*Catalina aka Nala*

We love hearing from our adopters. Here is what they had to say…Catalina, formerly known as Nala, has been adopted. She loves running though the house and playing with her new brothers and sisters. Her favorite thing to do is play with the laser light and explore…she has just recently figured out how to open the drawers on the bed! Catalina was the purr-fect addition to my family, which I now call the Fab Five

*Willow aka Ameila *

We love hearing from our adopters here is what they had to say…I want to update you on Willow May(formerly known as Amelia). We adopted her 8 months ago and she is doing wonderful.

She loves to take treats from our hands, constantly plays with her toys and adores being petted. She also loves laying on all furniture. One of her favorite things is watching videos for cats, as you can see by these pictures. Not a lap cat yet, but I don’t think it will be long! She has come a long way in just 8 short months!!

*Lottie aka Latte*

We love hearing from our adopters Here is what they had to say …Lottie, formerly known as Latte, is enjoying her new home. Every day she’s showing more of her personality. She loves her treats and her play time with the laser pointer. She’s such a sweet girl.

*Blizzard*

Blizzard was found outside living in a feral cat colony and was trapped by PawsWatch in the middle of a snow storm.  He was found to be a very tame cat, so they transferred him to us.  He wasn’t at the shelter too long before he found his fur-ever home.  Here is what his new owner had to say:

“Just wanted you to know, Blizzard is doing very well. He and Penny have bonded and enjoy chasing each other around, in and out of the bathtub, and sometimes sleeping next to each other. Thanks again for all your help”.  -David 🏠❤🐈

*Miss Mama Vivian & Lynk*

Miss Vivian Mama, aka Vivian, and Lynk, aka Stallone were both adopted from the shelter.  When Vivian arrived at the shelter she was VERY pregnant.  She had her babies, and was a great mom.  Super sweet too.  Stallone was found living in a feral cat colony.  Turned out he wasn’t feral after all.  They were adopted within a year of each other.  This is what their new owners had to say:

“Miss Mama Vivian she’s doing great with her sister kitty siblings and her brother Morpheus, the dog. She absolutely loves her new dad and hangs out on his forearm completely flopped in coziness as he walks around the house. After adopting Vivian, we went back to adopt another kitty. Meet Lynk, (aka Stallone). Lynk and Vivian get along great. He also loves his big brother Morpheus (the dog). They are doing awesome.❤ Very playful and cuddly!! Lynk is very smart and gives super sweet hugs when you pick him up. Thank you for saving them first. They are wonderful additions to our family.”

“Eloise”

“Eloise” aka Dotty, was one of 6 cats abandoned in an apartment when his owner moved out.  She was very timid when she first came to the shelter.   Look what a little TLC can do!  This is what her new owners had to say:

“It took a lot of TLC but she is enjoying her new home.🏠 Eloise loves to investigate the house and sleep on her favorite recliner”.❤🐈

“Amos”

Meet the tiniest of Luna’s babies, Amos, who was rescued from a house fire in Bristol with his mom and siblings. 🐈 This is what his new owners had to say:

“It was love at first sight. I just knew…thank you, thank you . Your amazing staff changed our world with this tiny 💓 creature. He’s the most most loving, accepting kitten we’ve ever met (dogs, kids, long hours by car to Maine) and a gift to our home. Last year, we lost our home to a fire on October 4th…serendipity… I didn’t know about Amos’s rescue from a fire until we were at the shelter… again. Wow! Thank you Bristol Animal Shelter, you are the BEST”❤

“Coffee & Cocoa” 

Today is the 1-year anniversary of the day we brought Cocoa and Coffee home!  We just took them this week for their periodic 6-month check-up, though they didn’t want to go out in the snow.  Other than Coffee now being slightly overweight (too many treats), they’re both in great health.  Cocoa’s incision healed nicely, and her fur is growing back.

Recently, I had to travel for a few days for work, and Cocoa enjoyed sleeping in my spot on the bed
— Coffee at the other end looks jealous.  They also like sharing the recliner, but TV time on bed
is the best.  Sometimes, I have to lure them off with treats, so I can reclaim my spot.  I don’t
know what they think about their previous residences (wherever they were), but I like to believe
they think this one is the best!

“Chester”

While we were reaching out to help our local animal shelters, we came across Chester.  He was a stray roaming the busy streets of the city.  He was older, and had a few medical issues that needed to be addressed.  During his time here, he quickly became a favorite of the volunteers and staff.  We were all so very happy when he found his “fur”-ever home.  Here is what Chester’s owner had to say “Almost one year since we adopted him. I can not imagine my life without this little old man. Thank you again for allowing him to have his forever home with us”❤🐶🏠

“Daisy” 

Daisy was a dog that was abandoned in Colt State Park.  When we found her, she was emaciated and in rough shape.  Our vets, staff, and volunteers took care of her, and gave her lots of TLC.  It took months to get her back to health.  Our New Years resolution was to find Daisy the loving home she deserved. We are happy to say we did that & more!   We know Daisy’s New Years resolution is to love her new owner forever & ever.

“Della” 

Della, aka Luna, was a cat that came to us with her kittens.  They were in a house fire.  Luna’s kittens were all adopted, and then Luna found her fur-ever home!  Here is what SHE had to say:

“Hello wonderful new friends. It’s me Della (aka Luna) relaxing in my new forever home. I am so loved! Thanks again to Jen and the staff and volunteers for helping me. Big Purr to Bristol Animal Shelter”

“Tuuka” 

“Tuuka” aka Rufus was a stray that came into the animal shelter over a year ago.  It took awhile to find him his “furr”-ever home, but as you can see, it was worth the wait.  Here is what his new owner had to say:

“Happy forever day to my Tuukka. I can’t believe it’s already been a year with you. You’re the best dog anyone could ever ask for and I couldn’t be more thankful. Thank you to the Bristol Animal Shelter for giving me such a wonderful pup!”

“Woody”

“Woody” aka Timberlake, was one of 6 cats abandoned in an apartment when his owner moved out.  He was very timid when he first came to the shelter.  It didn’t take much socializing with him before he became a sweetheart!  Here is what his new owner had to say:

“Hello there, I wanted to say a HUGE THAN YOU for letting this cuddle bug into my life.  I adopted Tiberlake, no named Woody, on 11/26 after my sweet Cleo passed away (after 18 yrs)…This kid is such a joy and has totally settled in…I promise to spoil him rotten.

I am forever thankful,

Carla and Woody XO”

“Archie”

“Archie” aka Polar was a kitten that was born at the shelter with an eye defect. He had an inverted eyelid, and his eye lashes were causing a constant irritation to his eye. Archie was too young to have surgery, so his eye had to be treated twice a day to keep it lubricated. At 6 months old, Archie had his surgery. He may not be perfect, but he found his purr-fect home.

 

“Hachi“

Hachiko, or “Hachi” for short, is a true “ugly duckling” turned swan story. He found his way to the shelter after he was left injured from being hit by a car. Bruised, scraped up, and underweight, it was clear that this big sweet boy just needed a little extra TLC. Despite his injuries and unsightly cuts around his head, it was nothing short of love at first sight when one of our volunteers first saw him. The connection was instant as all Hachi longed for was to cuddle and be loved. His owner recalls, “I knew as soon as he laid his head in my lap and looked up at me that he was going to be my dog. Out of all of the dogs I saw as a volunteer, there was just something special about him I couldn’t pass up. It was going to be me and him, my best buddy, no matter what.” Today, Hachi no longer has to worry about running the streets as he spends most of his days cuddled up and lounging on the couch. And his injuries? All have completely healed and he is now one handsome dog.

“Daisy Darling” Now known to her family as “Babe”

In a society, the environment that we live in can dictate what we will become, and the course of our lives. In clean, safe surroundings, we are comfortable to be ourselves, and offer to those around us the best of what we are. We are healthy, happy and eager to give back to those that have made a positive impact on our lives. Meet Daisy Darling. Daisy Darling was a shelter transfer from a sister Rhode Island animal shelter that was in need of assistance due to construction. Housed in a large, oversized kennel, Daisy Darling was surrounded by much larger, rather nasty dogs. She was afforded no bedding, no comforts, no sense of security and the food offered to her was a large morsel dog food. There for months, Daisy was thin, dirty and had eyes filled with a fear that was overwhelming. Her surroundings were covered in dry urine and waste. When approached, this thin, three pound terror screamed out as though she were possessed with the spirit of a werewolf. Unapproachable and frightened, Daisy Darling was lost, panicked and striking back at those trying to offer her help, but given her difficult disposition, even cleaning her cage put a caregiver at risk. Daisy’s care- givers had evaluated her as having a vicious nature. Bristol Animal Control saw that something special in Daisy Darling, and knew that there was more to this frightened companion animal. Daisy was carefully leashed and walked out of her dark surroundings. Once scooped up and held, she buried her head and shook, looking up just once to kiss a cheek. Daisy Darling quickly adopted to her new surroundings, following staff and volunteers, eager to jump up and offer excited kisses. Daisy has been fully vetted, groomed, and adjusted quite well to life in the office. True to the mission statement of the Friends and Bristol Animal Shelter, in two short days, she found her forever home. In her new home Daisy now called Babe. She has flourished and has healed the hearts of her new owners. They thought they could never love again after their loss of their beloved pet, but Babe taught them that love lives on in their hearts always. Babe brings joy to them every day of their lives and they feel lucky have her.

“Maxwell, Cami and Ella”

May 20, 2013 we said goodbye to our beloved almost 15 year old Dalmatian. Our house was incredibly empty. We had discussed adopting kittens to fill the void. We had always had cats and missed their energy in the house. Our previous cats had all been so wonderful and we had lost them to old ages. If anything can help with grief, it’s kittens. I started to message Lori Martinez at Bristol Animal Shelter to see if there were any kittens available and erased the message. It had only been a few days since losing Lizzie. But then I retyped it again and sent it off. In my mind I thought it would be nice to have two female kittens as we had done in the past. Lori immediately answered that they had some kittens that were being bottle fed by a volunteer (Ellen O’Neill) who also happened to work at our Vet’s Kittens pretty trio 1 12-4-13office. There were 2 females and a male. I asked if we could take the females…thinking we would just do what we had done before. My husband wouldn’t hear of leaving the male behind. It was settled then and there that we would take all three when they were old enough to come home. It was the best thing we ever could have done. I was able to visit them and was shocked at how tiny they were. They were just starting to have wet food mixed with kitten milk replacement. They fit in the palm of your hand. They must have been between 4 and 5 weeks old then. At 7 weeks with the approval of their Vet Dr Grossi we were allowed to take them home. It was so intense at first because of their sizes and they needed extra attention and monitoring which was just what we needed. I brought them in for extra check-ups and weigh-ins for a few weeks until they really started to grow. We had spent the last 6 months intensively caring for our dog in her declining health. These kittens filled a huge hole in our hearts and gave us a great focus. Maxwell, Ella and Cami came home to stay. They rescued us. The weeks and months have gone by so fast and they are such characters. Just totally wonderful family members now. We can’t imagine not having them with us. On April 20th they were one year old. They are beautiful, fun loving, happy, affectionate cats. We have screened in a deck for them for some outdoor time when the weather is warmer, they have shelves on the walls around the house to climb on and they just enjoy every day. They keep us entertained and we love their individual personalities. Maxwell is a big gentle tiger, Cami is a solid grey comedian, and Ella a solid black beauty is the snuggler with the loudest purr. I can’t say enough about the wonderful people at Bristol Animal Shelter and the staff of Acoaxet Veterinary Clinic. We are very lucky to have them in our lives.

“Reba”

Before her rescue, there seemed to be no good answer, no good reason as to why Reba was alive. Her life had no reason. She received nothing from her family, no nourishment for her body or soul. In return, believing that she was nothing, she gave nothing to her humans. She just existed, she just was. And Reba believed that was what her life was meant to be. Life as Reba knew it was to barely exist inside dark, cramped rooms that was shared with too many humans, too many animals. The air was thick and pungent with rotting layers of debris, waste, and filth. Food was something that would fall on the floor and belonged to the one that grabbed it first. At only 18 months old she had already had a total of 9 children. Thin and sickly, she could barely care for herself, and lived with the shame of losing half her puppies. The life Reba knows now is wonderful. She has discovered that she is special, that she has worth. She has enjoyed so many things that she would have never thought possible. Rescued and at the Bristol Animal Shelter, Reba’s broken spirit was mended through kindness, gentle words and touches. She enjoyed all the simple things that give a companion animal happiness. Reba finally meant something to someone. She had friends, and discovered that she had as much to offer as to accept. Reba would have never guessed she could feel like she does today, that there is hope, kindness, and a future….. Reba has begun her new life with her new name, Trixie, and is with her forever family, who absolutely adore her.