After losing my first dog, Nike, didn't think I could have another dog, it was just too sad. But honestly, I gave Nike the best life I could with the resources I had adn he lived 13.5 years for his lab/pit mix. In December 2025, Toledo Humane Society posted about a Foster program called "Home for the Holidays". Getting shelter animals out of their crates and kennels, any amount of time would have been deeply enriching to their mental health. That's how my nephew, Kaleb, and I met Champagne.
Champagne was barking in the puppy room, like most other dogs did. I first noticed her nose, red and raw opened wound. I noticed there were more on her hips and every paw. She was very thin, I figured there was no way she would be allowed to be taken out of here in this condition. So I kept on walking and many dogs were already gone. But then I saw them returning Champagne back to her crate. I asked what happened. They stated they didn't believe Champagne was a good match for the potential foster parents, she was intimidated by a stern older gentleman that wasn't shy to correct her behavior during their first meeting. Worried others would be intimidated by her condition, I wanted to give her a shot with me. So we got acclimated and were approved to bring Champagne home for the Holidays. They gave me 10-pounds of kibble, dog bowls, leash, collar and her thin coat required a coat for outside (it was winter). She also was scared to go outdoors...
Day 1 she laid on the back of my legs and took a nap. I realized she would need some acclimation to the outside world if she had any chance of being placed with a forever family. So I frantically searched for a Dog Stroller so I could push her around the world and show her it wasn't so bad. It was Christmas Eve, I ran to buy her treats, more clothes (to protect her skin from the harsh winter cold), new leash/collar, wipes and nail polish. By Day 2, I painted her nails and put on a sweater and made a post on Social Media trying to help her find a Forever home.
Day 14: I had a conversation with every family member. I was interested in keeping her forever, but would respect their comfort and wishes. They all were supportive and gave me their blessing to make our home her's forever.
Day 16: Toledo Humane Society gave us the privilege to adopt, and she became Champagne London Malivanh Khioukhom. Malivanh stands for "sweet jasmine" only because honeysuckle didn't flow well in our dialect of the Lao-Language.
Its been an incredible 5 months. Since then she has attended Toledo Humane Society's Family Pet Clinic and Training Center. She has a Certificate of Completion in Bark to Basics and Canine Good Citizen course. She was also evaluated and certified by the American Kennel Club as a Canine Good Citizen. I'm sure that she will be able to also get the AKC Novice Trick Dog as she has learned many tricks on her own.
She has been incredibly rewarding for me to have and she shows me so much loyal love. I'm proud of her confidence, how healthy she has become, how much we have learned to interact. Some of my favorite moments have been watching her getting toys from her own basket and playing with them on her own, having a wild, high energy play session. But nothing beats going outdoors and playing FETCH! Even if I throw the ball 10ft. she will still cruise 90ft. before turning around and dropping the ball.
