Posts from the ‘Dog Rescue’ Category

Honoring Victory: Introducing Jack — the ‘right’ little sheltie Victory sent to us!

We all miss Victory terribly. We have all experienced such a tremendous loss, that is difficult to articulate. Victory has forever left a positive imprint on our hearts. We know that Victory’s body is free of sickness and pain; and we know her spirit is always with us. I think of all the wonderful gifts Victory gave to us, which we continue to receive. Victory opened our hearts and taught us so much more about ourselves, including how to be better humans. We cannot thank Victory enough for her unconditional love, joy, light, and loyal companionship she brought to our lives. We know in our hearts that Victory would want us to adopt another sheltie rescue like her, so another sheltie rescue can have a second chance to have a wonderful life like Victory and Biscuit. We have always believed that Victory would send us the ‘right’ sheltie at the ‘right’ time.

This past fall, we let the Michigan Sheltie Rescue and its Director, Carol Strotheide, know about Victory’s passing. To our surprise, Victory worked fast; within a month of her passing, she sent us another rescue sheltie named Jack in need of a forever home. Jack is now a one-year old sable sheltie who we recently welcomed to our family in early November 2025. Notably, he came from the same rescue organization, the Michigan Sheltie Rescue, and he was cared for by the same foster mom that saved Victory 12 years ago. It was providence. Jack comes to us from a suspected backyard breeder, where he lived the first months of his life in horrifying conditions—in a filthy, dark barn, where he did not receive proper care. Jack was subsequently purchased, where he lived a short time, including enduring a broken leg, which required orthopedic surgery, for which Jack fully recovered. Jack was then relinquished to the Michigan Sheltie Rescue during the summer of 2025. We truly believe Victory identified Jack to be a member of our family to help heal our hearts, especially Alex’s heart. Alex is delighted to be a “big sister,” and she is excited to have a front-row seat to witness Jack’s transformation.

In early November 2025, we all traveled to Grand Rapids, Michigan, to adopt Jack, a 24 hour trip, round trip! We were excited to meet him in person after his foster mom, Karen, sent us a few photos of Jack. Karen did such a wonderful job over the three months she worked with Jack and cared for him. We will never forget meeting Jack in person for the first time—he was such a handsome little guy who was very nervous, as he had lived in various placements in a short period of time. Jack is precious—his coloring is reminiscent of Victory’s fur coat, he is a bigger build, and he is such a kind little guy. We often say, he does not have a mean bone in his body. Jack has now been with our family for 11 weeks, as I write this post during the snowstorm, hitting the D.C. area pretty hard. When we first brought him home, after a long drive back to Maryland, he was on the move constantly, not really able to settle himself; and any noise really scared and alarmed him. After 11 weeks together, Jack is doing really well. His anxiety has lessened; noises still startle him, and he dislikes the vacuum and the hair dryer, but he is feeling more comfortable overall, we believe. We gave him his first bath, and Alex was such a good sport—she put on her swimsuit, and got in the bathtub with Jack, as it took all three of us to keep Jack in the tub, but we got him bathed! Jack is not a fan of the car, as we have been going to the vet to catch up on his vaccinations, after his initial vet visit this past fall, where he received a clean bill of health, thankfully. We hope when the weather gets warmer, this spring, we will be able to associate the car with positive experiences like going out to dinner, to ice cream, more fun type outings! Presently, we have been working with our vet on implementing a plan to mitigate his anxiety in the car. We are certain with more time, Jack will feel even more confident, and more of his personality will continue to shine through.

Further, Jack absolutely loves his walks, and he is very strong with a ton of energy! He also loves the snow—perhaps he is a Midwest boy at heart! He would walk all day if he could! He already has made friends with many of the other dogs in the neighborhood, and he loves the ladies! He is extremely social! He gets so excited when we say, “Do you want to go for a walk!?” His tail goes up and wags, immediately, and he lets out a few barks! He has found his vocal cords as well! He loves treats and vanilla ice cream (on occasion)! Most of all, he loves being with us. He is my shadow—he follows me everywhere! He loves his toys, which he loves to chew. Jack is an early riser, and we are working on his sleeping in a little on the weekends! Each morning, he jumps into our bed and licks us profusely, wanting to get his day started! Right now, he likes to sleep in his soft crate in our bedroom, but he is spending more and more time in our bed, as he feels more comfortable. He is a smart little sheltie, too—he immediately figured out how to unzip his soft crate (from the interior) right away, so he just roams in and out as he wants, but he is only sleeping in his soft crate, and he likes to be by our side otherwise. We are grateful for Jack, and we look forward to many adventures together with Jack—he is truly a gift to our little family!

Pictured below is a photo of Jack from his foster mom that she sent to us; and a few photos of Jack, including a video since joining our family!

Here is a photo of Jack from his foster mom while he was in the care of the Michigan Sheltie Rescue.

Here is Jack and Alex together on his adoption day!

Here is a more recent photo of Jack!

Here are a few photos of Jack and Alex together since he arrived home.

Here is a recent short video of Jack and Alex! We highly recommend this body leash, Alex loves it!

Here is a photo of our loves, during the recent snow storm!