Success Stories

Toulouse and Beta aren’t anything alike. Toulouse is splashed with black and white like an abstract artist’s canvas, while Beta bears the more orderly tiger stripes of a brown tabby. Toulouse...

With the face of a teddy bear and the body of a grizzly bear, 5-year-old Kuma was a study in contradictions. Fortunately the grinning Shepherd mix found himself an adopter who had no issues cuddling...

Rudy’s imperial bearing is evident in every picture the large orange and white feline appears in. From his noble adoption photo standing between his new guardian and her companion, to a regal...

Adrift on the streets, Rudy landed at Tri-City Animal Shelter in Fremont as a stray. Unfortunately, the public shelter was overflowing with animals. They sent out an SOS, and VHS responded. Soon,...

Just a little ball of fluff with oversized paws, Ozzie was one kitten who didn’t have to worry about losing his “mittens!” The long haired tabby was a polydactyl with more than the usual number of...

Bieber wasn’t off to a very good start with his potential adopter. The tiny Chihuahua hadn’t even bothered to get up and greet her, dozing sleepily with eyelids drooping and tongue sticking out. “I...

Java had been percolating for a while in Kitty City when the Turner family came looking for a new feline companion during VHS’s Adults Only cat adoption promotion. After visiting with several KC...

December, 2012. Ten tiny “reindeer” pups pranced into VHS looking for love. Among them, soot-black Donner with the snowy white patch on his chest was the one who stood out the most to the Garcia...

Last summer, the La Blanc family came to VHS looking for a kitten. Cat lovers and feline guardians for many years, they ended up being adopted by Biscotti and Holly (now called Hazel), two adorable...

To everything there is a season: it’s true for dogs as well as people. Sometimes all you need do is wait. When Rusty’s first adoption wasn’t as successful a match as it initially appeared, he...

Ana decided early on that she wasn’t a big fan of the multi-cat environment at Valley Humane Society’s Kitty City. She spent a little time in the administrative office and several weeks in a kennel...

Ash was just one of a trio of achingly adorable terrier mix puppies until the Chang family fell in love and took him home. There the little black and white pup turned out to be a real smart cookie!...

When Lauri walked into Valley Humane Society in September and asked to meet Maddie, ears perked up all over the place. The four-year-old tabby had been in residence for more than a year, and hadn’t...

It’s hard to believe that Annie sat alone and unspoken for at the shelter, because once she came to Valley Humane Society, it sure didn’t take long for someone to speak up! The Johnson family fell...

Sometimes love saunters right up and takes over your life, whether you’re ready or not. That’s pretty much what happened to Paul Saliski. On his first day as Operations Coordinator for Valley Humane...

At four months old, Chestnut was still just a pup. He must have grown quite a bit in his short life, however…enough that his collar grew too tight and then embedded in his neck. He still had some...

The lengths we will go to for love! Lacey’s adopter followed her all the way from Hayward Animal Services, where she had been taken as a stray. He was head over heels for the sweet tabby kitten, and...

Once upon a time, an adorable, freckle-faced mite of a pup came to Valley Humane Society with her many littermates. Named Tatum, the little Lab-mix stole the hearts of the Terwilliger family and...

Falling in love is definitely one of the challenges of volunteering at Valley Humane Society. Most folks find their hearts expand enough to make room for every dog and cat, and they love them all...

Lisa came to Valley Humane Society looking to fill the hole in her heart left by the loss of her dog, Ellie. As soon as she walked in the door, Lisa met four-month-old Connor, an adorable blond...

The force was strong the day the Faber family visited Valley Humane Society looking for a kitten. Having pre-shopped available kittens on our website, the couple just wanted to determine the...

When the Franklin family visited Valley Humane Society looking for a new canine companion, they envisioned a small dog. To say Moose didn’t quite fit the criteria is a bit of an understatement. Even...

Last spring, Tabitha was at Valley Humane Society wishing for her forever family. Then Karen walked into our adoption center, and in the blink of an eye, Tabitha found her wish granted! The two have...

The stars must have aligned the day the Rolison family chose Sky for their new canine companion. The spunky black Lab mix immediately fit in with the active family, and became “best buds” with her...

It seems the third time really is opportune, when you’re a charming diety like Apollo! Adopted from Valley Humane Society as a kitten, sunny Apollo and his shadowy counterpart, Padfoot, were...

Tinkerbelle was flighty as fairy when she landed at Valley Humane Society. The two-year-old terrier mix was nervous and slight, wary even of entering the home of the foster family who would help...

If you’ve ever wondered whether time really is relative, just ask Zuzu. She was running out of it at the crowded municipal shelter. Her stray hold was up when Valley Humane Society’s animal care...

Sometimes all you need is just a little patience, whether you’re waiting for water to boil, seedlings to sprout, or perhaps the confidence of a shy pup to grow. Darby was scared in the noisy...

Tiny Pop was a wide-eyed kitten of just five weeks old when Valley Humane Society received him from a large animal control shelter last September. He had been picked up as a stray, all alone on the...

The life most dogs and cats lead before coming to Valley Humane Society is usually such a mystery. Flora, picked up as a stray, is no exception. There’s no doubt, however, that the almost...

It was a frisky Biscuit that went home with the Naone family! The velvety gray three-year-old shorthair must have been ready and waiting; he jumped right into the cat carrier when it was time to go....

McGruff’s life before he was picked up by animal control is a mystery. We have no clue how he came to be wandering the streets as a stray, but his condition was criminal! An injured paw, kennel...

When the Garcia family lost both their longtime kitty companions within a few months of each other, there was no question that they would adopt again right away…nor where they would go to adopt. “We...

Buttercup was just a few months old when she arrived at Valley Humane Society. She had run out of time at the crowded municipal shelter where she had been taken as a stray, but the adorable shepherd...

Day in and day out, the two little brown tabbies jumped and ran and tumbled across the big floor in Valley Humane Society’s Kitty City cat run. Though they looked similar enough to be brothers, Ron...