The 12 Dogs of Christmas: Meet Aspen, In Rescue For More Than a Year

It’s the holidays! The time of year for families to gather together to celebrate traditions, share memories, and make new ones. This year, as you surround yourself with family and friends, both two-legged and four-legged alike, remember there are millions of dogs in shelters, patiently waiting for a family of their own.

For some, this won’t be their first, second, or even their third Christmas behind bars.

12dogslogo It’s our Christmas wish that every dog in rescue would find a home for the holidays, so we’ve selected 12 special dogs from around the country that have been overlooked time and time again. Some are senior dogs, some have special needs, and some are passed over for reasons we simply can’t understand – but, they all deserve to spend the holidays with a family of their own.

We’re calling this the 12 Dogs of Christmas. The Dogington Post along with our friends at Wellness have joined forces to introduce you to 12 needy dogs in hopes that they’ll finally get noticed…and maybe get a home for the holidays!

Meet Aspen!

Aspen is a 2-and-a-half to 3-year old Great Dane who was rescued from the brink of death by the amazing folks at Great Babies Rescue in Orleans, Indiana more than a year ago.

Great Babies Rescue were contacted by a couple who had recently had a new baby and claimed that their Great Dane, Aspen, had stopped eating as a result. Aspen’s owners sent the rescue photos of a beautiful, healthy merle Great Dane.

But, when volunteers arrived to pick her up, instead of the healthy, happy Dane from the photo, they found Aspen emaciated, barely clinging to life, and partially frozen to the ground outside. Unsure if she would even survive the night, Great Babies stepped up to save this beautiful girl.

With lots of love, patience, good food, and a warm place to rest her head, Aspen is doing amazingly well today – she just needs a family that will love her and treat her the way she deserves.

Special Considerations: Aspen needs a home that has patience and understanding of where she has come from. Aspen can, understandably, be slow to warm up to new situations. According to Great Babies Rescue, Aspen gets along well with the cats that are on the property as well as most of the other dogs but she is the “Queen of her Castle.” Aspen does best in a home without small children because of their fast unpredictable movements and because she doesn’t know her own size. Aspen can be very rambunctious as she still acts like a puppy.

Aspen, with her best friend, Mermaid.

The Perfect Family For Aspen: Aspen’s perfect Family would be one where she is treated as family and not just a dog. A home with someone who understands the Great Dane Breed. Aspen does get along well with other dogs when introduced appropriately and has even become quite attached to another rescue at Great Babies, Mermaid.

Video: Senior sisters have fostered more than 1000 dogs and cats in the last 15 years

The absolute perfect home would be one that could give a home to both Aspen and her best friend, Mermaid.

Aspen will soon face her second Christmas without a family.

Does Aspen seem like the perfect fit for your family? Here’s how to begin the adoption process:

For more information on Aspen and the others residing at Great Babies Rescue, contact them by email at [email protected], visit their website at https://greatbabiesrescue.org, or by phone at 812-653-1985.

Visit their website, Great Babies Rescue | Rescuing one Great Baby at a time to view the adoption contract and submit your pre-adoptive paperwork. If approved, Great Babies Rescue will do reference checks, vet checks, and home checks to ensure that their adoptable dogs are going to their perfect forever home.

The great folks at Wellness have a mission to help you provide your pet a healthy, happy, long life through the power of natural nutrition. With that goal in mind, they’re making a generous donation of premium pet food to each rescue that’s cared for these amazing dogs for so long. And, if you adopt one of our “12 Dogs of Christmas,” they’ll send you 3 months worth of food for your newest furry family member, too!

About Wellness:

At Wellness®, we do whatever it takes to create the healthiest foods for the pets that depend on us. Food feeds their souls, sustains their lives and protects their bodies. That’s why our diverse team of animal lovers, nutritionists and vets has only one mission: To help you provide your pet a healthy, happy, long life through the power of natural nutrition. For each of our recipes we never compromise—selecting nature’s finest ingredients and combining them in exact proportions to help support your pet’s health and wellbeing. Because we’re passionately picky from the first step to the last, we guarantee our products will deliver the Wellness Promise.

Meet Princess!

At the age of 6, Princess was abandoned by the only family she’d ever known when they decided to move away without her. She was surrendered to the Maricopa County Animal Shelter in Phoenix, Arizona where she quickly became frightened. Scared and alone, confused and missing her family, Princess did not pass the shelter’s assessment of her and quickly landed on their euthanasia list. Lucky for Princess – and everyone that’s had the pleasure of meeting her and loving her since, she was rescued at the last minute by Elena Bobu, a volunteer with Rescue Pals.

For more than 1,000 days now, Princess has lived within the walls of Pals Inn, a boarding facility that takes exceptional care of her – but she’s ready for a home of her own, a family of her own.

Princess will soon face her third Christmas without a family.

A little more about me…

BREED: Like most dogs these days, I am a mixed breed. What exactly and how much of it we don’t know. I know for a fact I’m no sprinter and no watch dog or people stopper. I am a laid back lazy people lover. My fan club here at Pals Inn says I have the temperament, personality and body of a bulldog.

I am a medium size, approximately 50 pounds, stubby dog. I am short and slightly stocky. My fur is light orange brown and super soft, feels like velvet. I have a medium size block head with lots of chins, slightly slanted nose, a super cute overbite and plenty of lower lip. My chest is somehow wide and my booty is always wiggly.

AGE: I am about 8 years old and although my muzzle is getting whiter and whiter, I am still a puppy at heart.

PERSONALITY: I am super sweet, I love people more than life itself. I am very friendly and I do great with people of all ages. I love human attention and interaction, I am very eager to please and I have a silly personality. I am smart and obedient, although I can be stubborn at times and figure out creative ways to get out of things I don’t want to do.

My all time favorite thing to do is give kisses and cuddle. I often use this on the humans as a method to get them to do as I please. I think they’re starting to catch on, because it’s not working as well as it used to.

ACTIVITY: I am a couch potato. I get spurs of energy and I get super excited when it’s time to walk or go play in the yard, when I get visitors and most importantly when it’s meal time. I enjoy toys very much, most of them I shred to pieces in seconds, others I cherish like my babies. I also like to play in water, I love to be sprayed with the hose especially when it’s hot outside. I am not entirely sure I can swim though. When it comes to napping, I am a pro. My energy and activity level is moderate. I don’t require long grueling walks. Daily 15 minute walks are a great way to keep me in the perfect shape

ACCOMMODATIONS: I am crate trained although I would prefer not to be crated simply because I am trustworthy, I am not destructive and I don’t want to spend another second in a cage. I’ve spent the last couple years in one, I want to be free.

HEALTH: Despite my age, I am a very healthy girl. I have some mild arthritis in my front left paw, which is being managed with baby Aspirin and Glucosamine. Sometimes I get allergies, but really, who doesn’t in Arizona?

OTHER PETS: Currently the majority opinion is that I should be the only pet. A few of my fans who know me best think I may work well with another low energy, mellow, non-dominant male dog. Also, I am showing motherly instincts so introducing me to a very young puppy I could raise as my own, would be a possibility.

MY IDEAL HOME: I would really like my new home to be my forever home. I would prefer someone who understands rescue dogs, my story, my personality and most importantly someone who is committed. I would prefer a home with a yard, a family with older kids who can treat me like a dog and not a riding pony or a pinata. I would like a quiet balanced home with plenty of doggie beds and pillows. I would love a family who likes to laugh a lot, because this is what I bring to the plate, lots of laughter and smiles.

To learn more about Princess, visit her website at PrincesstheBulldog.com OR, check her out on Facebook!

Does Princess seem like the perfect fit for your family? Here’s how to begin the adoption process:

Step 1: Please review the About Me page on my website. After reading my detailed bio you think we would be a great fit, please email my peeps at [email protected]

Step 2: You will be given an adoption application form to fill out and return to my peeps who will review it and determine whether we could potentially work or not.

Step 3: Home inspection. Yes, there will be a home inspection. Either my peeps (in AZ) or a local rescue (outside AZ) will come to your home and make sure it is a safe environment for me. You might be asked to provide photos prior to the visit.

Step 4: Coordinate transport (in case you are outside AZ)

Step 5: Trial period (2-4 weeks on a case by case basis)

Step 6: After the trial period, I become officially and legally yours!

About Wellness: