I had recently lost my soul dog and wasn’t sure I’d adopt again, but I still had love to give. I saw Alex on the JHS website and went to meet him. He backed up for butt scratches and gently took treats. I left because I had a trip planned, but I couldn’t sleep that night. I canceled my vacation and adopted him as soon as JHS opened on Monday.

After going through the rows of dogs at JHS we saw this chunky baby who just seemed to happy to see people. When we were able to meet him in one of the rooms, he was so excited he was snorting like a pig. My husband and I knew we loved him right away. He ended up jumping and sitting on my lap which made me say, I want him!

In 2018, my daughters convinced me we needed a dog. At the Jacksonville Humane Society, we asked about one we’d spotted, but a staff member listened to what I was looking for and suggested Kal instead. He was right. A trainer once told me Kal should be the poster child for adopting big dogs and would make a wonderful therapy dog. He wouldn’t hurt a thing, except maybe the occasional stuffed animal.

We saw Dolly (formally known as Tahini) and instantly fell in love.  I knew as soon as I got her home, she was home with us. We signed her papers the following Monday. Big dogs deserve just as much love & attention, they are the most people loving.

When we first saw him in the shelter he was napping and you could tell he was just very exhausted, but he smiled his little smile and wiggled at us. We immediately knew he was coming home with us. We have had such an amazing experience with both our rescues from local shelters and can't speak highly enough about the experience of adopting.

We adopted Cooper because our family had a space in it after losing Memphis. What we didn’t know was just how much love, laughter, and life Cooper would bring with him when he came home. I wish more people knew just how much of a love bug a big dog can be. They may look intimidating because of their size, but so many of them are incredibly kind, affectionate, gentle, and honestly just big babies who want to be loved.