The whole concept of rescuing a dog was something very new to me.  I was introduced to Lucky Star Cavalier Rescue in 2005 shortly after I had become aware of the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel breed.  I had fallen completely in love with the breed, their amazing temperament, beauty and unconditional love.

In August of 2005 I met Hope’s foster parents.  Hope had recently been rescued from a puppy-mill in Missouri.  She was now in foster care in Indiana.  I went to visit her and completely fell in love with this little girl.  She captured my heart even with her fears, timid, and shy personality.  I have had the great privilege of watching Hope come out of her shell as she came to live with me and started to trust me.

With Hope, she’s not as quick to trust as most other dogs.  She will always be a much more shy & timid dog – but she has truly grown by leaps and bounds since coming to me in August of 2005.  The first time she wagged her tail, it absolutely brought tears to my eyes.  Things happen on her terms, her comfort level; she is a lap dog now and will actually make eye contact with me when I’m holding her – things that took a long time for her to overcome.  Hope had no idea what it meant to “play”, she was not familiar with toys, walking on a leash, having a leash even on her, or even what grass was.

The addition of my 2nd Cavalier, Phalin, in October of 2006 has helped her to come out of her shell more and develop into an even sweeter girl.  She’s not your typical standard of the breed by any means – she’s very small in stature and weight.  Her coat isn’t what it should be, her ears aren’t as full as a Cavalier’s should be – but to me she’s beyond perfect, she’s beautiful and she forever makes me smile.

So I couldn’t pick a more appropriate name other than Hope’s Smile for this web-site and for these bandanas – my tribute to her! I would encourage you if you are not familiar with dog rescue to check it out.  Its life changing to experience unconditional love from a dog, but it’s an even greater experience to be touched by a rescued dog!

Lucky Star Cavalier Rescue will always be special to me because they rescued Hope, brought her to me and now I have the privilege to be her mom and provide her with the forever home she deserves. Please visit their web-site to learn more about who they are and they amazing work they do.