Animal Rescue Stories

Sami the Gerbil

Sami was abandoned, along with 12 other gerbils, in such a way that they were inflicting serious injuries on each other. Rabbit Rescue Inc. took them in and gave them the second chance they deserved, along with the medical care they needed. I adopted Sami when I was looking for a buddy for my other rescued gerbil Zeus. In the beginning Sami was a very frightened little guy, he spooked at the sound of my voice, cringed at the smell of my hand when offered treats and stayed hidden most of the time. Today he is the most relaxed and fun loving gerbil who loves to hang out with his buddy, zip around his exercise yard, sit on my hand for a treat, and climb up onto my shoulder for a look at his new world.

Monica
Pakenham, Canada

My Lucky Day!

One evening I was driving home from work on a rather busy country road and noticed a small "face" peering at me from the narrow shoulder. I stopped my car immediately (in the middle of the road) and jumped out. What I found on the side of the road was an emaciated, naked, flea ridden little cat. I scooped him up and wisked him home with me. I put him in a warm, safe place away from my other animals and gave him water and lots of food. I then took him to my vet in the morning and asked her to examine him and do what she could, totally expecting that he would not survive for long. My vet called me later that day and said "There is nothing wrong with this kitty, except that he is starving, has fleas and is very old." I took him home and named him Rusty because when his hair grew back he was a wonderful medium hair orange tabby. Rusty turned out to be the delight of my life! He had the most endearing personality and everyone that met him, fell in love with him! Because of his age and frailty, I knew that we would not have long together, but he was my constant companion, following me around the house and sleeping with me every night, usually on my head. We we lucky enough to have Rusty in our lives for 2 and a half years and the world . . . at least my world, is a better place because of him. My husband and I both miss him very much, but his gratefulness and the unconditional love he gave to us has touched our hearts forever. Thank you, Rusty.

Lynn Law
Oregon City, OR

$500 Shelter Cat

My cat Claude had just died suddenly at age 9 from an aneurysm and I was searching petfinder.com daily for a cat of similar breed since Claude had such a sweet "purrsonality." I found a cat named Ira in Columbus, Indiana that was so beautiful and his description said he was very sweet too. I knew this was the cat for me. My husband at the time could not believe I wanted to drive over five hours to adopt a cat, but I insisted and we went to meet Ira. When they brought him out of his cage he climbed on my shoulder, started "talking" to me and even gave me a smooch. They told us that when they found him he was not neutered, flea infested, and had ear mites (not to mention it was January and extrememly cold). When we got him home we took him to our veterinarian who discovered he also had a wound on his leg that he believed was an animal bite that had become abcessed. By the time we got him all healed up we figured that including the trip to get him, adoption fees, and vet bills, he cost around $500.00. I knew that I could have bought a purebred cat for that money but Smoochie (we changed his name) is one-of-a-kind and definitely worth every penny.

Joanna Baron
Benwood, WV

Our angel straight from heaven

One night in July 2002 after a party at our subdivision clubhouse, a small orange and white tabby cat appeared in the parking lot near several neighbors and me. I told myself "if she comes over and rubs against my legs, I'm taking her home!" As if she just knew me, she came right over, I picked her up and carried "Honey" happily home in my arms. She's been "my little girl" ever since and sleeps with me every night. Honey has been such a blessing to my husband (a former "Mr. I Hate Cats") and me, it's difficult to imagine how we ever got along before she came into our lives.

Susie Payne
Smyrna, GA

The 110 Winnie

Hi, I'm three-year-old Winnie, and I'm looking for a home! I was left tied by a guard rail on the 110 freeway, but luckily a wonderful woman saw my adorable face and rescued me immediately. I am now feeling healthy, safe, and secure, and am ready to find a family of my own to love. I am an incredibly sweet girl who loves people and gets along with most other dogs, especially my foster family's seven-month-old puppy. I'm not too crazy about cats, though, so I need to live in a "dogs only" house! I have a laid back nature, but I have plenty of energy for my daily walks, or to play with a ball or another dog.

I am spayed, vaccinated, and microchipped. I am also completely house trained. I love to cuddle up with my person, and I promise that if you adopt me, I will always give you lots of kisses (my favorite activity!) to show my appreciation. If you would like to meet me, please call Cathy at (424) 247-7260 or send an email to: cathythomsen@yahoo.com.

Catherine Thomsen
Hermosa Beach, CA

peanut's rescue

my kitten was born down at our barn in an empty horse stall in the middle of a manure pile.a persian cat we had down there had 3 kittens.the next day i went down there 2 of the kittens were dead and only one survived.i put him in the end stall where there was some straw.mama cat went in there and sat with him. the next morning i went down to the barn to check on him he was gone.mama cat had moved him in the next stall with our mare. fearing she would get stepped on i moved him back in the empty stall. the next morning when i went to the barn the mama cat had moved him again in with our mare and since she knew he was there now i just left him in there.2 weeks later mama cat got killed out on the road in front of our house so i nursed the kitten on a bottle.it got cold down at the barn so i brought him in the house and put him in a laundry basket with towels to keep him warm.when he got older i let him out of the basket to run around and he followed me everywhere. i then put a litter box down on the floor and he soon started using it.i then started him on solid food. i named him peewee but as he got older we renamed him peanut. i saved his life twice and then we had to have our schnauzer dog put to sleep so that is how peanut became our house pet.he is spoiled rotten but we love him very much.he is 5 yrs. old now and will have a good home for life.

Brenda Witt
Pana, IL

Happy and Free

I rescued this little girl from a kids camp where I was doing some construction work for them. I would go to work an hour or so early each morning to bring some food for her and talk to her. She had no fear of me and I finally got her into a cage and brought her to my home where I have a platform on the back of my house that I put out food for several raccoons that come around. She hung around till late fall over a year ago and then I did not see her anymore, so I figured that she had gone off on her own.
Much to my surprise, 3 nights ago I was awakened by a scratching at the window outside my bedroom where the platform is. I thought that it was strange since the raccoons generally don't want me to know they are there and are very quiet.
I got up and went out and took some treats and dogfood with me for whoever might be there and here she was sitting on the platform. She even brought a baby with her to meet me, although her baby isn't quite so sure about me. She bounced around and chittered at me and then came over and put her paw on my hand as if to say "Hi, I knew I would find you again". The next night I went out and she sat on the edge of the deck with me staring out into the woods with her paw on my hand for around 1/2 an hour or so.
These rescues give me so much joy and love and take a piece of my heart with them when they leave, but I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

Bill Ellick
Long Lake, NY

Rescued!

One blistering hot August day in southern Georgia my husband and I wandered into a truckstop. The parking lot steamed in the unrelenting sun. Every person in sight sheltered themselves inside air-conditoned buildings or gathered around fans, stifled and sweating. The thermometer read 104 degrees.
We dreaded the prospect of walking our 1 1/2 year old, 115 pound German Shepherd in this heat, and knew that once we went outside our walk would be short and sweaty. But the walk was a necessity.
I was not what you would call a dog-lover. This was my husband's puppy, and I had learned to make friends with him as best I could. I had never been the sort of person to approach a stranger's dog. I've always been, particularly, a cat person.......until I saw Raegel.
12 weeks old, pure white, tiny, skinny, hungry, panting and wired to a trailer in the middle of that inferno of parking lot! We walked near and I surprised myself to hear my own voice saying, "What a pretty puppy"! She captured me instantly with her beautiful brown eyes.
We tracked down the owner, who proceeded to explain what an awful, stupid dog and waste of money she was. She had broken up his marriage, he said, and this was her punishment. He had given her a death sentence to starve and bake in an asphalt oven.
We paid him on the spot and took her to our truck. She required zero acclimation time. The dogs became inseparable pals, she and I are inseparable best friends, and I have benefitted immensely from the power of joy and life-spirit that is this sweetest of creature's defining characteristic.

Tammy H.
State Road, NC

Our first cat - one of many!

Always being dog people, we lost our beloved Golden Retriever, Maggie after 13 years. We always joked she would send us a new animal when we were ready. One day my husband and nephew were in the garden, and a little black cat rubbed up against them. Skinny, ribs showing, skittish, but definitely hungry. We slowly gained his trust and now Stanley lives inside, where he is warm, happy, spoiled and never hungry! (and now he has two cat brothers and a Golden sister - all strays and rescues.

Sue Pagels
La Porte, IN

Our Boy Tyson

We are Tyson's third home. This poor guy was tied to a basketball pole during the day and put in the basement at night. They said he couldn't be walked on a leash so he never was. Luckily we found him through Boxer Buddies Rescue. He's a certified therapy dog now and is addicted to his daily walks. We are grateful to Boxer Buddies for allowing us to adopt this wonderful boy and are so happy that we are able to give this guy the good life he deserves.

Lisa Barker
Worcester, MA