Animal Rescue Stories

A Home for Ivy

When my husband and I decided to adopt a playmate for our hyper active Jack Russell Terrrier Jackie, little did we know we would find her so fast. As we walked into a pet supply store where a local shelter was having an adoption day, there she was. A litte Rat Terrier with a collar around her neck that said "Adopt Me".We found out she was rescued from a pet store that couldn't sell her because she was 6 months old and considered too old! My husband picked her up to say hello. She sweetly kissed him. His response? Let's take her home! Ivy joined Jackie that day and are the best of friends. Ivy turns 4 in October. We have been blessed with a wonderful family!

Kathy Kelch
Waldwick, NJ

Ol' Faithfull

An old boyfriend picked Lestat out of a litter at the MSPCA 16 years ago and I got him in the breakup 6 months later. He was the runt of the litter and is now a real bruiser weighing 17lbs. He's never saved me from a burning building or anything "heroic" like that, but he has been a quiet, steadfast presence through all the ups and downs of life. I've been grateful for his friendship every day since we first brought him home.

Amy
Washington, DC

Money well spent!

I had just moved out on my own and wanted to get an animal. I have always been more of a dog person, but Pumpkin has taken over my heart. There were so many animals at the shelter I didn't know how to choose. I didn't have to, Pumpkin chose me! As soon as I walked in she was at my ankles rubbing against me and purring. She was rescued out of a dumpster when she was only 6 weeks old. The small adoption fee was the best money I have ever spent. Now she has a loving home and is spoiled rotten!!!

Mary
Brunswick, OH

Nikkita the well endowed healer

I has deeply mourning the death of my beloved cat Lily when about a week later, I found this little calico under my car. She became mine when nobody claimed her, and 2 days later, as I lay in bed crying over my lost Lily, Nikkita jumped up onto the bed, crawled onto my chest and purred. We have slept that way together ever since. She is a big love, doubling her weight under my care, holding unconditional love and always ready to purr or burrow under blankets & dark places. She is a funny quirky kitty, with her own myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/nikkita_mittata
She's been my joy in the darkest of times!

Mo
Santa Barbara, CA

Special Needs Chase

I'll keep this short and sweet. My name is Bob and I live in Corvallis Oregon. I adopted a dog named Chase 13 months ago. he was put in the local shelter 3 times as his owner was in a "Home for battered women" all three times. He had a reputation for running away and was so reclusive, hiding in the corner of a kennel, urinating on his self when approached...I can only imagine what he had been through. But as one who saved another beautiful Samoyed mix 15 years ago (she passed away 3 years ago and I've never bonded more with any creature in my life) I took him home. He was set to ship to a farm for the unadoptable. He got away from me a week later (broke free on his leash) and I went thru 4 days of much effort to find him. It was very bad but I never gave up. I was overwhelmed to realise after thos 4 days and after just 6 days with me...I heard a whine just outside my door (which was open at 2:00 in the morning with hamburger set just inside the house). He didn't come back for the food I assure you.
After working with him and getting him in "pack" enviroments this past year...he now runs off leash and plays with other dogs...and best of all, Chase comes back to me. He is so smart and his playfullness is coming out and it is a joy to watch.
You guys are awesome and I send reminders to all my friends (I'm a pest actually) to doanate!

Bob Mccoy

Bob Mccoy
Corvallis, OR

MIDNIGHT

THIS IS MIDNIGHT . I SAVED HER FROM BEING HIT BY A CAR .WHEN I GOT HER SHE WAS ONLY ABOUT 4 WEEKS OLD . I TOOK HER HOME AND I NEVER REGRETTED GETTING HER. SHE HAS BEEN A DREAM.

CRISTY
GREENVILLE, SC

Running into our lives

On September 18, 2006, I was driving north out of town on a four-lane highway. Suddenly, at the crest of a hill in the distance, I saw a small figure. When the figure was perhaps a half-mile away, I saw that it was a dog running full-speed down the center of the highway, the wrong way. I quickly realized its death was imminent unless I did something.
I pulled my car to the side of the highway, leaped out and began waving my arms. As cars approached from behind me, the dog made a beeline to my car and, without further invitation, jumped in. I scrambled to get back into the car and, as soon as I did, the dog curled up in my lap. Before I'd driven a half-mile, he was fast asleep.
Although we put up notices and pictures in all of local vets' offices, no one claimed him. As it turns out, it appears he was dumped at the local shelter in an outside cage and somehow escaped and was running toward what he considered home.
My wife and I had been discussing having a dog join our family for a couple of years, and so we happily adopted the terrier we named Stanley and he's added life and laughter on a daily basis ever since.
Considering what he must have been through and his sheer terror and exhaustion that was evident when he found me, we consider Stanley to be one of the luckiest dogs in the world.
We are no less lucky.

Tracy Knight
Macomb, IL

Rescues

We have rescued three dogs....Josie was our first, we got her at the Johnson City, TN Animal Shelter. Cookie was second, we fostered him due to his scheduled being put down, and ended up keeping him. Shiloh was the last to arrive, four weeks old, she was dumped at a dumpster behind Dollar General. It was 18 degrees that night. PEOPLE are animals

Lisle
Erwin, TN

Fighta - A survivor

Being a member of Animal Welfare Network, I got a call to pick up a kitten that had been tossed into a bin and was rescued by someone. When I arrived to get the kitten, I did not expect to find that it was blind. Both eyes were disfigured. I took it to the vet where AWN deals with abandoned animals, only to be told by the assistant, that it was to be put down because no one would want a blind kitten. They were having enough problems trying to rehome the normal ones. I just could not leave him there. I did not know how I was going to handle a blind kitten with my already 6 abandoned cats.After a few visits to my vet, I realized that nothing could be done to restore his sight.
Fighta Is now approximately 2 years old. So named because he loves to play fight and has a temper. He hides and pounces on the others, even me. He goes most places all the other cats goes with no problems, even on top my house using an old coconut tree stump to climb and follow the others.
At night I make sure he is inside not trusting to leave him to his wandering.
I've never regretted taking him in. He's such a joy to to have along with the others.

Rohana Khan
Curepe, Trinidad and Tobago

Geechee on the Ogeechee

As we were getting ready to move from Savannah, GA to Tucson, AZ, my husband went down to the Ogeechee River one last time to take some photos. He heard a little cry and was greeted by a skinny, scruffy, little buff kitten who had been living in hiding down by the river. He was barely surviving off of left over shrimp thrown out by the fishermen.

He said when he bent down to pick him up, he started to purrrrrrrr, which to this day has not stopped. His purr truly sounds like a motorboat! I already had 5 strays - so I tried to find him a home before we left. I posted flyers in the neighborhood and the local vets' offices. No one called that I felt was worthy, so he stayed with us and made the trip all the way across the US in a moving van. We named him Geechee after the Ogeechee River.

This little guy is, now l9 lbs., has been such a blessing to us all. He is an absolute ball of love and mushiness. He gets along beautifully with the other five female cats, and when I walk in the door from work, I hear his purrs before I even see him.

My food bill went up because he eats, eats, and eats - but the little guy has a heart as big as his appetite. It was OUR luck day the day Scott found him.

Charlene Scronce Goodman
Tucson, AZ