Animal Rescue Stories

My diabetic Pablito

It was 2001 when I wanted to adopt a dog, and searching on line I found Pablitos's photo and story at petfinder.com, well his name was "Spyke". He was my second option I had seen another chihuahua, but then the Pablito's foster parents told me to go to the adoption site in Holland,MI kind of far away from where I was living, That day early Sunday morning I woke up and thought: "I should go to check him out (when I had another dog in mind already), and after a long driving we got there, he was the most quiet and scared dog, and he jumped on me when I approached to him, since that moment I knew he was for me... in the meantime other foster moms where desperate following me to adopt their dogs and at the same time telling me that "Spyke was coming from a puppy mill and for sure he had many issues", but I didn't care, I just had eyes for "Spyke".
It's been 8 years since that day and he's still with me, Last year we noticed some changes in him and it ended being diabetes and the cushing's disease. It's been hard for us to handle all these issues but now we know how to live with it: two insulin shots every day and lysodrene tablets, a lot of monitoring, and blood tests but that is normal now in our life. He is doing great, goes with us every where, from regular parks to nice vacations in Mexico, he is just to fly with us and we are more than happy if he is feeling good
Adopting Pablito has been the best thing could happened to us and I don't regret the decision I made that Sunday of 2001. We Love Him!

Jessica
Southfield, MI

Sisters

We went to The Elmsford Animal Shelter in NY and saw these three beautiful sisters. We were only looking for two, but we couldn't leave one behind. Daisy, Peanut and Lucky (from top to bottom) were 3 months old then, now they are a happy and healthy 5 years old. All with distinct personalities, they are the best part of our life. I couldn't image life without them!

Dawn Ferrigno
Valhalla, NY

Dumped in a Swamp

Maybe was found under a new-home sales trailer in a Florida swamp. I suspect that she was dumped there as a very young kitten because it took a long time for me to befriend her. But once I was able to pick her up to take her home (via the veterinarian's office), she didn't fight me at all as I placed her into her carrier. In fact, she purred all the way home. Her purring was so loud that the vet had trouble hearing her heart beat. This happened seven years ago. Maybe and I have been inseparable ever since. (Her name was my husband's idea of a joke when he registered her at the vet's office.)

Elfi Juvrud
Salem, SC

Zoey the Giant

We found Zoey on Petfinder on Sunday December 8th and called the contact person right away. We lost our beloved Giant Schnauzer Roxy to Lymphoma in September 2008 and we missed her so much. Zoey looked like a perfect fit to liven up our too quiet home,but she was in Atlanta, GA and we are in Colorado. We passed all the tests and made a mad dash to Paducah, KY to meet her foster mom and bring her home with us. She had some health issues at first to resolve, as well as being too thin, but we have made it past those hurdles and are able to enjoy and see what a sweet girl she really is! Zoey now feels good again, has gained weight, is wonderful in obedience class and is even getting past some of her shyness and skittishness. She now walks up to people on her own to be petted, because that is what people are for aren't they? She has filled a void in our lives and we are so grateful that she is ours. We couldn't ask for a better companion for us. We have many years ahead of us to enjoy her sweet nature and her playfullness!

Su andJeff
Fort Collins, CO

Thomas - Ambassador to help Prevent Cruelty

Thomas was brought to the shelter as a kitten, after having been badly abused. Some kids had held him by his back legs and swung him around over their heads. This dislocated his rear legs and broke his back. When he arrived at the shelter he was in poor shape. He had an abcess on his butt, was matted with urine and feces, had ear mites and was paralyzed. A neurological consult was done, and it was determined that the damage was likely permanent. They recommeneded exercising him and expressing his bladder. As a volunteer, I offered to foster him , do the exercises and bladder expessions, and see what I could do to rehabilitate him. It was made clear to me that if he could not use a litter box, he was not adoptable - i.e. he would be euthanized. I couldn't let that happen, so I adopted him. He did not regain any function, but his paralysis doesn't interfere with his ability to enjoy life. He plays with, and even chases my other cats. He is sweet-natured, and the Humane Educator and myself take him into the schools where we can teach kids about animal cruelty, abuse and neglect prevention. Thomas is always a hit. It makes a huge visual impact on the kids seeing a cat in a wheelchair. I also take him to cat shows and other venues representing our shelter, and raising awareness about abuse and cruety. He truly is an ambassador spreading the word.

Marie R. Aikins
Portland, ME

How Pichi Adopted Us

Pichi is a street dog that was rescued from under a car on a fast speed avenue when she was about 2 months old. My husband and our youngest daughter stopped the car that almost ran over her, my husband got under the car and pulled her out. Thankfully, apart from being scared to death and shaky, she was OK. They brought her home all grungy, smelly and flea ridden (we already had two cats, a dog and 2 parakeets, so.....), but her eyes, her look made me fall in love with her, so we cleaned her up, fed her, and then she let us know she wasn't going anywhere...she was here to stay.....she had adopted us as her family!! Normally when my daughters bring home strays (cats and/or dogs), we feed them, bathe them and take them to our vet so he can help find them a good home, but Pichi, she stole our hearts, it's been two years now. We thought she was a small breed dog.....haha....we were wrong. But it doesn't matter, she has to be the sweetest, most intelligent and precious dog, the only thing left for her to do is speak!! I wish we could do the same with all the cats and dogs we find or see in the streets... :).

Monica Pinto
Quito, Ecuador

Kirbo A major pain in the you know what.

Kirbo and his brother Lick were adopted by a friend of mine in Florida at a pet store. They were put there for adoption with their sister who was a terror according to the petstore. Anyway, the 3 of them escaped from their cage at the store and the 2 boys were easily captured but the sister took some doing. Anyway, we adopted the 2 boys and they lived in florida for awhile until it was discovered that Kirbo was peeing on everything. At that time, I decided to take him to NY to hang with my kats. Well, Kirbo was in for a suprise and so was I. He was told in no uncertain terms by most of the kats that he was not the top dog and on more than one occassion he ended up with scratches. Kirbo has no claws but is the one that incites the arguments. He was also taken to the vet for stitches due to his running into a vent and cutting himself on the duct work. Well, at the vet I asked why he sprays when he was fixed as a kitten, and they tested him and did a catheter which according to the vet, it was the first time he had ever done that to a cat and the cat was making muffins the whole time. To this day, Kirbo continues to spray on walls, furniture and clothes, but he is the most loving cat and needs to constantly be pet. He has found his position in the kat hierarchy but still attacks others with claws. Guess he isnt the brightest light on the tree, and I am constantly cleaning up the spray but he is a very affectionate guy that requires a constant watching.

Katman
long beach, NY

Those are big Turtles!!

My husband and I took our daughter Amanda to a local pet store to adopt a turtle. We looked around for a bit and then wandered over to where the puppy adoption was. After a few minutes we forgot all about the turtle and left with a beautiful female rottweiler puppy we named Chelsea. We were hoping for a male. After we left we got a phone call saying that someone was returning her brother, and did we want to come take a look.
Needless to say, we adopted two puppies that day-Bear came home to join his sister and it has been true love ever since. Who needs a turtle!!

Rebecca Heintzman-Bradley
Colorado Springs, CO

Boots & Oreo Keep Us Laughing

In 2008 my early birthday presents were these two sisters, dumped at the AZ Humane Society in early September, "underage, underweight, undernourished" and about 12 weeks old when we adopted them. We were walking down a row of cages when I saw this little face looking up at me and said, "Her name is Oreo, and she is coming home with us!" At that point, we noticed that she was all tangled up in a basket with her sister ...

Oreo's full name is Oreo Cookie de Mon Coeur - because the little mark on her nose is the shape of a heart and because it was her little face looking up at me that stole my heart in the first place. Also called Ore-uhoh. Has to do with her adventurous nature. Mademoiselle Boots purrs if you just look at her and is more independent but less adventurous than her sister. Her nickname is Love-Bug.

The silk flower arrangement was moved from the kitchen table to the counter bar. Fine. Instead of having a girl head-down in the bouquet, she was stuck in mid-leap in the middle of it. It is now on top of the refrigerator. Using the computer is fun. Both girls are fascinated by the cursor and will chase it across the screen. Spelling is now optional on e-mail sent from home, and only possible when one can see around the girl who happens to be sitting in front of the screen.

They are warm and loving girls who keep us laughing. Our three dogs ( 1 from a breeder, 2 rescued) like them too!

Jill Olson
Gilbert, AZ

My kids

My girl Lola (the white one) and boy Buddha (the tan one), were both rescued. Buddha was taken from a guy who decided he couldnt hide him in his appartment anymore when he started getting big at a couple months old. The previous owner was on his way out to a secluded area to shoot him instead of looking for him a home. When he stopped for gas on the way my boyfriend commented on how beautiful Buddha was and claimed he would love to have him. Buddha got in my boyfriends truck not knowing what he was just saved from. A couple months later my boyfriend heard from a friend about Lola. She was only a few weeks old but the owner was planning to use her as a bait dog to train other pitbulls to kill when she got a older. My boyfriend immediately paid the guy for her when he heard the news. They both were given to me as gifts, and are now spoiled rotten, couch hogs. The two absolutely love each other and are obviously very upset when the other is not around. They are such goofballs, and I love them so much. I can't believe people were going to treat them so terribly. Those people don't understand what they gave up.

Ashley
Knoxville, TN