Animal Rescue Stories

Chloe and Alex

This is Chloe and Alexander. They are Siamese brother and sister. Their original human mommy was very sick and worried about what would happen to them when she died. I had known her from work, we were not friends by any means, but she told me about her worries. I guess she knew I loved cats and felt I would understand her fears. She was right. I told her I would keep them safe for her in my house. She passed away content, knowing they'd be loved. And loved they are! I have 9 cats and no one could be more closer to me than Chloe and Alex. They are with me continually. The other 7 that I've raised, well most of them, are from kittens. They are close to me, also, but nothing like Chloe & Alexander. They are 13 years old and I've had them for about 5 years now. Chloe likes to be carried around on my hip like a small child. I can't even go to the bathroom by myself anymore. Try doing ANYTHING in the bathroom holding a little nutsy cat. Alexander, on the other hand, likes to lay next to me when I'm sitting on my bed. And if I ignore him, he hits me with his paw till I take notice and hold him and kiss his head(he seems to be fond of this and keeps coming back for more). Even my other guys are crazy about them. They're the protection squad. They all sleep together on my bed and keep Chloe and Alexander all huddled between them. We treasure the day they came into our lives.

grace carrin
e. stroudsburg, PA

Cammy our Aussie

This is our girl Cammy. She came to us from a high kill shelter in West Virginia. She had many miles to travel to find her forever home in New Jersey. She came to us during a very difficult time in our lives after the recent and sudden loss of our beloved friend Jazzy. Cammy has been a wonderful addition to our lives.

Laura
Hamilton, NJ

My little Abbie

I adopted Abbie from the PetSmart across the street from my office. A co-worker found her trying to get under a fence to "visit" some men playing baseball in a field. She was scared and wanted to be with people. She took her home and then to PetSmart and paid for all her shots and had her spayed. Although I already had an older black cat, Miss Kittie, at home, she talked me into going to see her. I fell in love. Miss Kittie has since passed and now Abbie rules the house. She is very fiesty and makes her own rules. Every morning she wakes me up and waits at the top of the stairs for me to accompany her to the kitchen. She's a little pistol. She's the poster child for "No one ever owns a cat".

Kathy
Atlanta, GA

Kayo Kitty and Snowflake

Kayo, a beautiful long haired cat and Snowflake, a grey tabby with emerald eyes were both left behind by student renters. For two years, they lived on the streets, neither one spayed or neutered. I fed them and gave them water, but they were too scared to follow me into my house. By the time I rescued them, Kayo had lost teeth and was very ill. I don't know how many of Snowy's kittens died outside in the cold. Thankfully they both live inside now and are together all the time...spayed and neutered and very happy. Julie ( North York, Ontario, Canada)

Julie Saunders
North York, Canada

Tyson

We adopted our Boxer/Pit Bull Mix from foster care. Tyson had been abused and starved. He will always have joint issues due to early malnutrition, but has made great strides. He is the happiest little boy, with the sweetest personality and a joy to have share our home.

Lisa
Howell, MI

Anya and the Kittens

In the winter of 1999-2000, my husband and I were serving as mentors in an "urban missionary" project. Anya was a little stray kitten who sometimes came to our window for food, but steadfastly refused to be captured... until one snowy March day, when she came to the window with a newborn kitten in her mouth. She led me to the back alley, where I found four more kittens in a wet cardboard box. I brought them inside and, with the help of neighborhood children, revived two kittens. All five kittens survived in perfect health.

The kittens -- Dion, Yorkie, Slowpoke, Trip, and Froggy -- were all adopted to great homes. We still exchange e-mails and Christmas cards with their human families ten years later.

Anya remained permanently with us because she suffered some health challenges from becoming pregnant as an abandoned six-month-old kitten. She needed a year of antibiotic treatment to cure a persistent case of mastitis, and she has osteoporosis and multiple allergies.

She isn't a very cuddly cat, which isn't surprising since her first human family abandoned her when she was just a kitten. But she enjoys sleeping on her fluffy old quilt, watching the wrens in their nest in the eaves of our house, and playing with the ribbons on my Bible while I'm studying. Her life is good, and she has been our beloved companion.

'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You inâ¦?" And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.' (Matthew 25:37-40)

Kathleen and Jim P.
Wilmington, DE

Rusty

We adopted Rusty from the local shelter in 2001. A ragmop of a dog with tufts between his toes, he'd been on the streets, wary and thin. He chewed up our couch and acted out to test our commitment to him. He liked to be petted, but didn't like to cuddle. My husband suddenly became very ill, and was nearly bed-ridden for over a year. Rusty stayed in his lap, giving him a warm heartbeat and lots of love. We thought we saved Rusty, but Rusty saved my husband, nursing him back to complete health. He has found a 'forever home' in our hearts.

Diane Lybbert
Burleson, TX

I Picked My New Best Friend

After having lost a beautiful dog that we had as a member of the family for 15 years, we had begun the journey of finding our new friend. We went to the local Animal Shelter on a beautiful spring day to "browse" to see if there were any new friends we might be interested in. I was still quite tearful and sad, but though it might help to look - it could not really hurt. As we entered the area when the dogs are kept in cages, I saw a cute little man who appeared to be part Shepherd and part Terrier who caught my eye. He was charming and kept barking at me as if saying "please take me home and save me". I went to look at other dogs, but this young pup stuck him nose through the cage bars and followed me as I walked the area. He kept barking and whimpering as if to say "I love you.....please please please pick me". Struck by his perseverance and charm, I took him outside to walk and get acquainted. The rest is history. This young man who would be letter named Otto was brought home that day. He won my heart and has become a family member. I will never forget that day and how this little pup really was the one that picked his new best friend.

Katherine Becker
Hamilton, OH

Our "Lady"

Lady walked on to our property about 8 years ago as a skin and bones puppy. Her tail was almost as long as she was. I called to her and she came to me immediately..she was so sweet and gentle, a real "Lady" so that is what we named her.

The vet said she had been abused and starved and has a large barbed wire scar on one hip. He estimated her at about 8 months old. As you can see from the picture, she has "food issues" so we can't keep any dry food out like we had done for our other dog who only ate when she was hungry. Lady must be on medication for a thyroid problem as we could not get her to drop any weight with just adjusting her diet. She has lost about 6 lbs now and is much more active, although we don't know how she managed to get that belly up onto the picnic table to eat the food we had left for the birds!!!

Marilyn Urbanowicz
Cookeville, TN

House full Of Perfect Misfits

We adopted Fiona, the Catahoula Leopard Dog shown to the right, through petfinder.com. When I went to meet her she jogged in the room, climbed up onto the futon I was sitting on, and laid her little head in my lap. It was enough to make me say within 30 seconds of meeting her, "WHERE DO I SIGN!?" She is an absolute angel and has been since the day we brought her home. She has the best personality and is such a loving, amazing, intelligent dog!!
About a year later, we "saved" her best friend Snoopy, whom is a Pitbull/Boxer mix. The owner couldn't pay for the food and care that a dog needs so he tried to "let him go" on a four-lane business route, but Snoopy was too loyal to run away. We talked the owner into letting me come to meet Snoop, and when I arrived, they already had his bags packed and he had a large scrape on his nose. They insisted it was "No big deal, he must've just gotten into a fight with a neighborhood dog." It looked like a pavement scrape, and I imagined Snoopy in a "near-accident" with a vehicle. I instantly loaded him into the truck and we never looked back. I couldn't leave him there another minute, for fear of his life! Also, our shelters will not adopt out Pitbulls, so if he were to be picked up, he would not leave the shelter alive.
The two combined are the best companions we could ever ask for, and we are so grateful that we were lucky enough to be blessed with such angels, sad to think they were ever labeled "unwanted." We take them on vacation with us, spoil em' rotten, and look forward to their wonderful personalities every day!

Jenny
Niles, MI