Rehomed Dogs Thrive with Their New Families

Lucky dogs who found happy homes

This article was originally published in the June 2025 OVERview digital magazine.

Rehoming dogs is a compassionate process that involves finding new, loving homes for dogs who can no longer stay with their current owners. This may be due to changes in the owner’s circumstances, such as moving, health issues or financial difficulties, rather than any fault of the dog. And what one person may see as a challenge in a dog, someone else may see as a gift. These lucky dogs found happy homes where they got a fresh start and discovered the joys of agility.

Shadow (Mardi Richmond)

Now-retired dog trainer Mardi Richmond first met Shadow through one of her puppy classes, where Shadow’s first owner was overwhelmed by her energy.

“One of my training assistants worked with her individually to help her manage with this lovely high-drive cattle dog mix, but it wasn’t going well,” Mardi said. “I wasn’t looking for a dog. I had very recently lost my previous cattle dog, and we weren’t ready to start looking yet. But after four weeks of puppy classes, the young woman returned to class and said that she’d had it with this puppy. I told the young woman that I could bring my wife to meet Shadow the next day, and if all went well, we would take her.”

When Mardi tried to arrange a meeting the next morning, the young woman said that she’d already given the puppy to someone else. However, 10 days later, Mardi’s training assistant (who also worked at the local shelter) saw Shadow had been relinquished. Mardi had seen how special Shadow could be and immediately went to the shelter to adopt her.

Shadow (Mark Mutean photo)

“One advantage of getting a rehomed dog was that Shadow was already an older pup (about 6 months old), so she was past the super mouthy stage and was physically mature enough that housetraining was a breeze,” Mardi said. “We could also see her emerging personality."

She continued, “I think that with a private rehoming, you may get certain information from the original owner that can help with the transition, but it may mean something different to them than it means to you. For example, Shadow was described as hyper, although we could see she had an amazing focus for such a young dog, which didn’t exactly fit that description. Her ‘hyper’ energy turned out to be a compulsive disorder that manifested in chasing lights and shadows, among other things. With some medical intervention, she settled into a pretty typical cattle dog/Border Collie mix!”

Maus (Jennifer Woelke)

Jennifer Woelke wanted to start on her next sporting partner when she came across a courtesy post for then 2-year-old Maus at Lulubelle Rescue. His previous owner was moving to Los Angeles and needed to rehome him.

“I haven’t had any issues with getting dogs from shelters,” Jennifer said. “Maus was already housetrained as he had lived in an apartment, and he’d lived as a pet alongside a cat and a Pit Bull mix. I like that when you get an older dog, you have a good idea of what that dog is like right off the bat.”

Maus

Now age 11, Maus is still in the agility game. He and Jennifer podiumed at Cynosport^® in the Strategic Games in 2024. “Don’t be afraid to take on a dog that needs a new home!” she added for her fellow dog enthusiasts. “Maus and I have excelled in agility, and he has been a wonderful addition to the family.”

Huey (Kathleen Clark Schaefer)

“Huey, a rehome through rescue, turned 4 years old recently! It took almost two years to get a solid start line with him, but it was worth every second of it to run agility with him." 

Huey