Where to start….  Before I get to the adventures of Annie, I need to start off with the life of Dixie.  Dixie came into our lives August of 1992. She was a vital part of our family’s growth for the next 15 years. She passed away March 2007. Although, at that time I was committed never to get attached to another animal again the void was too great for my wife and soul mate, Kathy. She started the search for a pet to fill that void. This journey would be both fulfilling and disappointing.  Kathy found a few dogs in shelter by word of mouth or on the Internet. Most didn't click, and I was still adamant about no more pets. 

This is the Bio on Annie

Meet our little Annie! It’s hard to believe that this sweet lass, who was wearing a collar, was found as a stray. Sadly though, no one ever came to claim her. We were stumped as to her breed mix, but our best guess it that she’s possibly a mix of Australian Shepherd and possibly some other type of Shepherd. Whatever she is, we think this beautiful girl, who we approximate at about 6-7 years old, is one gorgeous gal!!

Annie was scared when she first came to her foster home, but has been slowly coming out of her shell and steadily been making progress. She is still a little timid and nervous, but if you are patient with her, and give her a chance to make friends, then she begins to warm up. She adores her foster mom, who she always greets with her adorable, wagging half-tail, and has been quickly forming bonds with the rest of her foster family. She is a little on the thin side right now, but her foster family has been feeding her plenty of nutritious food to help her fill out.

She gets along well with the other mellow dogs in her foster home, although she seems to prefer being with her humans, and wants to have all the attention from her people, for herself. She would do fine in a home with another dog(s), as long as they were mellow, or even as an only dog. She was also tested with cats, and she did just wonderfully. Her foster mom calls Annie "the little shadow”, because wherever her foster family is, Annie is always two steps behind or lying close by!!

She is housebroken, up to date on her shots, spayed, and is also being crate trained. She is gentle and will take treats gingerly. Annie would definitely make a great leisurely, walking companion, as she loves to explore. She is a mellow girl who would do well in a calm environment, with a loving, patient family that will continue to help her come out of her shell. You can just see in her eyes the love she is yearning for, and will make any family that adopts her, a wonderful companion.

After a lengthy application process along with many emails and phone calls we were approved to adopt Annie. When asked why a family from New Hampshire wanted to adopt a dog from New Jersey when there were dogs available in our home town, my wife simply replied that "Annie was a dog without a family and we are a family without a dog. I fell in love with Annie as soon as I saw the picture of her (shown above) and read her story.  The fact that she was in New Jersey and we were in NH was nothing more then geography to me." So began our quest to travel south, 5 hrs one way to meet her. It was Love at First sight for all of us, Kathy, our oldest daughter Carissa and I. She seemed fine all the way home, yet when we stopped to walk Annie, she was very skiddish around moving vehicle.

Progress forward about , once home she seem fine, albeit standoffish about food. Everything she ate went in and out as quickly. She was so sick. Dr. Handel gave us different things to try and they seemed to be working. We would go forward for a week and then have a set back. She was loosing weight and becoming weak.  Annie was vomiting and looking so sad.  Through lots of tests, medication, exploratory surgery, and lots of love (from all the staff at Handel with Care along with our family) we found that Annie has a food allergy.   Once diagnosed Annie began a diet of special food ONLY along with short term heavy medication over a period of weeks, then a small amount of long term medication.  She is now thriving.  She is very happy, healthy and the love of our lives.  We are so grateful for the care she received from everyone at Handel with Care.

Sincerely Brian and Kathy Fowler