Animal Rescue Stories

My "squirrel tailed" cat

I adopted Rascal from an animal shelter a few lights away from my house in March 2007 when he was 7 months old. I was checking out all the cats and having visits with some of them but they didn't have the "it" factor. I was looking at a cat near Rascal when he reached out to pat me on the arm. I looked down into his adorable little face and smiled. I took him out for a visit and we hit it off right away! I saw that he had an amazing "squirrel" like tail that I totally adored. We had a great play session and I was absolutely bummed out when I was told I would have to wait a few days to bring him home. He needed to be neutered. I eagerly waited for the day I could take him home and bought him so many new toys, bedding, etc. It use to break my heart when I had to go to work because he would cry for me at the door. I could hear him in the hallway of my condo complex. Even my mom came for daily lunch visits to keep him company, I didn't know about these until later! He's a total mama's boy and I'm good with that. I brought Bella home 2 months later, she was 7 weeks old. A week and a lot of hissing later, Bella and Rascal became the best of cat friends. Rascal is the most amazing cat I've ever owned, Bella too. He's my little pound kitty. He's my cuddle buddy. I don't think I could have found a more perfect pet, I'm so grateful that I found him and rescued him from the pound.

Deidra
Orange, CA

"Chevy" Finds a Loving Home in Napier, New Zealand

I found this poor little "googly-eyed" kitten living with a young woman who had let her under-nourished Mother Cat give birth to a second litter rather quickly, and who was obviously struggling to feed them all.

He was one of six kittens, supposedly EIGHT weeks old, but only two of which (who were obviously stealing all mum's milk!) looked that age - the remaining kittens were scraggley and malnorished, and not moving around much like normal kittens would. I asked what she was going to do with them? The local Pet Shop wouldn't take them, so they were headed for the Napier RSPCA.

I picked up each of the smallest bundles of fur in turn and fell in love with this little boy - he looked so sad, and I knew the smaller, sick-looking kittens had less chance of adoption from the Animal Shelter, so gladly took him home to join our family of "Felicity" (6yr old Calico "SPCA Special", and "Tigger" (5yr old Grey & White Tabby we'd adopted from a friend's litter).

My husband named him "Chevy", and after a quick vet check and advice on worming, flea treatment, Kitten Milk and high nutrient kitten food, he is thriving - he went from 450g to 600g in the first week!!! Felicity and Tigger were cautious of their new brother at first, but now play gently with him and let him sleep close by. He is a real live-wire now he's properly fed, and loves snuggling up to us when he wears himself out!

Happily his smallest little brother kitten was adopted by a couple of friends too, so they will no doubt get to see each other again one day. It's been wonderful watching little Chevy loose his "googly-eyed" half-starved look and thrive with all the attention!

Jenny Middleton
Napier, New Zealand

Ambrose RIP 04/05/95-03/22/09

Ambrose was our cat who adopted us in my mother in laws backyard almost 14 years ago.
My ex wife and I rescued him and took him into our home and into our hearts. He was such a sick liitle boy.
My ex wife to her credit nursed him back to health (along with our vet).
I have been away from him for over six months, but his death yesterday really hit me hard.
Rescue a animal, they give so much love back.
Ambrose, daddy loves you; my sweetie.
Dominick Catena
North Miami Beach, Fl

Dominick Catena
North Miami Beach, FL

Bonded Bunnies are the Best

All three of my bunnies are rescued from The Rabbit Haven www.therabbithaven.org. Chloe is white with magical ruby eyes and weighs 9#. Her boyfriend Dartagnon is the 6# brown lop. Kohl is the 3# little Hoto girl who is the star in educational events around Central California, and she gets handled by up to 65 kids in one day.

Raising bunnies as indoor pets that are litter box trained and socially bonded to you is very rewarding and fun. They come up for pets every day, and they play little games with each other. Chloe and Kohl play a daily chase game, and Dart-man just watches the fun. When bunnies are happy they jump in the air and do acrobatic moves called binkies. When they are content, they stretch out all four paws and make their bodies real long and skinny. They also flop on their sides at a moment's notice, then jump back up to play some more.

Indoor bunnies are much healthier and live much twice as long as bunnies kept outside in a hutch or loose in a backyard. Besides protecting them from predators and pests that carry diseases, they are safer from the weather, and they are happier living with you and becoming part of the family. Two of my bunnies are lap bunnies and enjoy sitting on the couch to watch TV with me or snuggling in my arms and giving me kisses.

I can't imagine life without my bunny friends.

Cindy Marshall
Mount Hermon, CA

"My One-Eyed MR. Jack"

My late husband, Michael was out "over-the-road" driving an 18 wheeler.
Gone from home 3 weeks out of the month, he missed our 2 dogs here at home.He visted the Animal Shelter in Liberal,Kansas.There he found a
Chihuahua-mix male. Mr. Jack had been abused. He had been tranferred
from Oklahoma, where an unfortuate accident had happened. While having his cage cleaned, he tried to bite someone's ankle. He was kicked
in his head, and his right eye became dis-lodged. My husband spent quite
some time talking with him, and coaxed him out of his cage. They bonded
closely, and Mr. Jack became my husband's "truckin' buddy".
That was in 2001, he has become a special part of our family,especially
since my husband's passing, he is my best companion,and a protector
for my home and me. Sincerely, Janice Provonsha

Janice Provonsha
Reno, NV

King Fred

We'd been searching frantically for 2 weeks to find another furbaby after we'd had to have our beloved Misty put to sleep due to cancer. There was one very big catch. I couldn't bear to look at a happy, healthy dog with the idea of giving it a home so soon after losing our baby. When the local shelter called to tell us about a Japanese Chin we didn't know what it was and I couldn't work up any enthusiasm. But when we saw this poor little scrap of fur that reeked of kennel stench, had a crookedly healed but formerly broken lower jaw, and was 1/3 under body weight he was absolutely irresistable! He had no teeth and was so beaten down he wouldn't respond to touch or sound so I knew we had to do something about that! We had him neutered and vetted; then took him home to love him better.
He was soon responding to the words 'eat' and 'dinner' but the only way we could hold him was to catch him. We did a lot of rocking and cuddling with him and he soon started doing his little Chin Spin at sight of us. But it was two months before he let out one tiny little woof and that was in response to his Daddy coming into the sitting room. He's in his forever home now and has completely taken over.

Bonnie
Doe Run, MO

Missing the Love.

My family was devastated when we lost our dog Jax to cancer. My husband said never again, no more dogs. So our family tried to go with out for a year. My son & I,felt like we wanted to try again. We talked my husband into trying to get a dog again. it took a couple of times to find the right dog for our family. but now we have the love we was missing and our dog scooby is so full of love. and he gets it back ten fold. Both of our dogs have been rescue Dogs. and that for us, is the only way to go. We wanted to find a dog a home who has never known a real home and love and to be able to save a life. So please stop the puppy mill support and support your local rescue agency.

Kim Martin
Lowerlake, CA

ZOEY

My name is Amy and I greatly support rescue adoptions. I had a wonderful dog for 15 yrs, Shani who passed away 3 yrs ago. When she started getting sick, I started looking at rescue sites and found a dog in Chicago, Teeka. That adoption didnt turn out so great, she had been abused and as loving as she was, also very tempermental. I lost part of a finger trying to stop her attacking my older dog. But it has not stopped me from believing that abused animals need our help. I have since adopted Zoey, a mastiff /german shepherd mix who was 9 mo. old when I got her. I found her on Petfinder classifieds and drove 3 hrs to pick her up. It was the best thing ever! She is a wonderful dog (2 yrs old now and 105 lbs) and she loves to try to sit on my lap! She is still a little scared of new things but warms up wonderfully. We had to buy a bigger bed because she's only happy next to us, but we really love her!! I hope to start looking for a friend for her soon. Its so hard to choose when there are so many wonderful dogs on the rescue site, I want them all!! Good luck and A BIG THANKs to anyone who adopts a rescue.

AMY JO RODDEN
DAVIS JUNCTION, IL

Sunny

When I got Sunny it wasn't pretty. I told his owners they needed to get him to a vet fast. They wouldn't do it. So I gave them a choice, either turn him over to me, or I will have charges filed on them for animal cruelty. Needless to say they did not argue with me. Well after lots of time at the vet with a tail broken in 3 places, damage to his back end from being kicked several times, and a hole that was very infected, on the side of his face, you could of put a dime in, not to mention being skin and bones. Sunny recovered very well. He now has a forever home, with me my kiddo and our 3 other cats, and is very grateful to us everyday.

HWilliams
Cleburne, TX

Shiloh, our guardian and protector

We had been working to ease the pain of our German Shepherd's many leg problems when her physical therapist told us about a dog in need of rescue. There was not much information on him, other than he was a Shepherd Mix, about 7 months old and had been left in the night drop off in a Reno shelter. His back legs work in unison, which makes him look like he's hopping. He was painfully thin, and because of his leg defect he was deemed "rescue only." This physical therapist friend of ours bought him a stay of execution saying "I know some people who have experience with dogs who have leg problems - let me see if they'd be willing to foster him." We fostered him for only about 2 days when we knew he'd be ours forever. Now Shiloh is our faithful guardian and protector! When police were called to a nearby house, and there were SWAT teams involved, Shiloh never stepped outside to bark, but stayed right at our side, following us everywhere we went, every minute of the standoff. Three years later, we couldn't ask for a better friend and companion.

Anne Pinkerton
Reno, NV