Animal Rescue Stories

Unwanted Dog

When our neighbor went into the nursing home no one wanted Gracie. She was around 16. A little back dog with long hair. She seemed sweet to me. When he went into the home I would go over and feed Gracie. She would get real excited. I notice no one around the house and sometimes she would be out all day. I called one of his daughters and she said on one wanted Gracie. I said I'll take her to my house and if she gets along with my 2 dogs she can stay. They knew each other through the fence. I brought her over and they got along fine. She would guard her food from the other two but otherwise they got along fine. We had her for 3 years before she crossed the rainbow bridge. She was a wonderful dog. I still miss her.

Cindy Plummer
KEYSER, WV

2 1/2 lbs of pure love

My daughter and I went to Petsmart to get food for our pets, when we saw the saddest little dog that had just been rescued by the Texas Chihuahua Rescue, when we inquired about the puppy, they told us she wasn't a puppy, she was 7 years old and had been left at the pound. We went through the process to foster her and 3 days later, we got the very small sick dog. You could see every single bone in her body, and it took lots of love, patience and time for her to show her beautiful and goofy personality. We just lost our 13 year old min pin, and Chiquis has helped me cope with the pain. Senior rescues are the best!!

Ana
SAN ANTONIO, TX

BEAR MY BEST FRIEND

Bear was an Alaskan Husky racing dog. At age 7 Bear and his teammates were left chained up in upstate NY as the owners lost interest in racing the dogs. Lucky that all 16 dogs were found and taken care of. All the dogs found forever homes and I drove 6 hours and brought my Bear dog home. I have rescued dogs for over 50 years but Bear was my entire heart and soul. My constant companion he went everywhere with me. Bear was a large dog and rode shotgun. Bear was a quiet dog but howled if anyone came near his seat or if I had to leave him, also when he heard me coming home from work. After almost 6 years I lost Bear to cancer. The last year i spent cooking his favorite foods and hand feeding him. I finally had to say good bye to my best friend ever. That was 2 years ago and I sill miss him every single day. The love and trust between animals and their humans is so special and comparable to no other feelings. Always look for that special animal and ADOPT. I found by sole mate and the most love ever with my Bear.

Polly Ann
JAMESTOWN, NY

"Dog Food"

While buying cat food at Petco the first Saturday in December 2011, a family came in with a pathetic looking kitten. The little girl was crying and the boy just looked down at his feet while the parents spoke to the rescue group. I could tell the woman running the rescue was very angry while the kitten looked over her shoulder and I swear, every time I looked up she gave me the "silent meow". After I finished checking out, I went back into the store. By that time the family had left and I asked what the story was with the kitten. Apparently, the daughter wanted a kitten and the boy a puppy. Well the pup, a pit bull, attacked the kitten several times and rather viciously so they brought the kitten to the rescue. No, I don't blame the dog, I blame the idiot people. The kitten looked about 5 or 6 weeks old and the woman told me she would not survive the weekend. She was covered in blood and scabs as well as ear mites and fleas. She was also mal-nourished so they let me have her to see what I could do. I kept her locked in a guest bathroom over the weekend and dropped her off at my vet's the following Monday morning. I wanted a thorough check-up and after filling out paperwork the girl at the desk asked me her name. "I don't know, I've been calling her Dog Food all weekend.", I replied. She yelled at me for such a horrible name so I said, "well, how about Puppy Chow?" She went ballistic, screaming at me and telling me unless I came up with a real name, she would not let me have her back at the end of the day. Now, I had been taking my other two cats there (both shelter kitties) for a little over 6 years at that point so most of the staff knew me. I thought about a name but just couldn't come up with one. The song "Christmas Eve in Sarajevo" came on the radio and I thought that was the perfect name. Went I went back after work that evening, the young lady says, "Well?" in a not-so-nice tone. I said I'm calling her Sarajevo. She looks at me, says "That's pretty. Um, how do you spell that?". The vet came out and told me she was approximately 3 months old but so small because of malnourishment. She was treated for fleas and ear mites as well as worms just in case. Fortunately, her blood work came back negative for diseases so I could now introduce her to my other two cats. I had her spayed and decided to keep her. The woman that ran the rescue was surprised but very happy with her outcome. Fast forward to her annual check-up the following year. As soon as the vet comes into the room where we are waiting, he booms out "How's Dog Food, my miracle kitty doing?" I told him how unhappy his receptionist was with me about calling her Dog Food. He just laughed and said, "I can fire her so she knows not to say anything to me." Fast forward another couple of years, Sarajevo (or Twerp as my husband calls her - for good reason!) was found to have hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Three years ago, her vet figured she only had a few months left to live and felt it best not to stress her out with any more visits. She is still with us. She gets tired easily and gets out of breath quickly when playing but is still very loving to us and still quite the "twerp" to the other cats. Definitely an instigator! Needless to say, she is quite pampered and very loved. It will be devastating when her poor heart finally gives out but perhaps because she has so much heart, she is still going strong.

Susan Andersn
CLEVELAND, TN

Hurricane Irene

Just before the hurricane hit, my boyfriend and I were checking on a colony of feral cats for a friend.
There were no cats around, not in the shelters, nearby woods, all were gone, except for one, a tiny little
kitten in one of the shelters all alone, soaking wet and crying. As I went to grab her she just clung onto me
scared and shaking. We quickly got her home, warmed her up and fed her. I didnt think twice of trying
to find her a home, she already did. She is still doing great, although tiny, she bosses her siblings around!
She is beautiful and of course her name is Irene. She even got picked to be in The Humane Society of US calendar.

Dawn
RONKONKOMA, NY

Bunny love

An acquaintance i knew left her dwarf bunny in her apartment after being evicted. I went and got the bunny with the plan to call a local shelter. My 16 year old son , who had never bonded with any animals due to a life long sensitivity disorder and chronic pain after being hit by a car, fell in love with her. It brought him out of his shell and he now helps me care for cats at an animal shelter and he spends a lot of time with our 2 year old cattle dog. He even adopted 2 disabled dwarf hamsters from a pet store which he spends time with constantly. I am thankful for the compassion he shows and the bonds he now has with animals.

Cindy Comstock
DUNDEE, IL

Heart Mender

In 2006 we adopted 2 tabby kittens who were 4 months old. They became our boys and brought us so much love. In early 2017, one of the boys was diagnosed with CHF. Periodically he had to have fluid drained from his chest to make his breathing easier. In July he became too sick and had to be euthanized. Our heart broke but we still had our other boy. In October, our other boy started acting sick. We learned very quickly that he had liver cancer. We were devastated. In early November of 2017, we were forced to have him euthanized. I missed my fur babies, their purring and love. I started looking at pictures of kitties on Petfinder. I was drawn to the little black ones. I found one at a rescue 25 miles from my home. After convincing my husband to get another kitten, we were blessed to adopt this beautiful little girl in December of 2017. She has been the best little girl we could ever ask for. She will never take our boys place but she has made a place of her own in our hearts. She has been the greatest heart mender in the world.

Pat Norman
GRAFTON, WV

Buffy

Buffy was a mastiff mix. He was super sweet! People were afraid of him because of his size but he was te biggest sweetest baby! He belonged to a neighbor Mr Cobb. Mr Cobb fought in the Korean war and wads a loving dog owner.
He could no longer walk him and I would just go walk him. When Mr Cobb died his in home nurse called me and said come and get Buffy because his sister wants to out him to sleep. The reason for that is he left Buffy 25.000 and he let her one million. But it was not enough she needed Buffy's 25.000
unfortunately I don't have any pictures of him on the computer. I have a few in storage.
So my building no longer accepts dogs and it is hard to hide a mastiff. When his nurse called me and my hubby went to rescue Buffy. They told me he was in distress without his daddy and was howling and barking nonstop. ut when he came to stay with us I think it as for 2 weeks the maintenance man agreed not to tell anyway Buffy was finally at peace and just slept a lot. We sent him for a bath and he got a ribbon for being a good boy.
I frantically searched for a home for him and prayed and I found the best home for him! A doggy day care that handles adoptions agreed to take him in and get him adopted! Biscuits and bath has a pool and is such a cute place and he had a lot of friends to play with and had a good life. They go for walks in Central Park and he had a private bedroom, he had spa days and teeth brushing, massages, oral hygiene chews soothing bedtime music, they gave him all of his vaccines and and vet care.
This place is wonderful.
The vet care is fabulous. Their basic training vital for all city dogs. The play floor is spacious, and their groomers are talented.Its not a shelter it is a doggy day care and spa.
Buffy went to the rainbow bridge from there. He was 11 years old and they found out he had cancer. But I am so happy I was able to give him such a good life instead of being put to sleep!

Pinky
WHITESTONE, NY

Blackie's rescue

I had lost my previous dog to a stroke and about a year later I decided that it was time for a new dog. I was checking out a nearby shelter online when I saw a cute black dog and decided to go visit him. When I got there I showed the picture And the man told me to sit out in the yard and he would go get him so I sat down on the ground put my pocketbook next to me and waited a few minutes later a cute black puppy came running up to me kiss me on the face grab my pocketbook and started dragging it towards the door looking back like he were saying come on let's go there were adoption procedures I had to go through listing references and I had to wait so I went back the following day to visit him and the man told me to wait in the yard and he would get Blackie blackie came out running to me just pick up my pocketbook and started dragging it towards the door looking back for me they still didn't let him go with me by Third Day I had had my references call into them tell them I was a good person. I was a good dog mom and when I went to visit him that third day he did the same with my pocketbook and while we were playing afterwards they came up to me and told me that Blackie could go home with me. It was love at 1st sight. 9.5 years later he is still my puppy love

Vickie McDermott
SPENCER, MA

Gray kitten spotted in a parking lot

In June of 2011, a neighbor called me to help her catch a small kitten, who was running around. Another neighbor joined us and in 15 minutes we were able to catch him. He turned out to be a her and I named her Lucy, after the comics character. She is a Russian Blue, very loyal, and has become a lap cat.
She went from 1.5 lbs. at 10 weeks old to a healthy and happy 12 lbs.

Lupe Martinez
ROGERS, AR