Animal Rescue Stories

SNOWBALL

I was working with an animal rescue organization, ABC, that did adoptions out of PetSmart. I already had 7 cats but also wanted a white cat. Snowball was a colony cat living in a cemetery. They were going to do a TNR on him as well as many of the other cats there. The manager of the cemetery had a hatred of cats, even running down a few. He was a feral cat when I got him. Well I got SnowBall on 12/12/04 and he hid in the bedroom without coming out for over 2 month. I left a litter box so he could see it as well as food and water. Since he only knew dry food in the wild and never had canned food, he didn't eat it. Well at the end of January of 2005 he ventured out and saw the other cats eating the canned food and dug in himself. After working with him, he quickly became a loving cat, loves to get petted, meows at us, rubs up against us. He even sleeps with my wife and me at night. He is still not a fan of being picked up and can get spooked at times but he is a real sweetheart.

Paul E Taylor Jr
Toms River, NJ

Mandy

I found this tiny creature outside of the building where I work. She only weighed a pound and was a little beaten up. She was afraid of me and I was afraid of her. I just knew I couldn't leave her outside to fend for herself. I brought her inside and she became an office project until I took her to the vet. When I got her home I bathed her and fed her. Then she hid under my couch for hours. Later, as I sat on the couch, she climbed up to my face and very deliberately rubbed her cheeks against mine. I learned later that she was marking me. Then she curled up and fell asleep in my hands. It was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life and since then I've been the biggest cat lover. It's funny how sometimes we don't know what we need until it finds us.

Michele Huston
Boardman, OH

Found my Best Friend...

When I finally found an apartment that would accept dogs and had it's own yard, I set out to find the dog I'd been looking for. I planned on getting a small dog, but when I went to the Dane County Humane Society in Madison, WI to find one, I fell in love with the sweet, shy, brown eyed dog named Peter Paul. I knew nothing of his Australian Cattle Dog breed, but after some research I knew he was the one for me! I met him and he instantly jumped in my lap and licked my face...Well after two years, Frosty and I are inseperable! He has traveled the country with meand continues to be the true love of my life...I'm so glad that I found him and am glad I had an open mind when it came to choosing a pup...

Dawn Lawson, RN
Bolingbrook, IL

Two for the price of one

I went to the Wyoming County, New York Animal Shelter just to drop off sheets and blankets and had it in the back of my mind that I might adopt a tabby (my favorite) to add to our family of three cats while I was there.
When we arrived I was overwhelmed by the overcrowded conditions and the desperation of the dedicated people working at the shelter. I was with my son and he liked a white and black tabby and I like the gray tabby kitten. Just as we were deciding which one to take home with us, someone from the shelter came up to us with a somewhat desperate look on her face and said, "we having a buy one get one free sale today"! What could I do? I said in a hurried voice, "just put them both in the carrier and we'll take them both"! Literally, there were cats crawling EVERYWHERE! The rest is history and Ivy and Iris blended into our family perfectly. I have never had litter mates before, but I highly recommend getting two because, they are so funny together and it really helped them transition into a household with three adult cats, because they had the comfort of each other. I walked out of that shelter with my two kittens and burst into tears. It's a desperate situation in rural shelters with very little money supporting their efforts. People think nothing of barn cats having litter after litter of kittens. My wish is to have a neuter van which travels around to barns and neuters all the male cats to stop the overpopulation. Otherwise, it's like putting your finger in the crack in the dam. Overpopulation has to be addressed at the source.

Becky
Tonawanda, NY

Reina's new life

Reina was rescued from a puppy mill in California. She came to us via a friend and suffered from a lot of emotional problems. We have had her for 16 months now and she has made tremendous progress. She has the sweetest disposition and is full of love. She has made our family complete!

Nicole Sylvester
Las Cruces, NM

First time foster mom

I started fostering puppies for the Ohio Puppy Rescue in February, 2009. Those poppies in the photos are my first group of babies. (There is another one, Eddie (beagle mix) who was busy somewhere else and didn't want to join us.) Most of the puppies are leaving for their permanent homes. I was sad to see my babies leave, but it was a good goodbye. I'm happy for them that they could find their homes and people who will love them dearly. I'm also glad that I was able to involve in the adoption processes to help them to find the best matches. It is a great feeling. I can't wait to see my next group of puppies.

Laura Cheng
Westerville, OH

Alone in a new World

When my wife of ten years left me, taking our two Labs as well, I was devastated and alone...Then ASTRO (Amy) called, wondering if I could watch this big Pit Bull for a couple of weeks...I said sure, why not? After two weeks with the big lug, I said: You're Mine! Welcome home!!!!

He's my best friend, confident, and protector....

Mark Hemmelgarn
Indianapolis, IN

Beautiful Rescue

My daughter felt directed to call the Cantonment Jr. Humane Society and found Kaia, a Siberian Husky/Viszla mix. She is under 2 years old and was starved to the point of skin and bones, hairless and left with 5 puppies. We are eternally grateful that they restored her to this beautiful condition so she could join our menagerie of 3 other dogs, three cats and 7 chickens. Sarah Christopher

Sarah H Christopher
Pensacola, FL

The Beagle I always wanted

We adopted Missy from our local shelter after seeing her picture at a booth at the county fair. We fell in love with her instanlty, and even though we didn't think it was quite the right time to add another dog to our family, we couldn't resist. She has been the best dog that we could have ever asked for and I count my blessings everyday that we did decide to bring her home. I don't know what I would do without her.

Kianne
Auburn, IN

Cheyenne

Cheyenne was one kitten from a litter of kittens, whose mom had been born not 10 months earlier. We had neighbors who refused to fix their outdoor cats. Cheyenne's siblings were nursing from mom, and grandmom, it was really quite sad. I believe she refused to get wrapped up in that cycle. She literally climbed the tree, and jumped the chainlink fence to get to me when she was less than 4 weeks old. I dropped her back over the fence to her mama, and she came back over the fence a few days later. I knew she was meant to be mine.

Dawn
Leander, TX