fletcher a 7 year old chocolate lab last July. Henny has full of energy for his age and and displayed his playfulness the first time we met him. Dave offered a kennel for Henny which is very nice of him to get Henny adjusted to his new home. We were also told about Henny's right eye which was believed to be a bacterial infection. Henny was seen by a specialist before the adoption and the rescue was generous enough to have everything paid off including the medications on our last visit to the specialist. After a couple of months his right eye dramatically improved and soon enough his eye was cured. Henny is such a sweet and loyal dog. He thinks he is a lap dog and will try to jump on us when we are seating on the couch. We are able to train him not to jump in the couch since he is smart and very responsive to training. He knows sit and stay and will not rush to get his food until I say go. I recently trained him to shake and play dead. He used to pull on the leash while walking but after few weeks of training we can walk him with ease. When we are out to work we leave him with his kong toys with treats which will keep him occupied until we get home and He also loves sleeping on the dog bed we bought for him. So far Henny has been amazing and for his energy we sometimes take him outside as our running partner.

Julian and July"

Have your own Happy Tail to share? Please email your story and pictures to: [email protected].

What a fantastic Happy Tail we received for Duke!

"After grieving for several months over the loss of our 14 yr old yellow lab, we felt ready to open our hearts to another lab. We loved the adoption process from the Las Vegas Lab Rescue Group and we were blessed with adopting Duke, our 6 yr old chocolate lab. Duke has a lot of energy and needed some basic training. He now comes, sits, goes down and is not barking as much. We are still working on the walking, but we cannot believe it's the same dog we met weeks ago. He is so loving and playful and just a joy to have around. He is perfect in our house and doesn't touch a thing. He sleeps next to us on the floor all night long without a peep. One thing he cannot be without is his orange ball. It never leaves his side. We love him so much. Thank you for our Duke.

Regards,
Ilene & Jerry C."

Have your own Happy Tail to share? Please email your story and pictures to: [email protected].

What an beautiful Happy Tail we received from Dudley's family.

"We are SO grateful to have adopted Dudley!! This little angel (you can see where his wings were) has given US so much love and support after unexpectedly losing our 9 year old Lab Harry to post op complications Labor Day.

We were told Dudley arrived from a Utah shelter then into the foster moms home. He spent 6 weeks with her, then came to live with us. We suspect Dudley is leery of LONG car rides, as each has resulted in a new home.

We drove him to our CA home this week. He trembled in the car for the first hour. Upon arriving, he discovered that house smelled familiar so he relaxed. He met most of the neighborhood and had a play date with another dog. Another car ride (with another hour of trembling) we returned to Vegas and witnessed pure elation and joy in Dudley's face when he realized he was "home" again. I am including him on frequent errands to show him all roads lead home.

He has captured our hearts AND the middle of the bed every night. He's one terrific snuggler.

Dudley is microchipped, has 3 contact numbers on his name tag and wears a gps tracker, ok, overkill since he's generally within a 10 foot reach. We're not taking ANY chances. We're clueless how this sweet and lovable guy ended up in a shelter, but are thankful he made his way into our lives. Sorry Dudley, now you're stuck with us your ENTIRE life. ♡ you baby boy!!! Mama and Daddy

aka Karen S and Jay A."

Have your own happy tail to share? Please send, with pictures, to [email protected]

We love receiving these stories from our adoptive families. Here is a wonderful update on Tyson, formally Duke.

"Hello!

We wanted to send you out a Happy Tail on Tyson. When we adopted him he was called "Duke". He has since been named Tyson, after Neil deGrasse Tyson the astrophysicist. My husband and Tyson's Dad - Greg, is an amateur astronomer so our dogs are all either named after stars or after people in the field. Tyson attended his first star party out at the visitors center on Mt Charleston recently. He enjoyed meeting all the people who came to look through the telescope and soaked up all the love and attention.He is such a sweet boy that people can't help but love him!

From the first day that he came to our house for the meet and greet we knew he was meant to be with us. His first night with us he followed us upstairs, jumped up on the bed and made himself right at home. We couldn't possibly love him anymore! He loves rides in the car but unlike other dogs he doesn't stick his head out the window. He likes to sit very calmly and quietly in the middle of the back seat and look out the windshield. It's adorable.

We are so grateful to have him as part of our family.

Greg and Penny M. "

Have your own Happy Tail to share? Please email your story and pictures to: [email protected].

We received this wonderful update on Tank. Our greatest reward is sharing these amazing stories.

"Hello LVLR,

It's been about four months now since we adopted Tank. He really settled in quickly and made himself at home. He weighs 59 pounds so he's put on about three pounds since we got him and the red tint in his fur is pretty much all gone. Shortly after we got him, we noticed he would get extremely agitated if he saw someone, even us, walk by a window, or if he heard a strange noise like a cupboard door shutting, the refrigerator kicking on, or the sound of cooking spray being sprayed into a skillet. He would let out the "alarm howl" and become quite nervous. Probably just a bad experience he had. Anyway, after some positive reinforcement and comforting, he no longer lets out the howl when someone walks by the window and only occasionally does it when he's in the kitchen and his wagging tail bangs the side of the stove. (That's actually pretty funny to see him spook himself with his own tail).

We've been working with him regularly with his training collar, and he has become very obedient on and off the leash. He will sit ,come, stay, and lay down on command even when the two german girls (shepherds) next door are barking and trying to distract him. He sits before entering or exiting the house and he sits and waits for an "OK" before he eats. Tank took his first long trip to Colorado in July and we found he is a proficient traveler. He loves to have the wind in his face but lays down when told. He loved my folks property out in the country (five acres to play ball on and we was worn out every day).

As you might guess, he really took to the pool. After about three tries at getting him in with the leash, he fell in love with the water. In fact, if he's in the back yard with me, he's jumping in the pool whether we are in it or not. He loves to play ball in the pool and if we get him really wound up, he'll jump in at full speed and get 10 or 12 feet of air before splashing down. He's also very considerate of those who aren't in the pool as he'll exit the water and wait until he's right next to you to shake and cool you off, no matter where you are in the yard. LOL!

Also, Tank is a big fan of old western movies, especially if they have horses and cattle in them. He will literally jump up and down in front of the TV and whimper as if he want to play when horses or cows or any kind of animal is on the screen. He sat through two John Wayne movies with me and got excited every time he saw a horse.

I have attached a picture of him watching the baseball game with me last night. He likes to put his front paws over the arm of my chair and rest his head on my stomach and watch TV while getting his ears scratched. It's a nightly ritual with either me, my brother, or my nephew before bedtime. Incidentally, Tank's bedtime is 9:30pm and he lets us know with a stare and a gentle nudge that he's ready to go to bed.

Anyway, I hope all is well with you and I just wanted to let you know Tank is doing very well.

Scott N."

Have your own Happy Tail to share? Please email your story and pictures to: [email protected].

We received this amazing Happy Tail from Olive's family:

"Hello! We adopted Olive (Midnight) in February 2015 and she has been a great addition to our family!!!
She loves to play baseball and swim with our boys, go camping and lounge on the floor
with the boys. She also gets along great with our 10 yr. lab Daisy!

Thank you again for choosing our family!

The Collins family.

We received this beautiful Happy Tail from Kylie's family:

"We adopted Kylie in December of 2014. We were hesitant after losing our other lab since Kylie was 10 years old but she blended in with the family and other 2 dogs so smoothly. She has such a loving heart so sweet and kind. We truly are happy we decided to adopt her."

Want you share you Las Vegas Labrador Rescue Happy Tail? email us at [email protected]

We received this wonderful & amusing Happy Tail from Murphy's furever family.

"Murphy (formerly Kingston) has been with us for a little over a year now. He is a sweet, sweet boy who is a work in progress. He certainly has come a long way from last February when he was placed in his fur-ever home. Pretty much a blank slate when he came to us, the only command he followed was ‘sit’ and even that one was inconsistent. But with wonderful support from Dave Heck and the excellent training we received through ‘Sit Means Sit’, Murphy now is fully house-trained and follows many commands. His behavior has improved and he now can be left alone out of his crate along with his sister, Allie, during the day. After much work, they are getting along quite well, even ‘frapping’ together in the back yard when one gets a wild hair! Quite a study in contrasts, Murphy can leap gracefully to catch a ball in mid-air only to turn around and walk into a light pole five minutes later. He will sit and wait until he is ‘released’ to start eating but recently stole a grilled cheese sandwich off the kitchen counter in front of six people, finishing it before anyone could reach for his remote. But as challenging as he can be, we love dogs with big personalities and wouldn’t trade him for all the biscuits he could eat. Thank you LVLR, for all the wonderful work you do and for allowing us to make Murphy’s happy-tail wag!"

We received this joyous Happy Tail from Jacob's furever family.

"Hi Everyone,

I wanted to send along a "Happy Tail" for Jacob. Thanks again for everything, we are enjoying him so much!

We've had Jacob for 3 weeks now and couldn't be more in love with him. He is such a loving, joyful dog. He enjoys taking walks and loves to play fetch. My daughter and I love taking him with us on hikes, car rides and out to eat (on dog friendly patios of course!).

He especially loves to cuddle! We feel so lucky to have been matched with Jacob through the LVLR, he is an absolutely wonderful addition to our family and we look forward to many happy years with him."

We received this wonderful Holiday Happy Tail from Monty & Duke's family:

"Hi all,
Just wanted to share a picture of Monty and Duke on their first christmas here at the Reckley Ranch. They have added a lot of joy to our lives and very grateful for your rescue. They both have adjusted well to our family and we love having them around. We all gets lots of exercise as they both enjoy walks around the block and fetching balls. Of course, Duke hasn’t quite learned to give the ball back yet;) Monty can play fetch for HOURS and Duke tries really hard to keep up with him.

Thank you again and many blessings to you and yours this new year!
The Reckley Family
Cliff and Jen
Sarah, Anna, Emma, and Beka
Monty and Duke"

We just received the awesome Happy Tail from Flynn's forever family.

"Our forever dog, Max, crossed the Rainbow Bridge on 12/6/2013. We were devastated by our loss but knew we wanted to adopt another Labrador Retriever when we were ready for another dog. We were overjoyed when Las Vegas Labrador Rescue approved us to adopt. We met 2 LVLR rescues before we adopted Flynn (formerly Icing) on 7/2/2014.

To say it was a "match made in heaven" would be an understatement. Flynn loves to play with our VERY active, rough and tumble boys. Flynn also loves to cuddle and snuggle with them and with us (although I don't know who loves the snuggling more - Flynn, the boys, Mom, or Dad). Not only is Flynn a wonderful companion but he is also very protective - Flynn gives us a sense of security that we haven't felt since losing Max.

We needed Flynn as much as he needed us. With the addition of Flynn, our family is complete again. And we couldn't be happier 🙂 "

We have just received this wonderful happy tail from Vader's family 🙂

Just wanted to drop LVLR a little note.

Vader is going well and adjusting just fine. He had a little health scare, but it turned out to be ok. What we've found he likes is his shadow and lights including reflections. Ice had to change his collar and tag to deflect light vs reflect. He just goes crazy with the reflections. It takes him hours to settle down.

I've included two recent pictures to see how spoiled he is and his big he's getting. Note the baby gates we have up to keep him from licking and biting my walls. He either sees his shadow or a reflection of light.

Silly pup!!

We received another awesome Happy Tail. This wonderful family adopted 2 dogs from us at the same time - Monty (a 10 year old) and Duke (a 5 year old).  When going through the adoption process they told us that they wanted to give Monty all of the love that he deserved in his remaining years, however many of them he might have left. We are thrilled to hear that the new Reckley brothers are enjoying love of their recently found Sisters, Mom and Dad!

To submit your Happy Tail please email [email protected]

"Monty and Duke have settled in nicely with our family.  They both get along great and add so much fun to our daily lives.   Monty is still full of life - he LOVES to play fetch and go on daily walks with us around neighborhood.  Monty prefers to be with us - not necessarily in the same room but definitely doesn’t want to be left alone.  He is very obedient and aims to please - a very sweet dog.

Duke is lovable in all sense of the word.  He snuggles with our girls during “movie” time and follows any one of us around the house.  He has no favorites but he does seem to favor our #2 daughter Anna slightly more than any of us.  He also made nice friends with Grandma on her recent visit;)  We had to make sure she didn’t take him home with her.  Duke LOVES the great outdoors and the little kiddie pool.

Both Monty and Duke have brought much joy to our family and we feel privileged to be the forever family and home for these guys."

We received this awesome Happy Tail from Tucker's family. To submit your Happy Tail please email [email protected]

"Dear Las Vegas Labrador Rescue Team,

We want to thank all of you for being so helpful in helping us find the next member of our family! Tucker has been wonderful. He is very much a puppy still, but that is part of what we love about him. He is so well behaved, and gets along great with our other dog Kimber. They are constantly playing and ruff housing all hours of the day it seems. Tucker loves giving hugs to anyone who will accept them and loves taking a dip in the pool with these hot temperatures. He is always making us laugh like when he loves to wake us up in the morning by laying right on heads until we go for a walk. We are so happy to have adopted him and thank you all for your service in saving wonderful dogs like Tucker!

Doug, Michelle, Kimber & Tucker"