October 2004 Heidi writes:
If you ever start to lose faith in the kindness of others, listen to our story of Ray. After seeing Ray on the Poodle Club of Southern California's web site, Tom and Laura Lois decided to take a chance and call for more information.
Ray is not a beautiful young puppy or an energetic 5-year-old bundle of joy or even a spunky poodle of later years. Ray is at best 12 years old and probably more like 14. I cringed as I told them the list of age related ailments, and I thought surely they would shy away. You see, his one "good" eye isn't so good; he doesn't hear unless you whistle or clap loudly, he has numerous warts, bumps and a hernia on his stomach. But what Ray does have is a beautiful long tail that wags the minute he knows you're near and a kind face that makes you smile. I still get a tear in my eye when I think of how quickly my husband Joe and I fell in love with this older guy.
Tom and Laura were not scared away by these physical ailments or his age. Much to my surprise, they were anxious to drive more than 18 hours round trip from Tucson, Arizona to Ventura, California to adopt Ray.
During the adoption process Laura emailed: "This probably sounds silly, but Tom and I both feel Luke, (their 17 year old miniature poodle that recently passed away) would want us to share our home with an older dog who hadn't had the good life he enjoyed. He was a great guy".
Ray now lives in Tucson with his "sister" Lily, a white Standard Poodle and enjoys evening rides around the neighborhood in a golf cart and daily walks. Rumor has it that Ray has his nose to the wind hoping to catch the scent of the beautiful toy poodle that also walks the same route and he can become quite a handful on the leash when she is near.
Volunteers Needed: The Poodle Club of Southern California does NOT have a shelter facility. All of our Poodles are fostered in private homes. We ask that foster homes commit to housing the poodle until he or she is adopted. If you would be interested in fostering a Poodle OR volunteering to drive to pick up Poodles, please contact Heidi at 1 (805) 647-6432 