I searched on many different rescue websites, primarily on the east coast and at rescues where the dogs were at risk for euthanasia. Animals in Texas, California, North Carolina, Florida, and Alabama account for more than half of all shelter animals killed in the country.
Over several days, I filled out over a dozen applications for rescue dogs. I found that the adoption process for most of them was slow and extremely detailed.
On August 22nd, I came across a dog named "Hubert" from Animal Care and Control. He was being fostered by a girl named Meghan in Charlotte, North Carolina. I reached out to her via email and shared my story and our recent loss. I asked a few questions about Hubert to make sure he would be a good fit for us. I was delighted when she responded back rather quickly with additional information about Hubert. She answered all of my questions and appreciated that I wanted to make sure he was a good fit for us. It was important to us to find a small dog (less than 20 lbs) that would enjoy our active lifestyle and travel. We were looking for a young dog over the age of one and a dog that gets along with cats. Hubert seemed like the perfect fit. I'll be honest - at first I found myself primary searching for chihuahuas and any dog that resembled Campy but I knew that was because I missed Campy. There was something about Hubert that reminded us of Campy but he was also very different. We fell in love with Hubert's ears and his innocent eyes.
A few days later we had a facetime chat with Meghan, virtually met Hubert and discussed the opportunity for us to meet Hubert through a program that Animal Care and Control offers called a 'Staycation.' We mentioned to Meghan that we would be traveling to Italy the following week and we didn't want to adopt a dog before we left. Because Meghan wasn't allowed to put Hubert on hold until we came back from Italy, Meghan came up with the idea that we could take in Hubert for a few days as part of their Staycation program. If we decided it wasn't the right fit, he would return to Meghan. If we wanted to move forward with the adoption, she said she would petsit for us (at her house) while we were away for 10 days.
On August 24th (Saturday) we met Hubert in Greer, SC. A friend of Meghans was traveling to our area from Charlotte and said she could transport Hubert to meet us. We instantly fell in love with Hubert. He was sweet, energetic and happy. Karel's mom was with us and we loved how well he acted around her. As soon as we returned home, we stopped by my mom's house and she quickly said "he's going to be a good boy." Despite his background of being abandoned, he was comfortable around people.
First time meeting Sunny
Falling in love with Sunny
Driving Sunny to reunite with Meghan after we officially adopted him.
Sunny gets one last visit with Meghan before he comes to his forever home with us.
Introducing Sunny to his big fenced yard.
Taking into account the 3-3-3 rule of adopting a rescue, we knew the first few days would be a bit overwhelming for Hubert. He was in a new house, he was surrounded by five cats, he was sleeping in a new house, meeting new people, going for car rides and going for walks. Although we probably did too much with him when during his staycation, we quickly realized that we needed him in our life.
On Monday August 26th we told Meghan that we would like to make it official and adopt Hubert.
Hubert's adoption fee was $103, which included his neuter. We asked the foster coordinator if we could get him neutered in Greenville (instead of Charlotte) and she said that was fine. Even though it was more expensive at our local vet, we didn't want to bring on any added stress to Hubert.
It was hard to drop off Hubert with Meghan on the day before we left for Italy but he was excited to see her familiar face. We missed him a lot during our trip but we knew that when we returned from Karel's extreme triathlon in Italy, we would officially welcome Hubert to our family on September 12th.
I couldn't wait to pick up Hubert on September 12th. Meghan met me at the Gaffney outlets. I was so excited when I saw Hubert and I was happy that he remembered me. The outlets hold a special place in my heart for it is the same location where we used to meet our friend Christy when she would watch Campy while we traveled. It's ~50 minutes from where we live and ~50 minutes from Charlotte.
We liked the name Hubert but we felt he needed a name that meant something to us. After brainstorming for several days, we came up with the name Sunny. Our life has been dark without Campy and Sunny was giving us the sunshine that we needed to feel happy again.
Sunny’s (formerly Hubert) Journey at CMACC
Sunny is said to be ~1.5 years old and sometime in July, he ended up at a high kill shelter in North Carolina due to being abandoned in an apartment with his brother Benz. Apparently, the owners of Sunny and Benz were the ones who called the shelter to report that someone had abandoned their dogs - and this wasn’t the first time the police dealt with these people calling in (their) abandoned animals. We don't know how long they were left in the apartment but it was a few days. Benz had a severe broken leg that was never cared for, and he wore it down to the bone walking on it. Benz eventually got the leg amputated and recovered like a rock star and was adopted soon after by a great family.
Sunny was at the shelter for less than a week when he was picked up by Meghan. When she first met him, he came out to the lobby wiggling and giving kisses.
Once he got into foster, he hid in his crate a lot because that was his safe space. He loved affection so he soon learned to trust Meghan and that it was okay to come on the couch with her.
He also quickly learned her cat doesn’t appreciate dogs invading his space. Meghan shared the story of the first time Sunny got swatted at by her cat, and ran into his crate and wouldn’t open his eyes. She had to pick him up and tell him to open his eyes, that it’s okay. He was wagging his little tail but was too scared to open his eyes. We had the same thing happen at our house with Mia. We seriously thought he damaged his eye, only to learn that he was just scared to open his eyes and was being extra dramatic. That hasn't stopped him from playing with our cats - especially Asher (our tuxedo).
Sunny had a few different temp foster stays with some of the other fosters in the group while Meghan was out of town for a few weekends. He enjoyed playing around with the dogs and he looked so proud that he was invited into their club. Meghan thinks those dogs helped him gain some confidence and come out of his shell.
Sunny slowly started showing more and more of his personality over several weeks. Eventually he no longer retreated to his crate and just wanted to be by his person all the time.
Meghan said that Sunny was a special foster – he was always smiling and wiggling and such a happy little guy to just be around you. She is sad to think what his first year of life was probably like, but she's happy that he got out of that situation at a young age.
I stay in touch with Meghan and send her videos and pictures via text on a weekly basis. I love showing how far he has come and how much we are enjoying his company.
Knowing Sunny's story helped us better understand his personality.
Although Sunny was sweet to us, after a few days of adopting Sunny, we noticed he had more anxious behaviors. He wouldn't eat his food but instead he would hide it. After he played, he would come inside and act hysterical - wound up with energy. At random times he would excessively dig into blankets or the couch/bed. He would walk outside with his face near the ground and would obsessively eat sticks. One of the biggest concerns was seeing how reactive he was in the prescence of other dogs. He couldn't even look at a dog up the street without barking hysterically. He was extremely barky (we couldn't get him to stop), he didn’t know how to act around strangers, he would nip when he got excited and after a long walk outside, he was wound up with energy.
Although Campy had similar issues, Campy was only 10 lbs and it was easy for me to scoop him up and remove him from any situation. Although Sunny is not a big dog, he is 16 lbs which makes it difficult to quickly pick him up.
We knew Sunny was a very happy and smart dog but we felt he had a lot of anxiety and uncertainty about life due to his past. And with five cats in our house, his barks and wild energy made our house feel divided and stressful.
We never had experience with obedience training as Campy was our first and only dog. We knew we needed to help Sunny feel more confident and comfortable. I did some research and realized that much of Sunny's behaviors were due to anxiety and the need for more mental stimulation. After researching several different behavior training schools, we selected @dogtrainingeliteupstatesc because of their reviews and testimonials.
We enrolled Sunny in the gold elite package. It was a pricey investment but we knew we needed to do something to help Sunny so that he could enjoy our active lifestyle with us. The package consisted of two home visits, 5 days of group training in the facility (M-F, 9am-4pm) and six months of free group classes. This package also included an e-collar (not a shock collar) which is how the trainers work with the dogs.
We were skeptical about the training (and the collar) as we have no prior experience in dog training and we asked a lot of questions about the collar to make sure it was safe.
After the first in-home visit (~90 minutes) with trainer Casey, Sunny was a changed dog. We couldn’t believe how quickly he learned “come” and “off.” Sunny thrived at school and responded so well to his 3-4 different trainers, Each day he learned a new skill like place, down, heel and sit. After each day of class, before we picked up Sunny, we watched a tutorial video of how to give commands and watched videos of Sunny in action. And although we don't mind some barking, Sunny can control his barking.
On the way to school.
Since the training, we don't say "no", raise our voice or use the collar for punishment. We don't have to use treats for rewarding good behavior. Everything Sunny learned has been through positive reinforcement. The collar is simply a mode of communication. Sunny still deals with some anxiety being alone but the training helps wear out his mind before we leave.
Sunny feels secure in his collar and he loves working on his new skills. He loves to learn and loves to please.
Whereas before we were extra careful where we walked Sunny, we can now let Sunny off leash and he has more opportunities (and freedom) in life thanks to his training (and collar). He gets excited to put on his collar and work on his skills and we love taking him new places. The training also helps him use his mind which helps him relax.
After just five days of his school, we saw his confidence improve, he’s no longer anxious, the cats are calm around him, we can peacefully coexist around other dogs (and he loves to play with dogs!) and he has so much more freedom in life. Whereas before we couldn't take him places because of his barking and anxiety, we can now take him anywhere and he is a joy to be around. He is still a happy and fun dog with his unique personality and traits but he feels comfort knowing that we are helping him safely navigate this new world. We are so happy that Sunny has so many more opportunities in life thanks to his good behaviors and listening skills - all thanks to Dog Training Elite.
Enjoying downtown Greenville with Sunny
Sunny loves the fireplace.
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Off the leash at Furman
Sunny and Ella
Off the leash in Traveler's Rest
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Sunny and Sylvi
Sunny and Asher
We recently did a DNA test on Sunny (via the Wisdom panel) and the results showed that Sunny is....
A few days later we had a facetime chat with Meghan, virtually met Hubert and discussed the opportunity for us to meet Hubert through a program that Animal Care and Control offers called a 'Staycation.' We mentioned to Meghan that we would be traveling to Italy the following week and we didn't want to adopt a dog before we left. Because Meghan wasn't allowed to put Hubert on hold until we came back from Italy, Meghan came up with the idea that we could take in Hubert for a few days as part of their Staycation program. If we decided it wasn't the right fit, he would return to Meghan. If we wanted to move forward with the adoption, she said she would petsit for us (at her house) while we were away for 10 days.
On August 24th (Saturday) we met Hubert in Greer, SC. A friend of Meghans was traveling to our area from Charlotte and said she could transport Hubert to meet us. We instantly fell in love with Hubert. He was sweet, energetic and happy. Karel's mom was with us and we loved how well he acted around her. As soon as we returned home, we stopped by my mom's house and she quickly said "he's going to be a good boy." Despite his background of being abandoned, he was comfortable around people.
First time meeting Sunny
Falling in love with Sunny
Driving Sunny to reunite with Meghan after we officially adopted him.
Sunny gets one last visit with Meghan before he comes to his forever home with us.
Introducing Sunny to his big fenced yard.
On Monday August 26th we told Meghan that we would like to make it official and adopt Hubert.
Hubert's adoption fee was $103, which included his neuter. We asked the foster coordinator if we could get him neutered in Greenville (instead of Charlotte) and she said that was fine. Even though it was more expensive at our local vet, we didn't want to bring on any added stress to Hubert.
It was hard to drop off Hubert with Meghan on the day before we left for Italy but he was excited to see her familiar face. We missed him a lot during our trip but we knew that when we returned from Karel's extreme triathlon in Italy, we would officially welcome Hubert to our family on September 12th.
I couldn't wait to pick up Hubert on September 12th. Meghan met me at the Gaffney outlets. I was so excited when I saw Hubert and I was happy that he remembered me. The outlets hold a special place in my heart for it is the same location where we used to meet our friend Christy when she would watch Campy while we traveled. It's ~50 minutes from where we live and ~50 minutes from Charlotte.
We liked the name Hubert but we felt he needed a name that meant something to us. After brainstorming for several days, we came up with the name Sunny. Our life has been dark without Campy and Sunny was giving us the sunshine that we needed to feel happy again.
Sunny’s (formerly Hubert) Journey at CMACC
Sunny is said to be ~1.5 years old and sometime in July, he ended up at a high kill shelter in North Carolina due to being abandoned in an apartment with his brother Benz. Apparently, the owners of Sunny and Benz were the ones who called the shelter to report that someone had abandoned their dogs - and this wasn’t the first time the police dealt with these people calling in (their) abandoned animals. We don't know how long they were left in the apartment but it was a few days. Benz had a severe broken leg that was never cared for, and he wore it down to the bone walking on it. Benz eventually got the leg amputated and recovered like a rock star and was adopted soon after by a great family.
Sunny was at the shelter for less than a week when he was picked up by Meghan. When she first met him, he came out to the lobby wiggling and giving kisses.
Once he got into foster, he hid in his crate a lot because that was his safe space. He loved affection so he soon learned to trust Meghan and that it was okay to come on the couch with her.
He also quickly learned her cat doesn’t appreciate dogs invading his space. Meghan shared the story of the first time Sunny got swatted at by her cat, and ran into his crate and wouldn’t open his eyes. She had to pick him up and tell him to open his eyes, that it’s okay. He was wagging his little tail but was too scared to open his eyes. We had the same thing happen at our house with Mia. We seriously thought he damaged his eye, only to learn that he was just scared to open his eyes and was being extra dramatic. That hasn't stopped him from playing with our cats - especially Asher (our tuxedo).
Sunny had a few different temp foster stays with some of the other fosters in the group while Meghan was out of town for a few weekends. He enjoyed playing around with the dogs and he looked so proud that he was invited into their club. Meghan thinks those dogs helped him gain some confidence and come out of his shell.
Sunny slowly started showing more and more of his personality over several weeks. Eventually he no longer retreated to his crate and just wanted to be by his person all the time.
Meghan said that Sunny was a special foster – he was always smiling and wiggling and such a happy little guy to just be around you. She is sad to think what his first year of life was probably like, but she's happy that he got out of that situation at a young age.
I stay in touch with Meghan and send her videos and pictures via text on a weekly basis. I love showing how far he has come and how much we are enjoying his company.
Knowing Sunny's story helped us better understand his personality.
Although Sunny was sweet to us, after a few days of adopting Sunny, we noticed he had more anxious behaviors. He wouldn't eat his food but instead he would hide it. After he played, he would come inside and act hysterical - wound up with energy. At random times he would excessively dig into blankets or the couch/bed. He would walk outside with his face near the ground and would obsessively eat sticks. One of the biggest concerns was seeing how reactive he was in the prescence of other dogs. He couldn't even look at a dog up the street without barking hysterically. He was extremely barky (we couldn't get him to stop), he didn’t know how to act around strangers, he would nip when he got excited and after a long walk outside, he was wound up with energy.
Although Campy had similar issues, Campy was only 10 lbs and it was easy for me to scoop him up and remove him from any situation. Although Sunny is not a big dog, he is 16 lbs which makes it difficult to quickly pick him up.
We knew Sunny was a very happy and smart dog but we felt he had a lot of anxiety and uncertainty about life due to his past. And with five cats in our house, his barks and wild energy made our house feel divided and stressful.
We never had experience with obedience training as Campy was our first and only dog. We knew we needed to help Sunny feel more confident and comfortable. I did some research and realized that much of Sunny's behaviors were due to anxiety and the need for more mental stimulation. After researching several different behavior training schools, we selected @dogtrainingeliteupstatesc because of their reviews and testimonials.
We enrolled Sunny in the gold elite package. It was a pricey investment but we knew we needed to do something to help Sunny so that he could enjoy our active lifestyle with us. The package consisted of two home visits, 5 days of group training in the facility (M-F, 9am-4pm) and six months of free group classes. This package also included an e-collar (not a shock collar) which is how the trainers work with the dogs.
We were skeptical about the training (and the collar) as we have no prior experience in dog training and we asked a lot of questions about the collar to make sure it was safe.
After the first in-home visit (~90 minutes) with trainer Casey, Sunny was a changed dog. We couldn’t believe how quickly he learned “come” and “off.” Sunny thrived at school and responded so well to his 3-4 different trainers, Each day he learned a new skill like place, down, heel and sit. After each day of class, before we picked up Sunny, we watched a tutorial video of how to give commands and watched videos of Sunny in action. And although we don't mind some barking, Sunny can control his barking.
On the way to school.
Sunny feels secure in his collar and he loves working on his new skills. He loves to learn and loves to please.
Whereas before we were extra careful where we walked Sunny, we can now let Sunny off leash and he has more opportunities (and freedom) in life thanks to his training (and collar). He gets excited to put on his collar and work on his skills and we love taking him new places. The training also helps him use his mind which helps him relax.
After just five days of his school, we saw his confidence improve, he’s no longer anxious, the cats are calm around him, we can peacefully coexist around other dogs (and he loves to play with dogs!) and he has so much more freedom in life. Whereas before we couldn't take him places because of his barking and anxiety, we can now take him anywhere and he is a joy to be around. He is still a happy and fun dog with his unique personality and traits but he feels comfort knowing that we are helping him safely navigate this new world. We are so happy that Sunny has so many more opportunities in life thanks to his good behaviors and listening skills - all thanks to Dog Training Elite.
Enjoying downtown Greenville with Sunny
Sunny loves the fireplace.
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Off the leash at Furman
Sunny and Ella
Off the leash in Traveler's Rest
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Sunny and Sylvi
Sunny and Asher
Thank you for reading Sunny's story. I hope his story inspires you to rescue/adopt or to support animal rescues and shelters.
Off the leash skill work in Traveler's Rest
Waiting for the OK to eat dinner
Sunny loves the sun!
We love Sunny's spots. He has very little hair on his belly. Suprisingly he doesn't shed.