Zane, Willa, Louis, & Siblings

Shelter

Photos of the 5 siblings while in TX

Zane, Willa, Louis, Cormac, Erickson, and 1 other sibling were all taken in by animal control in extremely rough shape, skinny, missing hair, and loaded with fleas/worms. The person who called them in said they just showed up one day and had been in the area for a week. Unfortunately the littlest girl, the runt of the litter, didn’t make it due to a combination of poor nutrition and parasites. The 5 remaining siblings in animal control were very scared and unsocialized to the point that they would hide and cry or pee themselves when a human reached for them. They came in around 6-7 weeks old and only weighed 3-5lbs. The rescue we partner with in TX were able to find the 5 siblings a foster home.

Upon intake, they were found to be loaded with hookworms, have bloated bellies, dry skin, were super skinny, and loaded with fleas and ticks, but otherwise no major injuries. In an update a few weeks later we were told the pups were gaining weight like crazy and starting to come out of their shells slowly. You can see the difference from their initial photos in animal control to their photos in the grass in their foster home! Their TX foster said that they were feral dogs and had probably never been touched by humans before they came to foster. So to say they were skittish was an understatement. They came so far in 2.5 weeks and she knew they would become such friendly, smart and healthy dogs! Before transport we were told that Zane is a lap dog, Willa and Louie want attention from people, Cormac and Erickson want to come say hello and get an ear scratch but then they had toys to wrestle over. The 5 dogs eventually came up in 2 groups. Erickson, Willa, and Zane were transported first and then followed by Cormac and Louis!

Foster

Zane, Willa, Louis, and Cormac in their foster home

Erickson went directly to foster-to-adopt while Zane, Willa, Louis, and Cormac all went into a foster home. All 4 dogs were in the same foster home and came up in pairs!

Below is what their foster mom said about the 4 siblings:

" When we first saw this little puppy family of five that was abandoned in Texas we knew we needed to help get them to Buffalo and find them a furever home... and we have a thing for black dogs. Unfortunately, there is no way we could take all four at the same time, so the first two to make the trip up were little Willa and Zane. When we came to the office to pick them up from the transport they were so scared and tried to hide behind all the bins in the office. Like most of the dogs they were a little smelly from transport so we got them a nice bath and they began their two week foster stay. Our dog Benzi was a gracious host and didn’t mind the non-stop playing. They had their first walks on leashes and were very confused as to why they couldn’t escape from us! They continued to work on their basic commands and Willa became obsessed with fetch! As predicted, they were hot commodities, and were quickly scooped up by two loving families!

Just a couple days after Willa and Zane were adopted, we picked up Cormac & Louie (aka Louis). THEY WERE SO MUCH BIGGER THAN THEIR SIBLINGS. When we got to transport the driver said they had been fighting the entire ride so we had no clue what we were getting into. Little did we know it was just Cormac picking on his little brother Louie. Cormac and Louie were even more shy than Willa and Zane. They really looked to our dog for guidance. They were great on leashes from the beginning and loved to snuggle up on the couch with us in the evening. Cormac was the first to be adopted and after he moved into his furever home, and Louie was by himself (probably for the first time in his life), we really got to see Louie’s goofy personality. Little Louie was adopted a just a couple days later!

All four of these dogs had their own personalities and they all hold a special place in our hearts. We’re fortunate enough to be friends with many of the families on Facebook and can’t wait to see them flourish in their amazing furever homes!"

Adoption

Willie (previously Zane)

Willie in his new furever home with his canine brother (notice the matching paws!)

From Willie's adopters:

"We adopted our Nash (part Blue Heeler) in August at 4 months old, we knew we would rescue another dog, but not till next spring, then we saw Zane's pic, and immediately fell in love, we knew we had to have him! After all, Zane (now Willie, after Willie Nelson since he is from Texas!) looks like a mini me of Nash. When we brought Willie home he was very timid and shy, Nash immediately wanted to play 24/7. Willie was a little overwhelmed & hesitant, but by the end of the first week, Willie was the instigator and putting up quite a fight playing with Nash. Willie loves to grab the side of Nash's face and pull, tug of war with a favorite toy is their favorite time. They have become best friends, cuddling, drinking, and playing together. I swear they even have their own language, crying and whining and  barking to each other. The first couple of nights Willie whimpered in the middle of the night, so we put Nash's crate right up next to Willie's crate and they both slept all night. Soon they will both be in our bed at night :) Willie is a great boy, hes doing great in his crate at night and with potty training, hes learned to sit and we are working on "shake" (shaking his paw) and fetch. He still is a bit timid, but is starting to open up more with us. We give him his space and he comes and snuggles up.He will be experiencing his first camping trip next weekend!  Nickle City, was a joy to work with, all of the volunteers have been amazing, and we are so glad Willie came into our life, we look forward to making many memories with him <3 Thank you for allowing us to love him!"

Willie playing with his new brother Nash!

Louis

Louis in his furever home!

From Louis's adopters:

"We are so grateful to have adopted this sweet boy! After we lost our dog, Sophi, in September, we weren't sure when we'd be ready for a new dog in the house. But, Louis fell into our lives unexpectedly and has brought us so much joy.

Louis is definitely a shy puppy and he gets a little nervous around new people. But, once he warms up, he is incredibly sweet and loves to snuggle. He enjoys running as fast as he can around his backyard to try and "catch" the falling snowflakes. He even started going to doggy day care and has made some new friends at the Knox Farm Dog Park.

Louis has very quickly become a part of our family, and in March, he will become a big brother to our baby girl on the way. We couldn't ask for a sweeter dog to grow up with our daughter. In the few short weeks that we've had him, Louis' true personality has started to come through. He is truly an old soul and we are so happy that found us.”

Layla (previously Willa)

Layla in her new furever home!

From Layla's adopters:

"My family and I decided to adopt because we feel every pup needs a home, we love animals and have had 3 dogs in the past that we love even though they have long since passed on. Layla was full of curiosity from the day we first saw her and took her home! She was shy at first but her personality came out as soon as we took her outside for the first time. She was rolling in the grass, and running around the yard. She loves to be curled up on our couch no matter how many times we tell her to get down. She loves her chewy bones and is a real sass when she wants what she wants, she grumbles back when we tell her no. She loves to run around the yard with one of us chasing her and is super friendly with other dogs and loves to lick everyone. She brings sticks in the house, enough to build a beaver dam. She's the queen of her doggie bed and she loves any and all food, crumbs, dirt, leaves and anything else she can chew on lol. She likes to chase ice cubes around the kitchen floor, and her reaction to snow for the very first time was priceless. Her favorite treats are peanut butter, carrots, and Cheerios. Within 3 days of having her at home, she already new sit, and give paw. She has radar ears; the very moment there is any crunching or the fridge door opens, she's there in a hot minute. She loves being home, she loves car rides, and visiting my sister or grandma. She acclimated to her new environment very quickly. The process was very quick and I was very satisfied with how welcoming the volunteers were and how kind the foster family was. She is very happy with our family and we love her very much! We are very grateful for Nickel City Canine Rescue and all their volunteers in helping us find Layla and bringing her to her forever home."

Congrats to Willie, Layla, Louis, Cormac, and Erickson and their new furever families!