This is a picture of Trixie. She came to us, simply skin and bones, with her litter of almost-weaned puppies.

She had been chained outside at a home where the family was in the process of moving, were often gone to see to this and many neighbors reported that the dogs weren't being fed and watered regularly. Finally they agreed to give up Trixie and the pups. From the day we had her, despite obvious near-starvation and not much care, she always looked as she does in the picture: smiling, affectionate, just a golden ray of sunshine.

After Trixie put on enough weight that she could withstand surgery, she went to be spayed. From there she went to a PetSmart store in St. Louis. We had the adoption event under tents in the parking lot. A family came along and were drawn to Trixie by her sparkling personality. They weren't really looking to get a dog, but there Trixie was, totally irresistible. We offered to let them take Trixie in foster care for two weeks prior to adopting as they hadn't been thinking of a dog up until this time.

Two weeks later, they returned to make Trixie a permanent part of their family. They thanked us for the foster program, stating that otherwise they might have walked away, but after having had her home they could no longer imagine life without her. And Trixie? Well, as I said, she was happy under not very good conditions ... and with this family she simply radiated joy. The malnourished and neglected little dog had found her forever home.