Dear Lee and Fiona:
On September 1st 2012, we adopted a beautiful girl from you. She was a 1-2 year old Japanese spitz puppy farm dog initially named Molly (from memory) and was the last dog left from her family’s rescued litter. On the phone she was described as extremely scared/timid and shivered uncontrollably if anyone tried to touch her. We rescued her (through an appointment with Lee) and decided to call her Sakura, meaning cherry blossom in Japanese 🌸 because we wanted her to blossom beautifully, and she did!
She brought us nothing but laughter and joy EVERY SINGLE DAY. All she wanted was kisses and hugs and undivided attention from us and we happily gave her plenty. She enjoys the companion of our other rescued dog (another Japanese spitz) at the comfort of our home and roam around happily in the backyard away from strangers. Around 4 years ago, we moved to the Gold Coast for a lifestyle change and also decided to find our dogs a better home as they got older, a home without stairs. We WFH and spend all the time with Sakura, taking her to beaches watching sunrises, sunsets and giving her lots of treats. She is such a brave girl and would follow us everywhere, at home, waiting by the door for us to come home and surprised us in so many ways. Eg she knows how to walk on a leash and even without it just by following us, she has a “iron” stomach and can gobble up all sorts of food without a stomach upset and she knew how to swim as soon as we got her in water on the beach!
We’re so blessed to have her and have never visited the vet for any accidents or mishaps throughout her life. Sadly she passed away suddenly on 17th June 2026 at the age of 16 (or possibly more?) from stage 4 kidney disease. Even till the end she didn’t wanted us to worry or feel sad for her as she has never shown any signs or warnings prior. We managed to take her to her favourite beach before saying good bye. We have recorded tens of thousands of photos and videos of her and will always remember her for life. We love her so much, she’s such a special girl and our pride and joy! 💓
We just wanted to say a BIG thank you for doing what you do and for bringing Sakura into our lives. She brought us so much happiness and gave meaning to our life. She is an angel and the sweetest girl and more than anything we could have asked for.
Here’s some photos of Sakura throughout the 14+ years she’s with us:
