Animal Rescue Stories

Lucky 7

This kitten's picture was taken at about 2 and a half months. Her mother was taken by a preditor when she was only 3 weeks old. She was found freezing to death along with her litter mates. Without the immunity from mothers milk, they all caught a cat flu and were dying on by one. She was the only survivor of 7.
When we saw her at 6 weeks old, she was a very sick little girl. Her eyes were crusted over and she was unable to see. Her nose was clogged and she was very small for her age. Some polysporin on her eyes started to clear the crust away and they started to open but what we could see was disheartening. They were so clouded we thought she was blind. We fed her a formula and bathed her eyes and nose and took her to the vet a couple days after we got her. She weighed one pound.
The virus was something she had to fight on her own. We were advised to get her to eat kitten food as soon as possible and wean her from the formula. All we could do was give her some immunity booster and continue to keep her as comfortable as possible.
She improved. Her eyes cleared up, the smelly discharge from her nose gradually went away and the sneezing stopped. What a joy to watch her progress into a strong, healthy romping ball of mischief. She is now 5 months old and a beautiful harlequin.
She has truly lived up to her name QT.
.

Carol Ogden
Petawawa, Canada

Meant to be.....

Four years ago when I worked the mid shift (9pm to 7am) I took a break on the back patio that faces a canyon. We often saw coyotes, rabbits, squirels, etc., coming up from the canyon. I looked to my right and thought is that a cat? Sure enough, I bent down and called, here kitty, kitty and Sassy came running to me. I fed her some tuna from a sandwich I purchased in the snack machine which she quickly ate. When I pet her she started purring. Needless to say I put her in my car and drove her right home to join her brother Rocky (who was adpoted from a shelter).

Cynthia Mitchell
San Diego, CA

Nikki

This is Nikki. Her name comes from the nick in her left ear. She actually adopted us when she was about 9 months old. She came into our yard and she was so tiny and starving. You could actually see her rib bones. After having her checked out by our Vet we were able to introduce her to our other 2 rescued cats. She has more than made up for not having much food in her younger years!! She's happy, plump and beautiful. She truly is a blessing and we can't imagine our life with out her. Although, the other 2 cats might have something different to say at times.

Debi Myers
Kalamazoo, MI

The Senior Dog

Older dogs are often overlooked in shelters and rescues. However, they make excellent companions and often have many more years of love and devotion to give to their new family. You also know exactly what you're getting. What you see, is what you get .... how big the dog is, usually fully house trained and no more destructive chewing. . They are happy and content to lay in a nice warm spot while you're gone from home. They enjoy a nice "quiet" walk in the park. No more pulling and tugging, dragging the owner all over and making it impossible to enjoy the outing.
Senior dogs make wonderful pets for senior people as well. They fit a much slower paced life style and do not require the time and patience of a puppy.
So, the next time you're considering a family companion, please consider a senior. I have a house full of them and I wouldn't trade one of them for a "puppy".

Jo Ann
Columbus, OH

Oreo Alexander Lapointe: Cat on Clearence $5!

In August 2002 my husband, James, and I were planning our wedding. I was working as a Manager at a local Motel 6. James went by the shelter on his way to work to see what they had for cats because we wanted to get one. There sat Oreo with a sticker on his cage $5! Their adoption fee is $60! So he asked why. They said he was agressive, a biter, terrible with children and that he was to be put down the next day. He was not going to let that happen! So he called me at work and I took my lunch and went to the shelter and took the cat back to work with me. We let him out in the office. He sat on the counter and let people pet him never biting. When my son was born he slept next to the crib every night. He is a big boy at 20lbs, but we love him! When we adopted him his name was just Oreo but he became Oreo Alexander because we wanted to make his name our own! We have always given our animals middle names just like our children. We also had a cat named Katmando Ohmygod, He was HUGE, 30lbs & over 3.5ft long! The 1st thing we said upon seeing him was "Katmando? OH MY GOD!" and it stuck! We had him for 3mths before he died of renal failure. he was also to be put down at a shelter.James says he went from Death row to Death with love.
That is our goal when we adopt, saving those that need it MOST. Those to be put down, agressive, biters, or sick. We give them the best chance to have a great life, or a peaceful death surrounded by love!

Jaci Lapointe
Van Buren, ME

Our White Knight

Sir Andre' was rescued at birth 9 years ago and quickly rose to be the leader of the pack of 9 cats with whom we share our lives with. His alias is Rowdy Yates, Trail Boss, as he rides the cat herd hard making sure no one breaks the rules. Most nights he sleeps on my pillow snoring like the sound of a tea kettle and is my personal White Knight. Because of his outgoing, loving nature, Andre' has been the inspiration for the rescue and adoption of 14 cats in our household as well as 4 others in PA. All of our subsequent rescues were feral, abandoned or mistreated and have come to know complete harmony and unconditional love at our home I call Rainbow's End. They are the joy of my life and a proud accomplishment in that we were able to provide a loving, indoor environment for a colony of feral and stray cats in my neighborhood.

Sir Andre' is now beginning to show signs of heart failure and I don't know what we will do without him. His heart is too big for his chest, which is no surprise to us. We are doing whatever we can to provide the best medical care for him and let him know every moment that we have with him how much he means to us and how very much we all love him. Andre' is a very bright light in our lives and even if we lose him, that beautiful light will shine on in all of our hearts forever.

Vanessa Taylor
Moodus, CT

Jake, who made us smile again

We lost Alex, our 16 year old Bishon/Cocker on vacation in May 08. We brought his ashes home with us, and grieved, along with my brother and sister in law who lost their 16 yr old on Good Friday. The grief was overwhelming. The silence deafening, but we said NO more.. So in mid June, web searching, found PETFINDER,, and somehow, GIZMO appeared, in Lexington, KY. I contacted Mindy, and within days we went to meet him. My husband said, we would look but not adopt, so when on June 22,08 we walked in and "Gizmo" sat on my husband's foot, and upon picking him up he licked my husband, he said sign the papers.. Gizmo is now JAKE, named after the Pirates of the Carribean song FEED JAKE and he is a joy, He has been to obedience class, and he loves to travel, he has been to Canada. When you turn the bathroom sink on he comes running to get his teeth brushed. Our 5 yr old Grandaughter adores him, and the residents at the local Nursing home can't wait to see him again, All the neighborhood dogs come to our porch looking for him, and we are planning his 1st birthdya party on April 24th. He is so gentle and loving and is very smart and mostly he has brought love and smiles back to our home, He will never replace ALEX, he made his own space, We are truly blessed

Donna Ramey
Jeffersonville, IN

Couldn't be more special.

We helped an aquaintence find and adopt an aging male Chow Chow from a Chow rescue home. We've had several Chows and constantly have to tell people they are just not for everybody. When we first met Bear, he was small for a 10-year old, and had a calm demeanor but never made eye contact. After a year in his new home, the owner couldn't keep him anymore, so we took him in with our 2-year old Chow. He had grown from too much snacking and too little exercise, and his hair was a matted mess, but he was now very personable and loved attention. He tucked me in every evening. During the two years before a stroke during one of his now twice-daily walks took him from us, he proved to be a spectacular companion.
Chows will often accept only one or two people at a time, showing little trust for strangers, but Bear was open and happy with everyone including other dogs and even cats. Over time we discovered he had spent most of his life in a puppy mill in California. He is actually the second Chow we have had with an unpleasant history that turned out to be wonderful chowdren for us. We knew his time with us would be short, but he will never be forgotten.

Craig Toth
North Ogden, UT

Phoebe Yorkie

We adopted Phoebe from a rescue group almost 6 years ago, she was used for breeding in a puppy mill before that. She had been in foster care and up for adoption for about a year when we found her. Most likely, nobody wanted her because she has no teeth! She doesn't realize this, and eats dry food & treats just like her adopted brother and sister. Phoebe is a little angel and we are so lucky to have her!

Kathy Johnson
Plymouth, CT

MacKenzie's Tale

On Christmas Eve 2007, in Tennessee, where we were born (our momma wasn't spayed like she should have been) my twin sister and I were dumped like trash and scheduled to die.

A nice woman called out for help (her name is Debbie) and we were taken out of the bad place and brought in a big truck way up North, to Connecticut. We were in a big, safe house with our new foster mom, Kim and all her great dogs (Tai is my favorite foster brother). We had fun, played in the pond and learned to be good girls.

One day, Kim took us to the Pet Smart and this lady was there to meet us. She brought her Goddaughter and they drove from a place called New Jersey, just to see us. She said if Kim liked her, one of us would be her puppy and she'd be our forever mom. I liked her right away. She smelled like a nice lady and she loved dogs, I could tell.

I liked her so much I took a nap on her lap, right on the Pet Smart floor. Kim told us her name was Mari and that she thought since I was more independent, I'd be a great best friend for her because I'd be an "only dog".

We drove home to my new house where I have a fenced in yard and a deck! Mom named me MacKenzie. I went to dog school and I was the valedictorian! I love my mom and she says I am the light of her life. We play catch and do all sorts of fun stuff together. My twin sis Avery got adopted the very next day by a nice family, too. We exchange emails and birthday gifts!

Mari Ippolito
Cedar Grove, NJ