Animal Rescue Stories

As Fate Would Have It

This is Sassafrass, I rescued her from under the hood of a mans car! I was sitting in the parking lot when he pulled in and I heard her crying. I'm looking all around when I finally realize it's coming from his car,by then the fear sets in this poor thing is all tore up. I got out of my car and told the man I heard a cat crying from his car, he said what are you going to do about it? I'm thinking what,I will take it. So he opened the hood and I finally found this scared little girl,she had a few little burns on her face but otherwise was fine.He would have just left her there for fate! This is Sassafrass now!

Teri Covert
Perry, IA

My Pups!!

Juicy, in the Pink, was 6 weeks when she came to us. The only survivor of the litter, rejected by her mom, she was bottle fed and potty trained and weened when we took her in, as she needed a home. Buddy, in the Blue, was left in the back yard of an abandoned resident at 4 months. An employee that lived next door brought him to work and we became inseperable. These are my babies, my pups and my joy!!

Antoinette Noz
Raleigh, NC

Rusty's Big Adventure

When Rusty was a puppy he was owned by a woman who loved him very much and took him everywhere with her. Sadly she developed a terminal brain tumor. Rusty went to live with her in a nursing home where he kept her company for nine months and enjoyed being cared for by the staff. Later the doctor told the woman's daughter it was time for Rusty to go. The family didnt like Rusty at all but at least they called a dachshund rescue to come and get him. The woman's family painted a terrible picture of Rusty to the rescue, saying he was a spoiled, vengeful dog who liked to pee in places he shouldnt! When the rescue picked him, the woman's daughter told him "..go on your adventure, Rusty". Little did she know - this adventure was going to take years! He turned out to be a darling, cuddly boy who liked to follow his foster mom everywhere. He adjusted easy to rescue but he really needed a home of his own so after almost a year, he found a new home. Off he went to his new permanent home. But it was not to be. After 2 years, Rusty's new mom had passed away and Rusty came back into rescue, where all his pals remembered him and he settled in again.So Rusty's rescue mom thought maybe he was just meant to stay in rescue. She posted his picture tho and just forgot about it.
Finally one day she got a call from a nice couple looking for a companion for their little Scarlett. When they came to meet Rusty - he was bathed and on his best behavior - they loved him and he loved them.
Rusty's adventure has finally ended with him in his "forever" home.

Monti Markel
Forest Ranch, CA

My Beautiful Hugo

Hugo was born in Chicago in the summer of 1995. He was rescued by a dear friend who runs a no-kill shelter. He was in a camper truck inside a garage during a record heat spell where the temperatures were in the low 100s and the heat index was in the 120s. Sadly, many of his relatives didn't make it. But Hugo thrived at the shelter. We met when I was taking some pictures for the shelter web page. He sort of velcroed himself to me and soon came home. He is a least part Norwegian Forest Cat and full of love. Even at 14 he still runs around like a nut with the laser mouse. He is a great big brother to several others also from my friend's shelter.

Ellen
Park Forest, IL

Spunky's Tale

My family wanted to get a dog, so they went to the local spca. And there she was, a bundle of energy, the most playful dog i have ever met. So my sister decided to name her spunky. She was a mutt with light yellow fur and a very lanky body. We were told that she was found by some train tracks out behind an industrial park. I don't care where she literally came from though, because she definitely fell from heaven. She's gained a little weight since then and is a healthy 55 pounds and her coat darkened to a more golden color. She's five now, but she still has all that energy just like the first day we met.

francis palmarino
drexel hill, PA

Puppy, We'll Always Love You

My wife, Kristen, was a school teacher in Lake Weir, Florida, back in 2006. One morning in November, she arrived at work to discover a mid-sized Australian Shepherd happily romping about outside the school, coming up to the arriving students for hugs and attention. They happily obliged. He was underweight, older, covered in mange and yeast infections, missing half his coat, and had a horrible cough. Kristen contacted the local authorities to have him caught until we could come and get him. A few days later, she brought Puppy into our home and for the next two and a half years, Puppy brought a pure, perfect joy into our lives.

Puppy was always patient and friendly with our six cats, including our rescued city-street cat, Buddy, who put a scratch all the way down Puppy's nose when they first met. But nothing got Puppy down. He was always happy, kind, empathetic, eager to please, gentle, patient, sociable, amenable - just the nicest fella you'd ever hope to meet.

When we found him, however, he'd been abandoned and terribly neglected, and had suffered the ravages of heartworm, leaving him with congestive heart failure. We found a wonderful vet, Dr. Mounger, in the nearby little town of Bushnell, who carefully treated Puppy. Thanks to his humane and professional attention, Puppy lived longer than anyone, back when we first found him, had expected. On March 18, 2009, his CHF finally caught up with him and our beloved Puppy left us. But he left with the same enthusiam for life he always had, passing peacefully after playing with some neighborhood children and their little dog and getting just a little over-excited with happiness, as was his nature.

We will always love and cherish our Puppy, our beautiful, fuzzy, wonderful, happy, snuggly, loving rescued dog.

Preston Bilotti
Inverness, FL

Loss of one brings love of another

After the loss of my last rescue to liver cancer, I have been rescued by another!

He is about 2 years old and I actually went to visit him at the MaxFund last fall, but I just wasn't ready yet-cried the whole time I was there. He had already had an adoption pending, so I was glad he was getting a fur-ever home. The holidays came and went and the cold of the new year set in.
Long story short, I dreamed about Chu-Oui (the chow I lost in the spring of '08) several nights in a row and then another sort of 'sign' came. Chu-Oui was trying to tell me something...

Well, I checked the MaxFund website on a Friday after the recurring dream visits and the little Chow Chow was still there. I went to visit him and fell in love! I asked about what happened with the previous adoption and they told me that the people never came to pick him up-how sad is that? They called my references over that weekend, and then called me the following Monday to tell me that he was mine! I was so excited, and a little scared at the same time.

His shelter name was Jack, but it didn't fit him very well. His name is now Tuko (meaning 'Fate'). He has settled in quite nicely and is enjoying a big fenced in yard of mountain wilderness to wander and explore. I am no longer scared...This little one has crawled into my heart and has given me so much love that I can't imagine how I've live without him! His big brother Chu would be so proud!

Erin
Evergreen, CO

A good life

Quannah and I met when he was 3 months old. His owners wife , who worked with me stopped by work in tears. her husband was comming home drunk and now instead of hitting her , he was beating their new puppy. She wanted to borrow the money to take him to the shelter. But when I walked over to her car and looked at him. . . well what can I say ? For the next ten years he was my closest friend and constant companion. Hiking, camping and just going for walks together. He grew into an awesome guy. Easily going through the AKC good citizen trial . He never met a stranger, loved everyone . Pretty amazing considering his rough start. Sadly he paased away a year ago November from Auto Immune Hemolitic Anemia At 10 years old . I just hope I gave him the life he deserved. I can't measure all he gave me,just by being part of my life.

Robert Allan
Milton Freewater, OR

From Street Scamp to Finchlee Christopher

My name is Finchlee, yepper, Finchlee Christopher. About a year ago, I was proudly running the streets of Dallas/Ft. Worth. I was a freedom runner, they all called me Scamp. Then one day, this man was driving along in a truck and whisked me up so fast, I didn't know what happened. He took me to this big place where all I could hear was barking and screeching. Someone stuck a needle in my leg and later said that I had a worm in my heart and unless an angel saved me, I would be put to sleep. Well, I don't like worms, and I don't want to sleep, so I was hoping an angel would come and take me away. Sure enough, angel Jackie came from Chris' Rescue Angels. She took me to a dogtor who gave me medicine in my back to make me better. It hurt me bad, but Angel Jackie had lots of fuzzbutts at her house I could play with that made me feel better..
About two months later, my new momma came to get me. I was all better now, but my back still hurt me. My momma and I flew in an airplane all the way to Chicago. We got to ride a bus from Chicago to my new house. Boy, oh boy, I have a fuzzbutt brother named Ozcar Melvyn, and a fuzzbutt sister named Jezibelle June. She is a spoiled brat. I also have two foster brothers named Archie and Happy Jack, and three foster sisters named Sareena, Princess and AbbiGail. Our mommy takes all eight of us to work everyday. She says she wants to socialize us, whatever that means. I am a good boy, I have manners, I am loved and I am a survivor.

Paula Copper
beloit, WI

Sweet Shadow

We found Shadow, a black German Shepherd, at a local adoption on Thanksgiving weekend. He had been surrendered by his owner and had been at the shelter a month. Being a big dog he would be hard to place and needed to be with someone who was familiar with the breed. My husband, a retired police officer, had been the handler for a drug dog years ago and we all missed our four footed officer. They became instant friends and Shadow was able to trust us immediately and is now in his forever home.
He has been a wonderful addition to our family of 2 other dogs and 2 cats. We cannot imagine our lives without him.

Teresa Leslie
Little Rock, AR