Willie Forrester puts on his best face for a Christmas photo with the Forresters, who adopted him from Kyra’s Rescue, which saves homeless dogs from Turkey and brings them to homes in the United States. Photo by Taylor J. Gouterman
Lorton — His only friends on the streets of Turkey were the children who would play with him. His face down to his paws composed more of dirt than of fur. Had the children not taken him to a shelter, his best shots of survival were fending for himself or traveling with packs to compete for food and water.
Lisa and Casey Forrester, from Fairfax Station, found Kyra’s Rescue, an adoption agency in D.C., which has a similar application process to here but for homeless dogs from Turkey. After getting his passport and making his way from Istanbul to multiple stops down the East Coast, Willie, a 2 ½-year-old golden retriever, now joins the Forresters as one of the family.
They said that as a retriever, he’s a family-oriented dog who had no trouble adjusting to the home life. Lisa said he’s also a popular pup at all of the local wineries and restaurants, too!
Casey says his favorite memory with Willie came from the dog’s affection for tennis balls. When the Forresters were playing at the tennis courts, they planned to throw some balls at him so he could catch them. They noticed, however, how fascinated he was by the launching tennis balls machine, so the man who used it hit balls over the fence for Willie to chase!