Our Little Buddies

To say choosing the Lehigh Valley’s cutest pooches was a “ruff” assignment is an understatement. We know everyone loves their dogs. We enjoyed reviewing the entries and wish we could have included all of them.

This year we chose pets in five categories: large, medium and small breed, shelter dog and staff favorite. Each one was chosen for his or her photogenic ability, personality and pooch-like panache. Here’s a look at this year’s winners. Happy Tails!

Age: 1

Hometown: Breinigsville

His People: Christine Hess

His Loves: Hiking, swimming and visiting with his pup peeps at the dog park

Definable Characteristics: Intelligent, clever, great with kids of all sizes, and can flash a winning smile on demand!

Funny, But True Story: This avid swimmer wasn’t always so brave. Gunner was just a pup when he had his first river experience, quickly following a furry pal in without knowing what water was. He soon found out and a frightened and frantic young

Gunner struggled to doggy-paddle to shore again. It would be a while before his “Mom” was able to coax him back in. “He would tiptoe around the water until I finally had to drag him in.” Hess says it took her about an hour to get him comfortable enough to give

it another try. “Once he did, he loved it—and now I can’t get him out!”

Age: 3

Hometown: Bowmanstown

His People: Sheri and Lance Davis, and sons, Braden and Blake

His Loves: Cuddling, playing with big dogs

Definable Characteristics: Very high maintenance, jealous, attention-grabber, adores his daddy. Harley secretly thinks he’s a BIG dog!

Funny, But True Story: Dog-sitting for other pooches is not a Harley-approved activity. The last time Mom Sheri brought a friend’s dog home he felt it immediately necessary to relieve himself on Mom’s leg to mark his territory.

Age: 9

Hometown: Bethlehem

Her People: Christine Jacobsen

Her Loves: Long walks along the streets of Historic Bethlehem, snuggling with her penguin pillow pet, retrieving golf balls and riding in the cart when on the course with Mommy.

Definable Characteristics: Playful, cuddly, petite, happy-go-lucky personality, cute as a button

Funny, But True Story: When Mom’s away this pup will play. Last Christmas after Mom received a web security camera as a gift she installed it so she would be able to keep an eye on her precious Molly while she was away at work. Imagine Mom’s surprise when she saw her normally obedient Bichon standing atop the coffee table in the living room! (Something she never does when Mom is in the house.) “I was shocked,” Jacobsen says. “She was staring at the camera as if she knew...so now for entertainment, my coworkers stop in and ask me, ‘What’s Molly doing?’”

A.K.A. Bubba Brown

Age: 3

Hometown: Bentley shares his Fountain Hill home with his Cairn Terrier sister, Isabella, a cat named Teagan, Harlow the rat and the family hamster named Penguin.

His People: George and Billie Williams

His Loves: Chasing bubbles and bugs, chomping the garden hose and casing the dinner table for scraps!

Definable Characteristics: Affectionate, curious explorer, entertaining and bright

Funny, But True Story: The Williams learned early on and quite literally about Bentley’s iridescent personality after he came back from a good romp in the backyard—his smile sparkling with lightning bugs!

Age: 6

Hometown: Dingo shares her Bethlehem home with two other canines named Lula and Boogie; all three dogs were lovingly adopted from a local shelter. Dingo also has two feline buddies at home.

Her People: April Pilz

Her Loves: Sliding boards, trips to Nana’s house, chasing sticks into the creek and retrieving them for Mom.

Definable Characteristics: Wildly enthusiastic when showing love for her favorite people, a bit of a clown, intelligent and fun loving

Funny, But True Story: Pilz says she was actually considering another dog that she had seen online when she went to Lehigh County Humane Society to adopt five years ago. But much like a love story, once Pilz laid eyes on Dingo she knew they would become the best of friends. “She has been with me ever since through several life changes and moves,” Pilz says. “She is a one-in-a-million dog!”

For our photographer Lisa Lake, her animals are her joy, entertainment, companions and exercise partners.

She shares her home base with husband, Jeff, and a menagerie that includes one talking female cockatoo named Jimi Hendrix, a spunky, crumb-loving cockatiel named Scooter, their comical four-year-old bulldog named Max, and their one-year-old Rottweiler, Bella, who Lake describes as a “play-a-holic,” lending to the “never a dull moment” atmosphere in their Emmaus home.

“It is amazing what our four-legged friends are capable of when they are trained with patience, practice and perseverance,” she says. Lake, who runs her business from home, feels she is the “lucky dog” to have her animals in her life and in her workplace.

“I simply cannot live without them!”

LV Rescue-A-Pet Directory

Your Best Friend Could Be Just a Car Ride Away. Rescue a Pet Today!

Lehigh County Humane Society

The LCHS’s open-door policy ensures that all homeless animals brought to them will find refuge. All animals are examined, housed and fed. They are provided medications on an as-needed basis. An aggressive effort is made to find a loving home for each and every animal. LCHS frequently collaborates with reputable adoption partners such as breed rescues and foster groups, to find families for pets, as well.

640 Dixon St., Allentown | 610.797.1205 | thelehighcountyhumanesociety.org

The Center For Animal Health & Welfare

The Center for Animal Health & Welfare is formerly known as the Northampton County SPCA. The now-private organization is a non-profit with a 501c3 status. The CAHW is committed to saving the life of every animal as a no-kill shelter dedicated to providing a safe and healthy environment for animals awaiting loving homes. The CAHW offers a low-cost spay/neuter program and is experiencing an increased rate of adoptions due to an improved foster care program.

1165 Island Park Rd., Easton | 610.252.7722 | healthyanimalcenter.org

Sunrays Pit Bull Rescue

Founded in 2005, this small rescue concern helps get dogs out of high-kill shelters and into loving foster homes. Sunrays works mostly with pit bulls and pit bull mixes, bulldogs and some cats and kittens with special needs.

Bethlehem | sunrayspitbulls.com | sunrayspitbulls@aol.com

Pooches & Purrs Cooperative

Pooches & Purrs Cooperative is a group of rescued pets and individual rescuers working to find loving homes for dogs and cats. Each individual or group is currently sheltering dogs found in Tennessee, Alabama or Kentucky looking for homes. All of them are completely vetted and neutered/spayed (if age appropriate) and on heartworm protection. All of them come with complete medical records. Their adoption fee of $450 covers their complete age-appropriate vetting and heartworm preventative, as well as their transportation to your area.

Allentown | petfinder.com/shelters/NH76.html | poochesandpurrs1@gmail.com

One More Last Chance Rescue

This all-volunteer rescue group offers a chance at a good life to as many animals as possible even when all other doors have been closed. OMLCR rescues dogs from high kill shelters in the South scheduled for euthanization and fosters them in Tennessee until a forever home can be found for them. Adopted dogs are delivered to their new owners weekly and OMLCR works hard to match the right dog with the right home. OMLCR ensures good matches with a 14-day money back guarantee.

Allentown Chapter | 423.508.4403 | onemorelastchancerescue@hotmail.com

Feline Finish Line Rescue

Feline Finish Line works exclusively with abandoned kittens and has limited space. FFL specializes in finding homes for the kitten litters of unaltered female cats. FFL will work to find homes for these kittens, as long as owners are willing to then have their mom cats spayed so no more will be born. Feline Finish Line strongly encourages responsible pet ownership and only accepts surrendered cats in the most rare of circumstances.

Catasauqua | 610.264.0784 | felinefinishline.com | felinefinishlinerescuecats@gmail.com

Peaceable Kingdom

Peaceable Kingdom focuses on low-cost spay/neutering programs, as well as rescuing and finding forever homes for stray, feral, homeless, abandoned and needy animals. PK holds weekly adoption days at PetSmart at 2180 MacArthur Road, Whitehall, on Saturdays and most Sundays from noon to 3 p.m.

1049 MacArthur Rd., Whitehall | 610.432.2532 | pklvshelter@yahoo.com | lvpeaceablekingdom.info

Photography by Lisa Lake