Animal Rescue Stories

Special Find

Cali was a ferrel cat found in my sisters yard. She was such a sad little one as she looked at me through the bushes. She had a very bad infection in her left eye and it was difficult to tell if there was an eye at all. When the Animal Control Officer caught her and her 2 brothers, I was worried that she would be difficult to place as she needed medical attention. He told us that most ferrel cats are hard to place. I decided to take her and with some begging and tears, my husband said no (we had a cocker who was going through extensive treatment and my husband was not ready for additional medical bills) but he agreed. She was very difficult in the beginning and I would sit in the bathroom for 2 hours each night playing with her with her mice and she became very loving. Her regular checkup revealed she was very healthy except for her nasty looking eye. After 9 months of cleaning and watching, we took her to a specialist. He found she had a pea-sized eye, an infection and needed to have the socket cleaned and sutures to keep the eye socked closed. She made it through the surgery with flying colors. She is a little love and sees more with one eye than I do with two. She waits for my husband to get out the shower each day and he has come to love her also. We have no regrets in taking her. She loves being with us and enjoys playing with our other cat Nami. Our cocker is now gone and she brings many laughs with her hi-jinx. My daughter took her 2 brothers and they are loved and doing well.

Doris Pepin
Pawtucket, RI

Smoky adopted us after a real bad snow storm in winter of 2006

We had about 18" of snow dumped on us that night and into the next day. For a few days I kept hearing a faint meow. I know it wasn't my 2 cats. I kept calling for the cat. Finally, I saw it! Only a baby, he was. After feeding him, it wasn't hard for me to pick him up and give him some badly needed love. But he was skitish, kept dashing into my garage, which I leave open as shelter to my cats and other animal friends who need shelter from a storm. Anyway, I opened my door and in he came, and kept coming in. Fortunately, being as he was only a baby, he didn't get static from my 2 cats. He was real scared of my dog, but he kept lunging at him. It was kind of funny. We knew this cat (er, kitten) had spunk. Well, he stayed outside and kept coming over to me when I went outside to smoke a cig. This went on for a few weeks. So I started calling him "Smoky", he is a grey tabby~so seemed fitting and he liked it. Soon, he kept coming in our home every night! Made himself right at home. When he did go outside, he'd come running over when I called him. Next thing we know, I'm taking him to the vet and our adoption was complete. He's still thriviing! God Bless all the little creatures out there... somewhere! Amen & Amen!

Ivy G
Ea Lynn, MA

Out of the Jungle

This is Muni, a "Dominican Terrier", a local mix of all breeds, and homeless! We found her walking towards the road, coming out of the "jungle". She was starving, and with lots of hairless spots. After two months, demodex invaded her severely. I had to wash her towels everyday (by recommendation of the vet, easy to wash) with boiling water and bleach. Medicines, a six month treatment very much like chemotherapy... Nowadays, two years later, she is chubby, healthy and happy. It was worth every vomit, every poop inside the house... I would do it again, those eyes and liking kisses are the best reward! Please PLEASE adopt homeless dogs, they deserve a better life! I have two more female Dominican Terriers, with pretty much the same story, and I don´t regret it. Their love, their thankfulness is soooo worth it!

Artemisa Sosa
Bavaro, Dominican Republic

Brave is Beautiful!

After my fiance' and I learned that someone we knew had found 3 newborn kittens on the street, we got very worried. This person had dogs who are unfriendly to cats, so she kept them in a cage for the whole 3 weeks of their existence! Unfamiliar with cats, her plan was to keep them in a cage for their whole lives! She wouldn't even consider taking them to a shelter. Under the guise of adoption she gave them to us, satisfied they had a good home.
Once home, we had a talk about how we loved cats, and how if we named even one we'd have to keep it! So we went the Amish way, naming them only after their coloring, until we could find them homes. Whitey, the male, was nervous about his new found freedom and he wouldn't leave the carrier. His sister, Brownie, was so happy with the space to play that she chased her own tail for hours. Both babies were scared in their new home, and we tried making them feel safe until they adjusted.
Their sister, had no fear and only interested in exploring! We lost track of her several times! She was fearless and adorable. She explored every spot in their small room, and every time we let her, pioneered the path to bigger places. My fiance' gave her the name Venture, applauding her adventurous nature. She was the runt of the litter, and needed special attention.
Whitey found a home that very day, and once he and B. were old enough they went their separate ways. By then, little Venture was in our hearts, and now, a year later, I can't imagine life without her. She is still venturous, exploring and causing trouble, still tiny, and the light of our lives!

Wrena Salvaje
Newburgh, NY

Eartha & Abba saved from a meth lab!!

After all three of my 18+ year cats passed to cat heaven in the course of a year,...I was looking online at kitties in a cat rescue site. I saw a pic of this cutie with an ink face..had my grandson and hubbie look at her...all approved!! We went to get Eartha (original name) and had to get Abba too (original name) as she was all over hubbie, and his fav group is Abba!! The mama cat had been rescued from a meth lab...so both our cats are a BIT weird...they only like the 2 of us..hiss at Everyone..even the grandkids! They are now 4 yrs...and WE adore them!!

Rene Sundvall
Ham Lake, MN

Mike, Scout & Brooke

Rescued dogs have been a part of my life for more than twenty years. I still miss Pepper, a mixed mutt with black curls; she was a shelter dog and my son's 8th birthday gift. Since then, more rescued dogs have joined our family. First, my husband Bob rescued Scout, mostly terrier, from the animal shelter and brought her to my middle school classroom to surprise me. Then he found Brooke, half black lab / half golden, abandoned at a water treatment plant and brought her home, too. When he joined an Army Stryker brigade and left for Iraq, I found Mike Wazowski, the One-Eyed Wonder Dog, at www.petfinder.com. I drove the 180 miles from my home in Macon to Brunswick to adopt him. These three kept me company and kept me sane while Bob was overseas. Since he came home from Iraq, my husband adopted Molly (not pictured!); she's a white Maltese / Poodle mix. She deserves her own rescue story, and maybe Bob will write that.

Pam Burkhalter
Macon, GA

Fuzzy

This is Fuzzy. 4 years ago, I found him in the form of a dirty 1.5 pound kitten perched atop a tire under the fender of a parked car. It was a miserable cold, rainy night, so I picked him up and took him inside. I had been thinking about looking for a cat, and one found me. Fuzzy lives with me, my roommate, and his kitten. We'll be adding a third "kid" to the apartment on wednesday.

Ray
Upstate, NY

Maynard

We recieved Maynard on the 21st of Dec. 2008. He's a ChowChow .He was a stray running around a town of Maynard for 1 1/2 to 2 years. He had been shot at and chased, but no one could put him down nor catch him. He also had a sibling but it never made it. It was hit by a car and killed. They say Maynard use to go and lay in the ditch with his sibling and morn. He has weathered the Minnesota cold winters and the Minnesota heat and survived. He now has his forever home with us. He is very loving and protective of us and his sister Takoda which is a cat. He will always have a loving home with us.

Rod & Cheryl

Cheryl Wieking
Dawson, MN

Miss Kitty

Miss Kitty was out on the street when she started to walk with my husband and I as we walked our dog, Maxie. She actually took a long walk with us! After a few days of hanging around our house, she decided to come in and live with us. We were distressed to discover that someone had declawed her! But we are so happy to add her to our household, along with 2 other stray cats! As you can see, she has the biggest eyes, and they always get her out of trouble!

Colleen
Katy, TX

Desmond the rescue dog

We rehomed Desmond from Dogs Trust in 2006 he was 5 months old and a stray at first we had a few problems but with the help of DT he was soon ok he was full of mischief and at 14 months old eat my dentures is operation cost Â£1200 but we had pet plan his story made the local papers and a womans magazine did his story the money i got for that paid for my new dentureshe has turned into a lovely boy and has made our lives compleat

marjorie
Newcastle, United Kingdom