Stories of a second chance

Sometimes you just know right away… and that is exactly what happened when I saw Tin. Love at first sight. 💛 From that moment on we were inseparable and became the best of friends. Tin is a real bouncy ball: cheerful, playful and always up for a cuddle or an adventure. He brings so much fun and warmth into our home every day – it is impossible not to love him.

We owe it to Safe Haven Inu Rescue that we found each other. What this rescue does is truly special. With so much love, dedication and patience they work to rescue these beautiful dogs and give them a forever home. You can tell from everything that it comes straight from the heart.

The people behind the rescue are, every single one of them, incredibly kind and involved. They do so much to give every dog a second chance, and that deserves enormous respect. For that alone, you wish them all the happiness in the world.

Thanks to them I found my buddy Tin, and I am grateful for that every day. 🐕💫

Hello everyone,
I am Margot, and I live in Doetinchem with my husband and our male Shiba Kito (now 2.5).

During the Christmas walk of 2024, where we got to know Lily, the spark flew. Not only between Kito and Lily – I fell completely in love with that little girl. Lily was never going to leave and was not up for adoption. Jennifer knows our family and is my best friend, so… she was allowed to try it for a day. You can guess the rest: she never left again. We were fine with her just as she was (eating, playing and going outside when it was dark, because that felt safe to her). Here she does not have to do anything and is allowed everything. She has now been with us for over a year and has grown so much. She had already made such progress with Jennifer; I never expected her to grow this much more. Partly thanks to Kito, she is now the independent, all-deciding (but super sweet and very funny) boss of the house. She loves walking in the woods (nice and quiet) rather than in the neighbourhood. And that is fine – I prefer it myself, and the woods are just around the corner. Jennifer is my friend, so she sees her every week. If there are any questions, she is always available. And Jennifer is always there to help with advice and support.

My tip for anyone who would like a rescue dog: respect the dog as it is. Everything is allowed and nothing is required. Then you can almost watch them grow, and you get so incredibly much love and fun in return. And listen carefully to Jennifer's advice – after all, she knows the dog best.

Jenn, thank you so much for daring to let Lily come to us after all ❤️

Our story began when Jennifer went to pick up 6 Shibas in Belgium from a puppy mill that had been forced to close. We then became Smiley's remote adoption family. We met her for the first time at the open day at Safe Haven, and how we fell in love with her. On the long drive home we said: if she ever becomes available for adoption, she is welcome in our family with our sweet Akita "Hachi". And sure enough, in November 2024 we adopted her. The contract with Jennifer went very smoothly; she is always there when there are questions, then and still now.

She has a place in our heart ❤️ Our Smiley needed time when she came to us. Back then she preferred to stay in her crate, and she did not like our Hachi. We let her discover everything at her own pace, with the motto "nothing is required, everything is allowed". And sure enough, at her own pace she learned to play and became crazy about our Akita – they even eat together. She also learned a lot from our sweet, patient Akita: walking, being silly, playing, stealing Hachi's food – and yes, Hachi lets her get away with everything.

And no, it was not easy at the beginning, but difficult does not mean impossible, and giving up is not an option. Smiley is doing very well now. She has become a real Shiba, is treated like a queen here, and we can no longer imagine life without her. We have also decided to adopt Klaus to keep her company 🥰 And who knows what else will come our way.

Dear Jennifer, thank you for trusting us.

When I found myself on my own and shortly afterwards also had to have my last dog put to sleep, I felt abandoned. Still, in 2010 I got my first Shiba. She was very different from the Rottweilers I had before, but she gave me so much joy. She was called the iron lady because she was afraid of nothing and very independent. In January 2021 she was poisoned and died. By then I was 75 and thought that was that. But nothing could be further from the truth – you don't just erase 50 years of life with dogs. A month later I started looking for an older dog after all, because of my age. I called several shelters and also contacted Shiba Rescue vzw, but I was turned down every time because of my age. In March I saw Safe Haven Inu Rescue on Facebook, plucked up my courage and asked whether they had an age limit too. Jennifer was surprised and asked whether I could walk, so that I could take a dog out. Age did not matter.

I asked about Lulu, whom I had seen and who was a bit older, but she was not leaving them. A pity – I thought she was a darling. Shortly afterwards Jennifer and Berry came by with Pichu, a puppy, explaining that it would be an adoption so that he would come back to them, and not go to a shelter, if anything happened to me. Pichu looked at me and I was sold. Even though he had a big trauma, he stayed. Later I heard that Jennifer had not been sure yet, but Berry said he had seen the click between Pichu and me, so in his view it would be fine.

From the very first day Pichu slept on my bed, and he is still with me. My great treasure and companion. He still has certain fears, but with love and patience – never getting angry or raising your voice, just staying calm – it is all manageable. He trusts me completely, and it doesn't get any better than that.

I am very grateful to Jennifer for letting Pichu stay with me despite my age. I can also always turn to her when I have questions. I am now 80, Pichu turns 6 in two months, and I hope we will have a long time together and can go on holiday together.

So, Jennifer, I am very grateful that you entrusted my great treasure to me and that I can still always turn to you. Thank you from Pichu too.