Animal Rescue Stories

A Miracle on Sierra Vista Lane

My husband Jerry and I lived in a one-bedroom condo in Valley Cottage, NY in the late 90s. During that time, many litters were born in our complex. One litter caught our eye, as the kittens and their mama were hanging out close to our place. As we watched the babies develop in the coming weeks, my husband took up an interest in one little boy, an orange and white tabby, who he named "Leo Junior" which soon became "Junior." Now he is the biggest "mush," an excellent lap-cat, giving many kisses. Junior's mother would come to the window outside and visit Junior on a daily basis. They would kiss through the screen and talk to each other.

But the story doesn't end there. There were over 1,000 units in our condominium village. One year later, we found a tiny grey & tan tabby kitten suspended in mid-air, hanging from our kitchen screen above our porch. It was the cutest thing, but no mother cat was around. We fed him, and he would come looking for Junior all the time. This little boy seemed to fall in love with Junior! He would cry for Junior until he jumped onto the window sill for a visit. We took him in, of course.

After the usual adjustment, Gizmo and Junior became very close. So close in fact, we started wondering if there was some relation there. As it turned out, Gizmo's litter had been born nearby, and this one stray cat, Spike, Junior's father, was also Gizmo's father. This made Gizmo and Junior half-brothers!!! So in the midst of over 1,000 condos this kitten found his half-brother from the outside looking in!!! These two boys are now inseparable, as you can see from the pictures.

Sharon & Jerry Militello
Harrisburg, PA

Seven Pounds of Courage

Hannah Rose and I have been inseparable since I rescued this two pound runt of a litter eleven years ago, She's been my constant source of laughter and unconditional love through my eight major surgeries. I nursed her through both eyes having to have implants covering the corneas due to injuries to each eye three years apart reducing her vision to 40%. She never complained through the pain, the cone and the many medication each day. Her best friend is Fluffy, an unrecognizable stuffed animal that she sucks like a pacifier and tells all her happy and sad news to. The best thing she loves in life is getting dressed up and winning the hearts and smiles of those that meet her. She has been a blessing to all that love her, our big ray of sunshine, our little Hannah Rose.

Mary Hoover
Sun City, AZ

Toby the Gargoyle

Toby, Akita/Shepherd mix, came home with me to his forever home 13-Mar-2009. He spent his teen year+ at the Canoga Park Pet Adoption Fund and didn't show well due to his shyness. When I walked by his kennel, Toby happened to come out of his dog house and we just connected (I don't think he knew it at the time!). He is the most loving creature and really loves chasing the bunnies on our 2.5 acre property. What an amazing amount of big love Toby has. My husband and I are really enjoying him. At times he will look at us with this wrinkled expression on his face, giving him the look of Tobias the Gargoyle.

Sindy Davis
Acton, CA

We were adopted by Ben and Charlie

Last summer, 2 dogs showed up on our 80 acre property. They were an odd match...a large Boxer mix and a scruffy little wirehair terrier mix. They just hung out around here. Sadly, we live in a rural area where people dump off dogs. We didn't actually know if they were strays or just getting out of their yard. So we watched them for a while. They seemed friendly and ate up the food and water set out for them. We then decided they must be strays. We tried finding them homes with no luck. In the meantime, I am barely getting any sleep at night because I am so worried about these dogs. We have a huge coyote problem here and I slept with one ear open listening for anything. At the same time something was killing our chickens. Literally ripping them through their cage. It was horrible and scary for the 2 dogs outside. My Dad decided he was going to adopt the little guy, who he named Charlie. That meant the big guy would be alone out there or have to be take to a shelter! So in the end, my husband and 2 girls convinced me to adopt him. I named him Ben and, once I allowed myself, I fell in love with him. He is MY big sweet baby now! So sometimes we choose our dogs and other times....they choose us!

Stacey Wooley
Taft, CA

Highway Rescue

Lug Nut Crotty, a 2 year old Tibetan Spaniel, had wandered into a auto workshop and owners could not be located. The owners of the shop, afraid that the pup would be hit by a passing motorist on this busy highway, brought him to a friend, Larks Bennett, a groomer who took care of him and promised to find him a good home. When I brought my dog for grooming, I saw this cute little face looking up from a kennel and begging to be rescued. I asked about him and Larks told me the story and I asked if I could adopt him. After being neutered and examined by a vet, the adoption was approved and my partner and I took him home as a member of our family. Lug Nut is now almost 10 years old.

William M. Crotty
New Orleans, LA

The Previously Unwanted Bunch

All 3 of these beautiful babies came to me all being unwanted. Punk (left) and Rayne (middle) were both the last of their litters and Shadow (right) just showed up one day and never left. Now they are all a happy family and I can't even remember what it was like without any of them!

Kerri Cogen
Hilton Head Island, SC

Left by the road

We found Kooper left beside the road as a puppy. He was flea infested, dirty, cold, wet and only weighed 3 lbs. I picked him up and brought him to my office. We have gave him TLC and a great home. He now is a strapping young man at 6 months old that weighs 35 lbs., and is quite at home with the rest of the pack. I had planned on adopting him out, but fell instantly in love with that sweet face. He has made a great addition to our home!

Pam Fulmer
Pelion, SC

Sir Nicolas

We adopted Nicolas in March, 2008 from our local Humane Society. He was about 9 years old, all beige cocker spaniel. He had been left in their exercise yard during the night. Nicky lived at the HS about a month before we found him. His being deaf had no impact on his "new" brothers or his ability to find his spot in the house pack. What Nicolas lacked in hearing, he made up for in personality, and was quickly nicknamed "wigglebutt" because when he wagged his tail, his whole butt would wag. Nicky was very happy, following me everywhere. He had his own bed next to ours, and would sleep there when we were sleeping, checking every so often to make sure we were still there. Nicolas would roam from room to room looking for me when he couldn't see me, and when found me, his whole body wiggled, his face would light up as he would come over and lay down at my feet.

In November, he developed a cough. After two months of every antibiotic possible and then a lymph node aspiration, he was diagnosed with Lymphoma. We began chemotherapy treatments which only put him into partial remition. The cancer quickly metastasized involving his bone marrow (leukemia) and central nervous system. He lost most of the strength in his left side, needing to be carried around and supported when he tried to walk or do his "business". But none of this ever diminished the sparkle in his eyes or his will to keep the wiggle alive. He had a couple setbacks, but managed to come back from each one.

On April 8 with a final wag of his tail, he passed peacefully to Rainbow Bridge at home. He will always be my "Littlest McGee".

Dawn
Merritt Island, FL

Buddy's story

Buddy was found early one morning running down a busy street, his dark gray coat blending in with the road surface making him almost invistible. Fortunately my son-in-law spotted him, opened his car door and Buddy jumped in! They were unable to find his owners and were unable to keep him in their apartment so we agreed to take him. The vet thought he was 12 or 13 at the time, he had to have 18 teeth pulled, had a bad heart due to the infection from his teeth, had cataracts in both eyes and was totally deaf but was such a sweetie that we fell in love with him. In spite of all his problems he loved life! He loved to run on a leash, his long legs making it hard for me to keep up with him. He would sit in your lap every chance he got. We took him everywhere with us, sometimes even sneaking him into hotels by hiding him under a coat, he would remain motionless and never barked. We were blessed to have him in our lives for just 3 short years, but what an impact he had on us!

Joann Lucas
Larkpur, CO

My little Kitten

I live in an apartment and one night my two cats were sitting at the patio door and they were just staring at something. I was so curious that I peeked out the door and there was this little bundle of black and white fur running back and forth in front of the door jumping up on her hind legs and acting like she was going to attack the two who were staring at her. I sat down and watched this for over an hour. My cats enjoyed it to. I assumed she was a neighbors cat and didn't bother to go out the door to her. The next day when I came home from work there she was again just playing with them and having a great time. She saw me standing there just laughing and she walked over to me and just looked up at me. I went to pick her up and could tell that she was scared of my hand. I later found out that my neighbors had abused her and then thrown her out of the apartment without any food or water. She had been out there for over a week and even with the abuse and lack of food she was still wanting to play. I picked her up and I could feel her tremble all over but she allowed me to do it. I brought her inside and she immediately took up with my other babies and became a loving part of our family. I thank God everyday that he saw fit to bring her to our door.

Kim Hall
Morrow, GA