Sanctuary

Little Heart K9 provides safe sanctuary for pets who cannot be safely adopted due to behavioral issues, health issues, advanced age, or other reasons.

The maternal legacy of rescue, helping animals, and more, came from my mom. For many years I’ve watched my mom lead by example, for the love of the animals. My mom rescued unwanted horses for over 20 years. My mom lived in the desert in harmony with snakes, rabbits, desert toads, squirrels, tarantulas, birds, packrats, a desert tortoise, feral cats, and a gila monster. Not only did my mom pour her heart and soul in to caring for her animals, she beautified her property, grew native trees and plants, and had a vibrant little garden.

Rescue has been a lifelong passion for me. My childhood dog was a rescue Poodle-mix named Pepper. As a child I picked up a small tortoise in the field near my house and brought it home. More than 40 years later, we would learn this tortoise was not native to Arizona, and likely dumped there. As a teen, my family found a lost Goffins Cockatoo, no one claimed him, so my mom and I kept him. As a young adult, I would visit the Arizona Humane Society where I adopted the pets who had little to no chance of being adopted. Some of the pets adopted from AHS included a Keeshond who was abandoned at the shelter as she grew too old to continue producing puppies. A sickly Siamese cat. A female Boxer who seemed wild and unruly who simply needed a loving home and some guidance. In the 1990’s, I rescued a large Doberman Pinscher named Gallagher. Gallagher was an amazing dog and much-loved family member. In 2006 I rescued my first German Shepherd dog, Cierra. She, and my dog mentor, set me on the path I’m on today.

Little Heart K9 is on the verge of something amazing. The opportunity to buy property to grow and expand has been presented to us. A capital campaign will be has launched very soon. In the meantime, donations may be made via PayPal.

I live by the expression: “if you think my hands are full, you should see my heart“.

These are our sanctuary pets, past and present.

Gallagher (Doberman Pinscher)
Cierra (German Shepherd, my first aggressive dog rehab project dog)
Zane (Belgian Malinois, unpredictably aggressive, also loving, funny, affectionate, enjoyed hiking)
Boca (German Shepherd, blind, one of the top three extremely dangerous and aggressive project dogs we kept with our pack, otherwise amazing, resilient, loyal, and loved to hike despite being blind).
Hera (a semi-feral puppy, bonded with Boca).
Hera and Boca (Baby Bear and Papa Bear)
Cierra, Boca, Hera, and Zane. These four dogs changed my life. Each one was a great risk that came with great reward. Each had a life lesson for me. I continue to learn from every dog that enters my life as a rescue, foster, or my own. I will forever be grateful for these four, and miss them deeply.
Ginger (Her owner passed away and her extended family could not take her).
Ray (blind, shared custody of Ray with many people who loved him and gave him the best end of life a dog could hope for)
Tango (German Shepherd, severe hip dysplasia)
Unity (German Shepherd, blind with seizures)
Wonton (Chihuahua, the pack loved this spicy dumpling very much)
Vader (Belgian Malinois), Liam (Belgian Malinois), & Kei (German Shepherd dog). All three are rescues, and “foster failures”.
Vader (Belgian Malinois); Liam (Belgian Malinois); and Kei (German Shepherd) — we had the opportunity to let Kei go to the most amazing, and perfect, home where she is living her best life.