A Note from smokey

Dear Santa’s Friends,

This past year has been ruff. In September 2021, I was sent to live at Hope’s 2nd Chance after my mom’s partner attacked my mom. She called the police and he then also attacked them. My mom had to move because she could not afford the house anymore so she moved in with a group of people (way too many people in a small space) who then neglected and also abused me. Finally, she found H2C and sent me here until she found more stable housing.

I returned to my family last year right before Christmas! But, I was sent back to H2C in April. My mom was kicked out of where she was living and where she was headed next would not allow me to join her. After about a month of her looking for new housing she realized that she would not be able to find an affordable place for her to stay that allowed an “aggressive” breed like pit bulls.

So, I have been staying at H2C ever since looking for my new family. During this time I have witnessed the huge impact H2C has had on many new foster friends. I have seen many dogs and cats come and go while their moms looked for a safe place. Within 6 months, there have been 16 pets spending time here. A couple cute girls were only here for 17 days, but one of my old lady friends was here for 200 days. I hear that she is very happy back with her mom now.

Some of my foster friends had even worse stories than me! Many have told me of their moms and siblings and how strong and amazing they are. I know it takes a lot of strength and bravery and is very difficult to leave.

I have been quite lonely lately as I am the only one in the kennels. I have heard my favoritest human, Haley, talk about not having enough money to help more moms and pets right now because vet and food bills are so high. She is stressed because she still gets many calls from people needing help but she has to turn them away. Because H2C is so special and there is nothing like it anywhere else in Michigan, she has no place to refer people to and this makes us both very upset.

Although I may act tuff I am too sensitive to stay in a shelter and people that do not know dogs well are somewhat scared of me. I am also not good at first impressions. Don’t get me wrong, the people at H2C are great but I want to cuddle, be an 80 pound lap dog, and have all of the attention I can get. Please, all I want for Christmas is a loving home where there is no abuse. That’s all any of us want…

Also, if you have some extra magic left in you this year I would like to help H2C care for more pets so others can be safe from abuse like me. You can either visit the website at: https://hopes2ndchance.org/donate/ or mail a check to Hope’s 2nd Chance Animal Sanctuary, PO Box 37 Saranac, MI 48881. Funding is very much needed to open back up.

Thank you for reading my letter. I’ll make sure to leave out carrots for the reindeer!

Love Smokey

PS from Haley: If you or someone you know is interested in giving Smokey a home please email me with any questions ([email protected]). We do not adopt out through H2C so we have partnered with the Humane Society of West Michigan for the adoption process. Although we are still housing Smokey because of his sensitive nature and love for me and H2C volunteers. He would really love a home for the holidays.

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