Success Stories
Happiness with Seniors
 I got my first dog when she was 8 weeks old. Puppyhood is great but it is a LOT of work, especially with a lab because of the chewing and all the energy. So when I thought about getting a second dog, I knew that I didn't want to go through having a puppy again at this point. It was hard to always have to rush home from work to take her out. Also my dog seemed to like the company of an older mellower dog. So I looked at getting a senior dog. I have adopted two ten year old labs from American Lab rescue. Many people said I was crazy but it was the best thing I have done.
There is a great satisfaction that we got from knowing that they are happy again, that no matter what happened in their former lives, they were happy to be with a new family. They both adapted so quickly and positively to their new family environment. I think they both wanted to put their past behind them and enjoy the fun and comfort of their new family and new home. Right from the first day each one wanted to sit near us and get their tummy rubbed and cuddle, you could tell they were so happy to have the attention.
They also still have a lot of energy (just not as much as a one year old). They still want to do the same things that younger dogs do. They each were always so excited to go for a walk! I'm sure their former owners never walked them so it was a treat. Rain, sleet or snow they were happy to go out. One of the best things about an older dog is there is little to no training, they are housebroken and relatively mellow in the house. Both were happy to just nap on the doggie bed. Both my senior dogs seem to really appreciate everything from every cookie to every pat on the head.
It has been great to know that I helped a sweet lab from an unhappy situation at a shelter and given them a nice place to retire and have fun!
I would recommend an older dog without a doubt to anyone looking for a dog!
 We adopted Serena in August '07. When we picked her up from the transport, we immediately fell in love with her. She climbed into our laps within her first moments at our house.
She must have known she had found her forever family. Even today, she still snuggles in our laps, all fifty pounds of her!
Her happy-go-lucky and goofy personality keeps us entertained everday. She loves everyone she meets, both human and canine.
She has a gentle and quiet spirit, but she definitely enjoys her toys and daily walks. Car rides always make her day, too!
Shortly after Serena's arrival, a new friend joined our neighbors' family. Leah (formerly Lucky), a black lab also from ALR, has been her best friend ever since.
It was fun to see them expierence their first New England winter. We don't think they had ever seen snow before!
They frequently have play dates in our backyard, as you can see in the picture from this past summer.Thank you so much for helping us find Serena!
Rachel has settled in nicely, and is getting along well with Jack. She is usually first for everything, although occasionally Jack pushes her out of the way! You would not believe how fast she can run! When we take them down to the bogs, she is like a little greyhound! Jack keeps up with her for a while, but runs out of gas before she does. Rachel loves to hang out by our pool and hunt for frogs.
Hope all is well with you and all your pooches!
Shelley
  Jack (formerly Maddox) is our most recent adoptee from ALR (and I can't believe its been almost 2 years!!). We also adopted Reva from ALR, 3 years ago. Jack is such a good, smart boy! and a feisty puppy!! Both him and Reva are just the loves our our life!! along with 2 adult cats, and 2 recently adopted kittens. Jack has shown amazing patience and restraint with "his" new kittens and they love to play together.
Jack was described by ALR as "eager to please" and boy is he!! . . . as well as being v. adventurous, and sometimes fresh! Jack makes me laugh every single day.
Both Jack and Reva have been through obedience training, have received their Canine Good Citizen certificates, and also participated in an off leash training class that included some agility training! They loved it! Jack and Reva love their plush toys, walks, hiking in the woods, and playing in the pond.
One of Reva's favorite things to do is to be at home with us, lounging on the couch, or lying on one of the dog beds chewing a rawhide. One of Jack's favorite things to do (aside from playing with Reva) is run. He loves to play in the yard, or find a buddy to race with at the dog park.
We feel fortunate to have a houseful of happy animals who all get along great.
Karen
 Jake became a wonderful part of our family as soon as he entered our home back in Oct. of 2006. Our beautiful yellow Lab traveled across the states and arrived up here in NH jumping off the truck with his tail wagging, happy and ready for fun. He is a low energy lug of love and he’s happy to meet & greet everyone. Our lives are touched with such unconditional love from this beautiful gentle soul. We tell everyone who meets him that there are more like him waiting at American Lab Rescue. Thank you for all of the great work that you do with these dogs in finding them their forever families. Thank you again for all that you do, you are angels.
All our best, Jake’s family -
Lee Ann, Peter & Victoria
Our family adopted Molly (a Black Lab mix) on October 1st, 2006. Molly has been a great addition to our family. She is eager to learn and is very mellow. Molly's favorite thing to do is to chase the squirrels and the chipmunks in the dog park down the road from our house. She is very loving and is always giving us a cuddle. We have been very lucky to have found Molly. Thank you so much, ALR, for all the great work you do in finding these homeless dogs forever, loving families. Molly's family
Just wanted to update you on Maizie Jane, aka Sugar. She has adpated to life on Cape Cod beautifully. She loves to walk at the bog every chance we
get and she loves her new yard mate, Oreo the bunny. Our daughter thinks she wants the bunny for Thanksgiving Dinner. We think she would like to just "play" with her. The obsession is slowly
wearing off. We have yet to take her to the ocean, as she was rescued off of a barn roof during Hurricane Ike
in Texas and we are afraid she may be fearful of the water. It was 20 degrees when we got up this morning, so I think the ocean adventures can wait until spring. This year at our annual Thanksgiving tradition of "What I am most Thankful for", having been adopted myself as a baby, I will have to say "I am most thankful for Maizie Jane, the sweetest yellow lab ever!" With much gratitude,
Peter, Tricia, Matt, Pete and Hannah
Tesla "Tess" joined our family on November 22, 2008. We couldn't be more delighted to have adopted such a sweet, sweet girl..Everyone that we were in touch with from the American Lab Rescue, was knowledgable, understanding, assisting and professional. It truly was a pleasure working with ALR in finding a new family member. To be able to keep in touch with ALR with any questions or concerns, and to receive quick replies, is just reassuring that all the people involved are doing this for the true love of the dogs. God Bless you all.Jennifer
 We adopted Margo in Sept. 2007, and she is a wonderful
dog. She loves everybody, and is incredibly devoted
to the family, especially the kids. Margo has a ton
of energy, but she is very well behaved, and always
sticks with her people. I walk her in the woods near
our house almost every day, and when it is warmer she
loves to swim for sticks I throw in the swimming hole.
As you can tell from the photo, she just loves pillows
:-)!Thanks so much ALR!. Margo's family
We adopted our little girl Ivy on December 6. The coordinator said there were 75 dogs being transported that day! It was a joyous occasion with so many people waiting for their new furry friends at the drop off site. Since the new member of our pack didn't know her name, we call her Ivy. Initially, she was very timid (after having a rather tumultuous couple of months), but three weeks after coming to her forever home she is running around throwing toys in the air and sleeping all snuggled up to her pack at night. We would
like to thank American Lab Rescue for their fine work
and organization. We could not have been happier
with ALR's process and volunteers. Special thanks
to Beata, Lynn, Liz, David and all the other unnamed
volunteers that have made this such a positive and heartwarming
experience.
Sharon & Rich
I adopted a dog named Nemo he is now Kovu from you back
in march and I wanted to tell you that he is doing great.
He is 1 years old now and is much bigger them when you
handed him to me form the trailer that day. My family
and I love him very much. He is my shadow, following
me everywhere. Here is a picture of him at a parade
he was in. And here is one with my other dog Ebony;
I took this for my Christmas cards. I have to send you
this other one. He is a very funny boy (loves to dress
up). Ashley
 Sammy, Jasmine, and Avery
We adopted Sam in December of '07. He loves to ride in the car and has a hilarious personality, we like to compare him to Eeyore with his "thanks for noticing me" manner. Sam is a total Mama's boy and he is dainty all 76lbs of him, he will only walk on the outskirts of the lawn for fear of getting dirty. He is our comedian. Jazzy came to us in February when we decided that Sam needed a playmate. His little sister came to us with half a tail and a huge smile. Jasmine is part rabbit, we're sure, because she hops around constantly. She is always the first one awake and the last one to kiss you goodnight. We don't like to tell the boys, but she is our smartest dog. And lastly, our third puppy from ALR is Avery. We brought him home in July and he instantly completed our dog pack. He is the littlest at not yet a year old, and he definitely has that puppy spunk. Avery is our typical boy and he adores his big sister Jasmine. He is known to bark adamantly in his sleep.
American Lab Rescue has made us a big happy family this year and we are forever thankful for such wonderful dogs. We couldn't be more smitten.
Many thanks, Sean and Lauren
 We got Ellie (in the blue collar) as a puppy in 2006 at 15 weeks old. She had been rescued with her Mum and 10 siblings, only hours before being put to sleep. We had lost our dog of 14 years a month earlier. While she loved her new home, she seemed to be missing another pet. After fostering several dogs over the next 2 years, we finally made Abbie (in the pink collar) a permanent part of the family.
Both dogs enjoy being our office mascots, going on hikes, running in the backyard, and cuddling up to one another. Thank you for bringing these 2 precious dogs into our lives! Chris, Kevin, Riley, and Delaney
 We just wanted to give you an update on our recent adoption of Angel (we renamed her Montana). She is such a beautiful puppy and a real sweetheart! We could not be happier and are lucky to have her. She has adjusted very well to her new home. She loves the dog park and gets along well with other dogs and people. Everyone she meets falls in love with her! We had a great experience with the American Lab Rescue. It was so exciting to see all of the happy families picking up their dogs from the transport! Thanks so much and keep up the great work!
Stephanie and Erik
Timber has really become the center of the family. We couldn't be happier he is such a well-behaved, lovable, obedient dog (and so handsome too!). He enjoys long walks - weather permitting and weekly visits with his play group. Even my mother who doesn't like dogs has softened up and "tolerates" him.
He attracts a lot of attention from lab lovers and people just love to touch his soft white fur. Adopting Tim was a fantastic thing for both him and us and we thank you for your part in it.
Jewel is doing great! She has accepted her new home well. We had some problems with our other female dog, Princess, but after working with her, Princess has accepted her as her own puppy. They are petty much never away from each other.
Jewel also has a big brother that protects her. Coco is 10 years old and has accepted her, but Jewel can not figure out why Coco won't play like Princess does. We want to thank you all for all you guys have done.
Bill, Diane, Nicky, Coco, Princess and Baby Jewel
 Today is the two-month anniversary of the day India came home with me so I thought I would write to tell you how happy I am that she is in my life. I can't believe I was lucky enough to find her and I want to thank you for bringing us together. She is so sweet and beautiful that everyone she meets falls in love with her and I am the envy of all my dog-loving friends and family.
Last night she graduated from obedience class and while I am biased, she was definitely at the top of the class. She will be starting obility classes (a mix of advanced obedience and agility) in a few weeks. Judging by how smart she is and how much she likes to run and jump on things, I think she will be a natural.
I am attaching a photo of India taken last night. She is playing with the graduation present from her instructor. Thanks again,
Lisa
 Elsie is a wonderful dog, and we are very fortunate to have adopted her. She is very loving, and so well-behaved that she gets to go to work with Chris almost every day, and spends the day sleeping on a sofa in his office. He works on a college campus with wooded trails, so Elsie gets to run and explore every day at lunchtime. Elsie also gets along fine with our two cats, and is completely recovered from her heartworm.
Elsie enjoyed her first experiences with snow this winter; she wasn't sure what it was at first, but quickly discovered how much fun it was to run and jump through. Here is a picture. Thanks for all the work you and ALR do! Linda & Chris
 I thought you would love to see this new photo of Becker cuddling up to his big sister Candace. They've been together about 6 months now and they couldn't be closer. Just last week, our dog-care professional reported that, when she came to let them out during the day, she practically had to wake them up -- both were happily curled up together in one crate!
(We leave the door of the crate open now so they can use it if they want to; Candace has always liked curling up in there, but Becker never did like that crate, until now!) John and I will always be grateful to ALR for bringing us our two beautiful labbies.
Thanks so much, again, and please continue to let me know whenever I can help ALR. All the best, Sue
Tripper is doing very well, and has been a wonderful addition to our family.
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