Animal Rescue Stories

Holly-Pup ... rescued ... Now a therapy Dog!

In December 2001 I ran away from my abusive home to a nice neighbors house. Later that same day this nice man and lady came to see me. They had lost their beloved Golden Retriever and needed a great dog to fill their lonely days. The lady said I was not what she was looking for as she would like a full-blooded Golden and I was a Golden/Cocker Spaniel mix. The man looked like a soft touch so I ran and jumped in his arms. I just could not go back to the "mean man's house". They decided to take me home with them for the weekend and see how things went.

No one yelled at me in this house. They fed me good food twice a day. Played with me, held me and just loved me. This was very new to me but I certainly liked it. I knew I had found my forever home. My new parents went to the pet store and bought me all kinds of toys, treats, and a nice doggy pillow to lay on.

Mom said I had a great personality and thought I might be able to become a therapy dog. We trained at a local dog school and I passed my Canine Good Citizen test in August 2004. In October 2004 I my made my debut visiting patients. I loved my work and the next year we started visiting teenagers at a local drug and alcohol treatment center. We now visit four different places a week.

Because I was helped and rescued I have a lot of love that I can give to "hurting" or "discouraged" people. My goal as a rescued girl, is to "bring joy, smiles and hope" to everyone we visit.

Signed,
Holly-Pup
A Special Therapy Dog!

Sharen Simmons
Fortville, IN

She had us at hello......

I saw a picture of Pebbles online at Petfinder and I was immediately smitten with her mischevious grin! I contacted her foster mom and made arrangements to go meet her, her foster mom had warned me that she was not in "the best shape". You could count all of her ribs, she had mange, kennel cough and an eye infection and even with all all of that the instant my husband and I picked her up she smiled and began licking our faces. Needless to say, we took her home immediately. She has been with us for four years now and is very fat and happy - Pebbles brings us great joy everyday!

Amy Lynch
Canton, GA

katie kat

One day while working in the kennel of an animal hospital I was asked to go over to the hospital side of the building to get some special food for one of our day care dogs. As I was making my way through the empty waiting room area I noticed a small cage in the corner. What caught my eye was a pair of the sweetest-sparkley eyes looking out from under a blanket in the litter box of the cage. The kitten had been found earlier that morning. One look at her tiny face and her adorable squeak of a meow and I was hooked. I spent my entire lunch break in the room I hid her in so nobody else could take her while I was working . "Thumbelina" turned out more like a Katie Kat and after a couple phone calls and numerous excellent references from our own vet Katie found a new forever home with my parents that weekend. She couldn't have a better family or life. She has 2 sisters Sandy-my parents other rescue ( a cocker/beagle) and Sabrina-my brothers misunderstood beauty (cat) they both love her very much. Sandy likes to snuggle with her all the time.
Katie is such an addition to the family whether she's sitting on her own little stool by the glass front door looking out at lizards and squirrels, flopped on her back in the middle of the kitchen (just hangin out- being seen), or sitting on her own pillow in the den watching tv with everybody. She has even brought the cat lover out of my dad since she doesn't bolt out of the room when he goes to pick her up...he's more of a dog person...shhh. She is loved and spoiled now (especially by me- her "Guardian Angel")

Tracy
Largo, FL

MY HONEYBEE

I found my little Chinese Crested then referred to as Daphne, on Pet Finder. It only took a few minutes to decide that she should be named Honey since she is just that sweet. She was rescued and fostered in West Virginia from a bad situation and came to me full of issues. Her spirit was "damaged" and body very emaciated. She was trembling with fear and cold because of starvation so I put little blue jammies on her and she loves wearing them! We're working on her issues and taking baby steps. The poor little girl is so afraid of everything that she has to be carried through the back door to come in the house and can't even trust a toy enough to play. With love, food and lots of comfort she's coming around. She has finally bonded with me and fits in with my other Chinese Crested. It breaks my heart that a breeder could consider such a precious little girl a piece of property and not give her the love and attention needed for survival. The love she gives in return is immeasurable. I highly recommend going to a nearby rescue when you're ready to find your next four legged "best friend".

Kathie
Dunbar, PA

Axle at 3 months

Axle was rescued when he was found stuck on the rear axle of a car that had driven up and parked in front of our shop. We're not sure how long he was driving hanging on for dear life. He was only 5 weeks old, no bigger than my hand! After 45 minutes of grappling with him, he finally decided to let us help him off. A trip to the vet, lots of tender loving care and he's now a little shy of 2 years old, heathy as ever and quite the handful, but we love him and boy does he make us laugh!!!

Robin & Rocky
Long Beach, NY

The best accident!

A breeder in Illinois breeds pure basset hounds and pure beagles. When he has an "accident" and gets a litter that is mixed, he used to throw them in the white river. A woman who runs a Rott rescue in town learned of this and asked him to let her take care of any more mixed puppies. She ran an ad for 3 "bagels" on Petfinder.com, which is where I discovered Louie - I was specifically looking for a basset/beagle - its a great mix! The breeder may have seen Louie as an accident, but I think he was meant to be mine!

Tess
Indianapolis, IN

Finding Finnegan

We brought Gabby into our family when she was about 8 months old. I spotted her on petfinder.com and fell in love with the patch around her eye. We drove down to meet her and knew immediately she should return home with us.

We learned Gabby had been surrendered in Indiana with a brother. He had been adopted by a woman in Chicago. Via email, we saw a picture of him kayaking in the windy city. It appeared both littermates now had forever homes.

About 6 months later, I was scrolling through the dogs on petfinder.com and was surprised to spot Gabby's brother. I emailed the rescue and learned his owner became ill and could not keep the dog. He had been returned to the rescue and was now in need of a new home.

I expressed an interest in adopting him but learned another family already had their eye on him. It was just before the holidays and one of our older dogs had just passed away. Our spirits were down. Then we received the news that Gabby's brother was ours if we wanted him.

We jumped in the car and drove down to Rockford IL to meet Gabby's brother. On the way down, we tossed dog names around trying to decide what we should name our new family member. We passed a sign advertising "Finnegan's". We took that as a "sign" and decided to name this new dog Finnegan, Finn for short.

We are often asked, "Did they remember each other?" Initially when they saw each other, their hair stood on end. But after a brief smell session, they began to play and have been buddies ever since.

Kira Dott
Middleton, WI

My Best Friend

This great girl was dropped off on a county road in South Georgia. Thankfully, she was smart enough to come up to my house. She was soo thin and had mange terribly. After a couple months of dips at the vet, she was healthy again. That was 8 1/2 years ago. Lucky is the best dog ever and I am so blessed that she strayed into my life! She rarely leaves my side and appreciates all the love she gets & gives!

Trenda Ivey
Loganville, GA

The Best Dog Ever

Having grown up with dogs, it was only a matter of time before I wanted one of my own. Two years previously I had moved to Chicago for gradaute school and had decided I was ready for the responsibility of owning a dog. Adoption seemed like the way to go so I started looking on Petfinder.com to see what dogs were available around Chicago. I came across a listing for a young husky at Chicago Animal Care & Control and decided to go see the dog. I arranged to meet my boyfriend, now my husband, at the shelter where we found the dog had already been adopted. Although we never met the husky, my husband saw a very large yellow lab with a pink nose in a cage that was barely twice his size. With such an endearing face, we decided to take him outside where we quickly learned of his lack of manners. They called him "Tank" because of his size, and even with the pulling and jumping, we knew he would be a very lovable dog. It took us less than 24 hours to decide that he was the dog for us and we went back to the shelter the next day to fill out the paper work. I didn't know how I was going to control such a large dog, but after a few weeks of obedience school and some socialization at the dog park, we now have what everyone calls the "best dog ever". I'm sure it wasn't chance that led us to "Tank" who we have since renamed "Cooper, because he was the perfect addition to our family. He also strengthened my passion for animals and I now enjoy volunteering at adoption days where I get to help other families find their perfect pet.

Alexandra Dirlam Langlay
Eden Prairie, MN

Lexi thanks Petfinder.com

I (Lexi) (aka Blondie) want to thank the kind people at Sanilac County Humane Society and the great website, Petfinder.com. You see, my mom had been searching for a long time for the perfect companion. Then, on New Year's Eve, 2008, she was browsing through the hundreds and hundreds of abondoned puppies and dogs when she laid her eyes on me!! She called the Sanilac County Humane Society to ask about me. I knew I had to be on my best behaviour. It had been a rough couple of months for me. Somehow, I got separated from my owners. Some really nice people found me in a cemetary covered in ice and I had lost about 10 lbs. You could see my ribs!! They took me to the Humane Society where they took care of me and were so nice to me. Anyway, the very next weekend (January 5), my new owner came to visit me to see if we would get along. In an instant we both knew it was a match made in heaven! My mom signed some papers, made the payment and even gave extra for a donation. I jumped in the car, laid down in the back seat and waved goodbye to my friends at the Humane Society. Oh, and I forgot to tell you! My mom is from Canada so now I have dual citizenship!! The nice people at the border congratulated my mom on rescueing a beautiful Golden Retriever cross. They just wanted to see my vaccination papers!
It has been one year now and we are so happy together. Mom takes me for walks, we go for lots of car rides and I keep her company. Thank you Sanilac County Humane Society and Petfinder.com for finding me the perfect home!

Lexi xo

Mary Parker
Ridgetown, Canada