Success Story

Star

Heavenly Creature

Eight years ago, Rebecca Simstein of Winston-Salem, NC, found a dehydrated, exhausted puppy abandoned by the side of a rural road. “When we put her in the back seat of our car, she immediately curled up and went to sleep,” Rebecca recalls.

The three-month-old, whom Rebecca named Star for the white star on her chest, wasn’t able to immediately connect with her new family. “It definitely took her awhile to blossom,” Rebecca remembers. “She wasn't afraid, exactly, but she was distant.” After only a few weeks, however, Star showed her family just how “down to earth” she really is.

At a healthy 75 pounds, Star races around her yard, enjoys pulling the stuffing out of toys in 30 seconds flat and, despite her celestial name, has a great relationship with terra firma. “She loves to sit in the front yard for hours at a time and survey her land,” says Rebecca. “There's a wonderful view of the forest and mountains here.”

This moony lovebug has also revealed her favorite earthly delights, and isn’t above playing a good trick to get them. “She loves bagels and peanut butter,” Rebecca tells us. “She’ll look at me and bark a little, as if she needs to go outside, but when I stand up, she leads me into the kitchen instead of to the front door. She’s training me quite well!"

According to her mom, Star always stays active, even in the orbit of her dreams. “At night she sleeps on the bed with her head on the pillow and wags her tail in her sleep,” says Rebecca. Apparently, all is well in the heavens and on earth!



Submit your Success Story

To submit your Success Story, please email us at happytails@aspca.org. If your story is chosen, it will be featured on our website and weekly newsletter. Please include:

  • Your full name and e-mail address.
  • Your story - please include the month and year you brought your animal companion home, how he/she has changed since then and some funny quirks about your pet's personality.
  • Up to three photos in JPG format.
  • Please write "Happy Tail" in the subject line.

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