I found Sundae (formerly Lil One) on Petfinder. She and her sister had been left to starve in a crate in an abandoned trailer. There was something about her that said she had to be mine. I contacted the shelter and then drove to get her. She has such a personality. She has separation anxiety, but we are able to help her with that. The bond that forms from knowing you rescued a pet is beyond words. It warms your heart.
We just had two dogs pass in 3 weeks; 10 year old from bone cancer and 11 yr old from a massive stroke. We were just devastated.
We were informed about a male German Shepard at our local pound that was running out of time. I went to the shelter and adopted him sight unseen. When the Vet Tech brought him to me from the infirmary, I just about fell over from shock. Here was an 18 month old GSD that weighed 40 lbs and had over 38 bite marks on his head and neck. One ear was shorter than the other and the vet could see the bite marks on the scar tissue. Obviously Cody had been attacked as a puppy and again right before he was dumped at the pound.
The first two months were very difficult. Cody had numerous medical problems and he would not eat. I cooked so many home-made meals it became routine. After about 4 months, we started to see Cody’s real personality. He started eating but was still uncomfortable with basic situations. Riding in the car was a real challenge. He would glue himself to the floorboard.
After several months we rescued a rottie girl and that helped Cody gain the confidence he has today. Our fur babies are very bonded. Cody weighs approximately 100 lbs and does not worry about his past. Riding in the car has also changed. When it is bye-bye time, it is a race to see who gets in the truck/car first.
It was a ruff start for Cody. However, he has become the most loving and loyal fur baby. His little sister, Rayne Marie, is very bonded with him.
It was an upward climb, but it was totally worth every challenge and trial we went through with both dogs. Our fur babies are healthy, happy and very much loved. There is a saying that someone’s trash is another person’s treasure. Our treasures are named Cody and Rayne.
I told the story of finding our tuxedo cat. Smiley, a little over 8 years ago, she stole my heart and my wife's too. She was the best cat ever born, love to sleep in your lap, play with her toys. She was a big part of our hearts and lives and we loved her so much. Today she passed away, kidney failure, arthritis, and it was just found out she had lost about half her red blood cells, which left her tired, sleepy and with no appetite. We worked with her for a long time with medicine, fluids, and special diet, but in the end she went downhill fast. We cried a lot and there will be a large hole in hearts for a long time, things just won't be the same. We will miss her forever and will never forget all the good times and love with her. Goodbye Smiley we love you.
Willow did not have a happy childhood. Her previous owners never really wanted her. They never took the time to play with her and socialize when she was a kitten. They basically just ignored her. When they decided they didn't want her at all, they said they were going to take her to the nearest farm and drop her off outside. When my husband heard of this he was not about to let that happen. He went to the irresponsible owners and said that we wanted to take Willow and give her a home. They gladly gave her to him. She was a bit standoffish at first and to this day she will not let anyone hold her. With time, patience and lots of love she has become the perfect house cat. She spends her days roaming through the house, lounging on the couch and playing with her many toys. She loves to sit on the top tier of her cat tree and look out the window, while feeling the sun's warmth coming through. She is quite vocal and lets us know loudly when it is time to eat. She will never again have to worry about being dropped off anywhere. She is in her forever home.
In October of 1991, an orange cat strolled into our townhouse as we were packing for a trip to Vermont. I wasn't into cats then, but was charmed by this friendly, chill cat. He just sauntered in like he owned the place. Our neighbors ended up adopting him. As I got to know, and love, more cats over the years, I would sometime think "Lord, I'm ready for that to happen again!" Also, for some reason I knew that if we ever did get a cat, it would be male, and his name would be Walter. Who knew where that came from!
Fast forward to April of 2020, the strangest of years, as we were driving up to my Mom's, about an hour away. GPS had me taking a left at Roosevelt Ave in Manville, NJ, but I felt like going straight. But when I looked in my rearview mirror, there was a line of cars, so I went ahead and made that lefthand turn. That small act changed our lives for the better, for good! Within a 10 yards or so, we almost hit a small orange cat who was crossing the road. I immediately pulled over, and also waved my arms madly at an oncoming car. He thought I was nuts until I told him I didn't want him to hit this little cat. He said "Well he's under your car now!" I knelt down, we locked eyes and this little fella meowed - I scooped him up in my arms and he hugged my neck and started purring madly. It was love at first meow. After I went to a few houses to see if he belonged to anyone, I brought him back to the car (and my infinitely patient husband), and said "Watch him while I go knock on some more doors!" We had our tiny maltipoo, Lily, in a crate in the back seat, and she was yowling and howling. The cat, for his part, just calmly and curiously put his nose up to her to say "Oh, hi there!" Then hopped up to sit on her crate as if it was something he did on a routine basis.
We did due diligence to see if he belonged to anyone in the neighborhood, but the story we got from a couple of people was that there were a LOT of stray cats in Manville. And he most likely would have been a dead stray cat if we hadn't flagged down that oncoming car. Which would not have happened if I had not made that left onto Roosevelt Ave! Oh, the importance of these small decisions we make in life!!
So now we have our male, orange cat, as friendly and chill as the one who walked into our home so many years ago, and have indeed named him Walter. He was estimated to be 7-9 months old when we found him, so he is just around a year now. He is sweet, funny, curious, mischievous, and will do a meow that sounds like he's saying "Huh-rowwww? (Hellooo?)" He is also so beautifully marked! Truly, our own little tiger. I didn't know I could be this much in love with a CAT!!!
I also did some research after we took Walter home, thinking about how friendly and chill he is. (Although he definitely has his Crazy Cat times too.) For some reason, orange tabbies have a rep for being very friendly and outgoing. Sure is the case with our guy!
We found a new home this year after almost two years of looking; and we found a cat who I love to the moon and back. Lily and he are quite companionable now - he actually seems quite attached to her, and I call him her Bratty Little Brother. This year has brought so much weirdness and heartache, but Walter is one of the biggest silver (or orange!) linings to 2020.
WE’LL TAKE THEM ALL! Words that were to change my life and others. That’s what I was told happened when authorities were looking around our big city area for a rescue place to take a large number of cats discovered in a hoarding situation. The lady had become ill, I’m told the kitten I ended up with had been used as a weapon – thrown at the people who had come to help the lady. He wasn’t rescued that day but arrangements were made.
My 6 month old kitten was TERRIFIED of people. He had been rescued about 7 weeks before I saw him. He was neutered and vaccinated and had started to heal; however, he still had open wounds on him and it seemed the bruises lasted many months.
I had 2 cats and 2 Chihuahuas [my “30 lbs. of pet” family] and one of the cats died unexpectedly from a tumor at way too young [not quite 8]. Even my dogs grieved and my other cat put her paws on top the little cat post she had taught Dooley to use [she preferred the big one and he had needed teaching]. She put her paws on it and sobbed, it was heart-wrenching. Hard to explain, I didn’t know a cat could cry that way…
I saw the ad. I wasn’t sure I wanted a new pet, especially so soon, but that kitten needed us and we needed him. It amazed me when the foster mom brought him in a crate and my Chi’s didn’t make a peep, they must have known he was so traumatized already. She had started working with him by trailing some buttons on a string and teaching him to follow.
I couldn’t touch him the first 10 days and every tiny bit of progress took a lot of time. Good thing that me and the pets have a very quiet, happy and loving household and I talk sweet to the critters a lot. Dexter [formerly dubbed Mr. Orville] eventually came around and instead of looking like a homely cat, he now GLOWED. He is still scared of anybody that visits and never comes out but he’s certainly my buddy! He often can be found beside my elbow at the computer or nearby when I’m anywhere else. He’s grown to be the slightly-bratty but very happy brother kitty and treasured member of our little family. It took until this year for him to like boxes and decide crumpled paper can be great fun too so he is still progressing.
I don’t know how many cats came out of that hoarded home but no other rescue places had offered to take them all on except WHARF RESCUE. I am so very grateful!!
Dexter now loves being close to me, loves being brushed [even his tummy], will take a treat out of my hand, kisses me regularly and is a love to all of us. He’s been home now for 3-1/2 years. Here he comes to sit beside me and get his hug!
Is that a dog?
I had just moved to Albania and was looking to volunteer with animals in my spare time when the local animal rescue posted some pictures of this... creature. The pictures of him were so pitiful. He was under a car, legs folded together. Bald spots showed through the few patches of fur he did have. He looked more like a sick rat than a sick little dog.
I was missing my dog back home and thought I could probably give this little guy a temporary place to stay. The person from the rescue told me to meet them at the local veterinarian. When I got there, I was surprised to see a bold little dog who was not at all scared of me and mostly pretended I wasn't there. He was suffering from mange and smelled terrible. He was definitely a dog, a little terrier mix of some kind. And he was going home with me.
In the beginning, I bundled him in a blanket and rushed him outside when he needed to go out, trying to avoid seeing my neighbors in the elevator. After all, the mange had made his bare skin scabby and raw. He smelled terrible.
As he began to get healthier, we took longer and longer walks. Then one night, we woke to the building swaying. It was an earthquake! I had no idea what to do except leave our building once the shaking stopped. We rushed down from our 5th-floor apartment down the stairs and outside. For the next few hours, we wandered around the park, not sure where to go or what to do. I felt a little less lonely with him there.
As the weeks and months went on, Ralphie became healthier. It was time to think about the next, permanent chapter in his story. Luckily, my sister had been following his story and fell in love with him. It was hard to imagine not seeing him anymore, so I was ecstatic that Ralphie would go live with her.
Now, he lives near the coast in the US. He finally gets to be his true doggy self, a feisty little terrier mix who loves to cuddle and march around his house.
I share this story because many dogs (and cats) in Albania are still waiting for homes somewhere in the world. Dogs as pets are still not very common for most Albanians yet, but there are dedicated people there trying to help them. If you are interested in donating, being a travel companion, or volunteering, please reach out to Animal Rescue Albania. If you travel to Albania and are willing to have a dog or cat travel with you when you leave, Animal Rescue Albania can make the arrangements for a dog or cat to travel with you, even if you are flying elsewhere.
Even if you don't travel to Albania, keep in mind that there are dogs worldwide in need of homes, even in the United States, and your next travel destination could mean helping another dog or cat get to their adoptive homes. Also, remember animal rescues are always in need of money to pay for medical treatment, so if you can donate, please do. If you can't donate now, help spread the word.
Went home to Tennessee because my brother who was single was very ill. He died 2 days after I got there. 2 days later my daughter was outside when this wet dog showed up. It was going from driveway to driveway looking for his owner. The neighbor called the dog catcher to come and get him. When they showed up my daughter was frantic and I told her to bring him into the house. They do not have any type of shelter so he would go to the pound and euthanized in 3 days and we were not going to let that happen. I prayed we would find his owner before I had to go back to Colorado. I put it on facebook, we went to every lost and found on the internet but no luck. My daughter offered to take him and I said no, she has 4 rescues she did not need anymore. This dog was very loving and was a comfort to me and would come and lay on top of my feet or climbed in the chair with me and lay his head in my hand and go to sleep. He won my heart over and I told my husband I was bringing him home. He told me to get him neutered and get his shots. I still had a week to go before going back home so on the day before I left took him to my daughter's vet and had all the things done. The next day it took both my daughter and myself to get him in the truck. This was in March and we ran into all 4 seasons on our drive. He slept almost all the way to Hayes, KS where we stopped for the night. The next day we still had 5 hours of driving to do and he handled it very well. He has bonded totally with my husband who loves him very much. I don't know the circumstances that brought him to us that day but I thank God every day. He is a wonderful dog and makes us laugh every day. Oh by the way, the vet said he was 12 to 14 months old and was a full blooded Red Bone Coon Hound. All I have to say is someone lost the best dog we've ever had as far as temperament. He shows his love to us every day and loves to go to the dog park.
We picked up this little boy at a rescue shelter at 8 weeks of age. He was going to be put down because he had a hernia and the back part of his spine was deformed. Made an appointment at the rescue shelter and met him and immediately fell in love with him. Brought him home to live a very fun life with us. He loved to chase bubbles, and loved to go camping with us. Loved laying in the sun, and was the best dog anyone had ever met. Unfortunately, because cavalier King Charles are prone to heart conditions, he passed away this past Friday night from heart failure. I still wake up in the morning with tears in my eyes. I was with him when he died and he knew he was very loved. Eleven and a half years wasn’t long enough for me......
In 2012, while walking my dogs home from the hayfields next door, my rescue Molly suddenly had a heart attack and died right before our eyes. Howie, my other dog and Bob, my rescue kitty and I were in shock.
I’ve rescued dogs and cats since the 1970’s.
Howie was very sad and needed a best doggie friend. I went to my local shelter and was met by a friend who volunteered there. She was walking “Blackie”. Blackie was rescued from a hoarding situation and wasn’t doing well there. She was terribly frightened and was shutting down. My friend asked if I had come to look at the available dogs. When I said I was, she implored me to save Blackie. How could I possibly say no! When I brought Howie to meet her they both were overjoyed. There was lots of sniffing then play bows. That’s when we watched them race about the enclosure and I knew Howie and I found our new best friend.
Blackie became Gusie , named after my dearest uncle Gus. Howie died of old age in 2015. He was a spectacular fellow and we missed him desperately. Several months after our sorrow softened it was once again time to open our home and hearts and I began my search for our new family member.
We found Dora at a wonderful rescue near home. She quickly became Gusie’s dearest friend and stole our hearts. Since rescues’ ages are unknown, we did not know how old Dora was. She came to us in 2015 and left us in February 2020, dying of splenic cancer.
Poor Gusie is so hoping we can bring someone home-me too! Someone a bit older, mellow and definitely gentle with cats. Both of us are seniors now which means we have some limitations, but we have so much love to give and share with a dog in need of a new home that I will keep searching for a new best friend for my Dearest Gusie.
