Last Sunday, I watched as someone sat on the floor and played with Kita for a good half hour and Kita was having the time of her life being play mauled and belly rubbed. I know puppies look cute and all but what I find most charming about them is that they are in love with the world. They open themselves up to discovery with an absolute innocence, trust and faith that all will be well.

Pickles is not the sharpest knife in the drawer, bumping into trees and such, but you couldn't ask for a cuddlier walking rug.

No one's going to pretend Jasper is good on a leash but as soon as you sit down, Jasper'll plant his butt down right beside you hoping for pets and attention. As for the pulling, he's got enough smarts to figure out how to heel politely if someone trains him. He's a really happy boy who lurves people. He wants to greet everyone he walks by on the sidewalk and he thinks everyone is his friend.

Jasper was initially at TAS South but has been transferred to TAS North.

Jacob arrived at Toronto Animal Services South with his mum a couple of weeks ago. His mum is still waiting to be spayed but Jacob is ready to meet his new family. He might be a small(ish) pup now but if his mum is any indication, he won't be for long.

Melody is quite shy. I just couldn't get her to look into the camera. I guess she didn't like the looks of the big eyeball lens staring at her all dark and glassy.

Not that I can show you, but with the camera gone, Melody is super sweet and affectionate.

Daisy is a complicated girl. She's a lovebug with people except when it comes to resource guarding issues. That means she may growl, especially at strangers, if she's got food or toys around. I find resource guarding issues typically not difficult to train out but it would be a good idea to consult a behaviourist if you're not familiar with how to deal with this.

When I first approached Daisy in her cage, she hung herself low over her toy and started growling at me. I tried chattering with her but that didn't work and then I said, "Sit" in a bright voice and she snapped out of whatever headspace she was in and sat and that was that. I leashed her and took her out for her walk.

Hopefully, it won't be too difficult to deal with Daisy's resource guarding considering how much she wants to please people and how gentle she was with me when it came to hand feeding. She needs to feel a degree of security and confidence with her "stuff" which probably wasn't the environment she was previously brought up in. Once she gets that, the lovebug will shine through.

I've never seen a dog do the "Meh" expression better than Cutie.

When Laura, a tiny Dachshund Chihuahua mix, first arrived at Toronto Animal Services rescued from a puppy mill, she couldn't stop blinking and wincing because her eyes were causing her extreme distress. The staff thought she might've been suffering from a genetic defect which caused one eye to be smaller than the other and there was talk of removing the eye.

April is pretty laid back for a Collie. I'm sure she'd be able to keep up with me if I decided to go for a 10 k run (not that I would ever go for a 10 k run unless by "10 k" you mean "10 hours" and by "run" you mean "sleep") but it doesn't seem like she has to go for a run. Instead, she rests her chin in my hands and looks in my eyes and waits for ear scratches.

A lot of people would take one look at Mabel, a mixed Mastiff, and think: Now there's a scary-ass dog, but that couldn't be further from the truth which is that Mabel is a big shy girl who needs a soft touch to nurture her back from years of neglect and abuse in a puppy miller's cage.

She would do really well in a house with a calm, confident dog who can show her that not all people are douchebag animal abusers and many are actually decent folk who are more than happy to give out loads of love and compassion.