My Nonprofit Reviews

My husband and I have been adopting dogs since we moved to WV in 2003. We moved here with one dog (that I adopted in 1996 in MD) and two cats. In 2004, we adopted our first dog from BAAC. Tahoe (Aussie mix) was approximately two years old, very timid and absolutely terrified of men. While not really knowing what kind of dog we were looking for to be a buddy for our current dog, we just went & looked around. My husband spotted this furry mass in the back corner of a pen, barking and quaking with fear, but wanted to meet him anyway. Long story short, when Tahoe was brought into the visiting room to meet us, he ran straight to my husband, and the counselors were astonished. That was it, he was ours. We had our sweet, beautiful Tahoe until he passed away in January 2018, at the approximate age of 15.
Our second dog was from Briggs as well, adopted in 2005. Our first dog had slowed down considerably, and now Tahoe needed a pal to run around with. Smudge (known as Spirit at that time) was just recovering from sarcoptic mange; he had been living under somebody’s porch for a year, in Roane County WV, and chained up. Neighbors finally reported the owner, who claimed the dog wasn’t his. Anyway, if I remember correctly, the mother of one of the counselors at Briggs worked at a local shelter in Roane County and told Briggs about the dog, who would probably have to be put down, poor thing was a walking scab (we saw pictures). Briggs took him in and nursed him back to health, and he had just become adoptable around the time of Briggs’ yearly dog adoption alumni reunion, where you bring your dogs back to Briggs to visit and run around together. I went inside to check out the pups, and there Spirit was, in the same pen where we found Tahoe. Though my husband resisted initially, I convinced him that the little guy needed me (“Resistance is futile!”). I named him Smudge because of the little white smudge of fur that grew back on his snout while recovering from mange. Little Smudge (spaniel mix) was a force to be reckoned with, absolutely fearless but totally charming, and the alpha of a four member pack for years, until he passed away in January, 2019, also at the approximate age of 15.
Including Tahoe & Smudge, we have adopted 7 dogs since moving to WV, from various shelters/states. We have come full circle; our newest GS mix, Skyye (aka Hopscotch) was adopted from BAAC in May of 2022. She is the youngest dog we’ve ever adopted at 5 months, and gets along wonderfully with our two other adult dogs (one of which is teaching Skyye everything she knows).
After all these years, it was wonderful (and reassuring) to know that BAAC has never lowered its standard of care in ensuring that all their animals are a good fit for their potential forever homes. In fact, I noticed that they are even a bit more stringent than in the almost 17 years since we had last adopted from them; I applaud BAAC for their unwavering dedication. The founder, Mrs. Anna Briggs (with whom we had the pleasure of meeting several times in our early years of adopting) would be SO proud!