‘Alfie is like a cuddly little bear. He loves being cradled in your arms and carried like a baby,.’ But at first he was shy and needed just the right home. [Photo: CAPE]

by Katerina Lorenzatos Makris ~

Here at Rescue Diva we love spotlighting the work of small but dedicated animal protection groups around the world. As the cover models for our fundraiser fiction stories, we feature these groups’ rescued critters who seek loving homes, or who have already found one. We hunt for clear, intense closeups of irresistible furry, feathered, or finned angels who grab the eye and won’t let go.

That’s exactly who we discovered while browsing the website of Center for Animal Protection and Education (CAPE). One look at Alfie, and… wowza! We wanted to reach through the computer screen to hug and smooch him.

Alfie (right) grinning big with forever family members. [Photo: CAPE]

Thus we knew he was just the right guy to grace the cover of our fiction short story “

” We were so affected by his striking photo that we even wrote a small part for him into the story.

Apparently, a couple of other folks were deeply moved too when they saw Alfie’s photo, as CAPE co-founder and executive director JP Novic explains in the following interview.

INTERVIEW ABOUT ALFIE WITH JP NOVIC OF CAPE

Rescue Diva: Where did Alfie come from? Could you tell us a little about his background and why he needed to be rescued?

JP Novic: Alfie was part of our Ruff & Ready program. He was rescued in Mexico by Compassion Without Borders (CWOB), one of our rescue partners which does amazing work both in the U.S. and Mexico. They provide spay and neuter services in several areas of Mexico and rescue many dogs who are homeless and living in the streets. Alfie was one of the lucky dogs brought into their facility in Mexico and then brought to the U.S. to find a forever home.

CAPE and CWOB work together once the dogs are in the U.S. The dogs who CAPE takes in are either delivered to our shelter partners where they are guaranteed to find a home, or, such as in Alfie’s case, we put them in one of our foster homes until the perfect permanent home is found.

Alfie was very shy when he arrived in the U.S. so we put him in a loving foster home to allow him some time to gain confidence before we put him up for adoption.

At the park with his forever buddies. [Photo: CAPE]

Diva: How long was he with CAPE?

Novic: He was with us about six weeks before he got adopted. During that time, we had many families interested in adopting him. He is sooooo adorable that you can see why. But because he was shy and had a bit of separation anxiety, we knew we wanted a home where he would not be left alone for long periods, and we knew he needed at least one other dog in the family.

We found the perfect home for him—a retired couple with two other dogs. Their dogs are fully integrated as members of their family.

Diva: Is there anything especially endearing about Alfie?

Novic: Alfie is like a cuddly little bear. He loves being cradled in your arms and carried like a baby. Such a sweet, sweet soul. And have you ever seen a more adorable, innocent face?

Diva: He is incredibly cute. It was really fun to play with his photo while creating the cover for “Small Change.” Good thing he’s already adopted because the more I look at him the more I fall in love! Speaking of falling in love, could you tell us the story of how Alfie got adopted?

Novic: The couple saw his photo on our website and immediately called us. It was love at first sight. They had been supporters of CAPE’s work for many, many years and this was the first time they called us interested in adopting.

Diva: Bravo to all involved! Who fostered Alfie while he was with CAPE?

Fun with his friends. [Photo: CAPE]

Novic: Marji Beach, who works for Animal Place, provided foster care for him. She has fostered many animals for CAPE and she does an incredible job. She brings her foster dog, along with two other dogs, to work with her every day. So a dog like Alfie, who needs a lot of socialization, gets lots of experience in the world. I am so grateful for all that Marji has done over the years to help CAPE save lives. She does not shy away from taking animals who need extra, extra care and she always provides them with the security and confidence they need. She is a life saver, that’s for sure!

Diva: Any follow-up news from Alfie post-adoption?

Novic: I spoke with Alfie’s family again last month. They are IN LOVE with the funny, adorable little character. He sure did land in the perfect family!

To Alfie and his family, Rescue Diva sends best wishes for long, healthy, and happy lives together. Many thanks to them and to CAPE for the photos they sent, and for their permission to use Alfie as the cover model for our story “Small Change.”

FREE STORY OFFER! Buy “Small Change,” just $2, then send us an email with your guess as to the name of Alfie’s character in the story. Right or wrong, we’ll send you another Rescue Diva fiction story as a little gift! Here’s our email address: rescuediva AT info DOT com

(Hint: Toward the end of the story, the “Alfie” character becomes part of the main character’s personal growth process.)

Buy our fun romantic fiction — just $2 for easy, safe digital download! ALL PROFITS go to animal rescue!

ALL PROFITS from sales of “Small Change” go to the following hardworking, nonprofit animal rescue groups!

Center for Animal Protection and Education

 Last Chance at Life

HELP US SAVE ANIMALS — just $2 ! Rescue Diva depends on sales of our romantic fiction to help create real-life happy endings like those of Claire, of Noble, Granger, and Raza, and of Rhea and her Earthquake Puppies.

Enjoy a fun read, spice up your life, and help replenish our rescue fund!  🙂

Rescue Diva proudly sponsors needy animals in the U.S. and around the world. For example:

~ We help Kefalonia Animal Trust (KATs) in Greece provide free spay/neuter for hundreds of animals per year, which is one of the best ways to prevent the abandonment and misery of puppies like Noah and Kyla.

~ We donate to Center for Animal Protection and Education (CAPE), Praying for Paws, Southern California Siamese Rescue, Aniplant (Cuba) and many other groups.

Profits from Rescue Diva’s fiction stories are used to rescue animals like Dolly, who was tied to a post and beaten. Click pic for more about Dolly.

~ We do in-the-trenches rescues of angels like Robin, Chance, and Tiger, with help from San Diego Animal Support Foundation, and of Marisol and Lisa, with help from Last Chance at Life.

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Katerina Lorenzatos Makris is a career journalist, author, and editor. Her fiction includes 17 novels for Simon and Schuster, E.P. Dutton, Avon, and other major publishers (under the name Kathryn Makris), as well as a teleplay for CBS-TV, and a short story for The Bark magazine. She has written hundreds of articles for regional wire services and for outlets such as National Geographic Traveler, The San Francisco Chronicle, Travelers’ Tales, NBC’s Petside.com, Animal Issues Reporter.com, and Examiner.com (Animal Policy Examiner).

Together with coauthor Shelley Frost, Katerina wrote a step-by-step guide for hands-on, in-the-trenches dog rescue, Your Adopted Dog: Everything You Need to Know About Rescuing and Caring for a Best Friend in Need (The Lyons Press), coming soon in digital format!