Animal Rescue Stories

Muddy Furball Finds a Home

My son was driving home one night in the cold rain outside of Oklahoma City. It was dark along the country highway but he saw a little furball running to the ditch. He knew that he had to stop. After coaxing the wet, dirty and matted little guy to come to him, he laid him on the seat and the puppy immediately curled up on the clean clothes and went to sleep. Redo the laundry, no problem! Five baths later and a shave to get rid of all the mats they found they had a Shih Tzu. They named him Jack and he's now a spoiled 3 year old. Loves to fetch and toys with squeakers. Though Jack didn't come from the humane society or a rescue, he was truly rescued that night, in the rain, along a lonely highway.

Marti
St. Louis, MO

Harley McFarley

Eighteen months after my purebred doxi died, I decided it was time to get another. I kept watching the local shelter listings and ran out the minute I saw 2 dachshunds listed. My daughter went along and as we walked up to the shelter, we immediately saw a little fellow in the outside run that was a dachshunds/beagle mix. No mixes, I said. We were introduced to the two dachshunds; but neither were interested in making friends with us. Let's look at the dachshund mix, my daughter said. We fell in love immediately! He wanted to play with us, loved the attention and it was a match. Unfortunately, it was too late in the day to adopt, so I went back the next day. I stood by his kennel as we waited for the test for heart worms. He sat is the corner at looked at me with his huge brown eyes that said, "Please, get me out of here!" Several other people came by and tried to get his attention, but he only had eyes for me. I knew it was meant to be! Harley worked his way into my heart before the papers were even signed. Although he has the coloring of a beagle, he is doxi through and through. He gets along great with the other doxi's in our extended family and now has a 'little brother' Gus who joined us 4 months later.

Karen
Topeka, KS

Itty Bitty Kitty Karma

It was a typical day, my sister and I were sitting in our living room playing games and talking about my mom's birthday. We headed to the store to get my mom flowers for her birthday. My sister and I were trying to pass the time by kicking a small bottle. We were nearly to the store when out of the corner of my eye I saw something small and black move. We turned around and there was a kitten! The poor thing was panting and dying of heatstroke. She was so exhausted she didn't put up a fight at being picked up. We carried her all the way home and I treated her for heatstroke. I was so scared she wasn't going to make it, she was lethargic and barely moving.
We don't know how she got on the street. Whether someone dumped her there or if she wondered off. We went back to check for other kittens.
The next day she was active, playful, acting as any kitten should. We decided to keep her. Her name is Karma, what a coincidence it was that 5 minutes after my sister complains we don't save enough animals that we happen upon one that needs our help? She's a lovely addition to our family and gets along great with our other cats. She's healthy and a friendly little kitten with a warm place to call home

Angela
Las Vegas, NV

Our new Friend Sally

Sally tells it best...
"It was a cold morning....I don't know how I got out on the road...but I just knew I had to keep walking....I think I was walking for a really long time...I was tired...and I was stumbling...but I just kept walking.Cars were passing me....they just went right by....I wondered if they could even see me...I couldn't really see them...but my whole body shook when they passed me...and I could feel the rush of air as they went by....The snow was falling and I kept walking when out of the blue...Two cars pulled over and out they came...they didn't know my name...but they had FOOD...and they had WATER......Oh I was SO Hungry...and SO thirsty...Next thing I knew...I didn't have to walk any more...I was in a warm place with a blanket...and even though my ears were all plugged up...I could hear her....talking to me....I think she said everything was going to be alright..."

When we found Sally on a long stretch of desolate road, she was only 33 lbs, skin & bones and losing her fur. We took her to the Vet, got her some meds & special food, and began a wonderful and at the same time heart breaking experience...Over the past 3 months, she has battled Vestibular Syndrome, (severe veritgo), a horrible skin rash, and many other health challenges...but every day, she keeps trying...She can't hear, she limps, due to muscle loss, and when she tries to play, she falls down. She has an incredible will to keep trying. She's gained 17lbs since we found her...so she's on the mend. She settled right into our family...We are just so glad that we are able to give her a warm home and pleanty of food and fresh water...and all the love she deserves!!

Jennifer
Harrington, ME

Sport the beagle

Driving to church one night I saw a beautiful beagle running in the median of the highway. Afraid he would be hit by a car, I turned around at the next light, hoping I could pull over and coax him into my car.

Possibly a minute passed, the dog was hit and was lying in the median, thrashing. I stopped & some other people stopped, too. I was afraid he was critically hurt & offered to take him to an emergency animal clinic to have him put down. A man put him in my car wrapped in an afghan I keep for emergencies.

At the vet's office when lifted out of my car, he walked around & seemed OK. The vet said he was 5-years-old & had no broken bones. I took him home where I have two cats (also rescued).

"Sport" had a tattoo in his ear. We put an ad in the paper & notified local vets, but no one ever claimed him. He had been either horribly abused, neglected,or both. We discovered later he had two b.b.'s in his back, & the vet said he had been shot at close range. He was scared of his own toenails clicking on concrete. It's taken us over a year to get him to a point where he will no longer hide under the bushes. Last winter we let him sleep inside in front of the fireplace at night. He did not know how to play with a toy, be petted, or be brushed. His tail wags now when he sees us, & he races around the yard with a "smile" on his face. Occasionally he comes with head lowered & wants to be petted. What progress! He has become VERY spoiled, which is just fine with us.

Rita McCollum
Brandon, MS

Wink Lee

This is Wrink Lee . We adopted him through Operation Scarlet, a Chinese Shar-Pei rescue in Lancaster,Pa.He came to them as a stray from a shelter. We cannot imagine how anyone would not have exerted every effort to get this little guy back. Wrink is now sharing his Forever Home with his step-brother Fletcher, who is also an Operation Scarlet adoptee.

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John & Susan Mergo
Ashley, PA

Our Pebblypoo

We adopted Pebbles from the Maui Humane Society 7 years ago and could not have found a more wonderful daughter. We receive so many compliments about how well mannered and smart she is. We can only hope that we will have her for many years to come!

Cookie Medeiros
Makawao, HI

He Rescued Me

The day after my last schnauser died (3 died within a year and a half), my friend picked me up and took me to the Humane Society to search for a new companion - I used to raise schnausers and had never had a rescue dog before. When I saw this darling little long-haired dachshund, I was captivated and the name Kafka leaped into my mind, but he had a wish-list on him. When he saw me, he got all excited and jumped all over the place and wagged. Then as I continued on down the aisle and kept looking, he whined and cried a lot. Then I went by him again (while he was still crying) to talk to the people handling the adoptions and took him out in the yard for a sniff around while I sat on the bench. He then came over and leaped up into my lap and licked me. After we sat and enjoyed one another for a while, we went back in and I asked about adopting him and the lady called to see if the wish list person had been called, and they had but weren't available, so she said, "He's yours. He has never paid attention to anyone else." Whoopie. He filled the great big empty hole in my heart and has been my loyal, loving companion and lap warmer and bed warmer ever since. If I am going out the door, he wants to go too. We were very active in the election campaigns and he was out at all the rallies wearing signs and got tons of attention, most recently on Earth Day to help save his wolf relatives. His picture streamed across the Obama acceptance speech and his picture is still on the LA Times website.

Linda Myers
Tucson, AZ

My Muffin

I didn't find Muffin, she found me! One of the girls I work with told me there was a stray dog in the parking lot. I went out and called to her and she came running to me and proceeded to roll over and give me belly. She went home with me that day 5 years ago. She weighed 5lbs and was one big ball of matted fur. A vet visit and to the groomer and underneath it all was a healthy poodle that was a year old. I tell you, she keeps my blood pressure in check. She makes me laugh and gives me gentle kisses. She now weighs 12 healthy lbs. My life would be incomplete without my Muffin.

Donna
Columbus, GA

Zoe - The Dog Who Rescued Rosie & Sophie

My dog Sophie is getting up in years and I was thinking of getting another dog. So I went to visit shelters -- and even brought Sophie - but I couldn't make up my mind. One Tuesday, I was at the shelter looking in Cage 722 at a dachsund which wasn't available till following Tuesday. On Friday, something said to me - "go to animal shelter now." There was an awful photo of Zoe just out of the bath - but something spoke to me and I asked to meet her. Imagine my surprise when they took me to Cage 722! Obviously, she had picked me that Tuesday afternoon and "sent" for me that day. They brought her back from the TV station just then, I took one look at her and I said "she has a forever home."
She is the joy of my life and I can't wait to go home and see her. She runs around like a racecar, throws her toys in the air and plays fetch all by herself. She is so smart - she cuddles with me and licks my face when it is time to get up (4:30 a.m.) The most important thing, however, is that she has my Sophie playing for the first time in her life. Sophie was 6 years old when I got her, having been tied up and isolated for most of her life. She knew nothing except how to accept love. Now she barks when she wants to play and together they play "hide and seek". Zoe has brought love and joy to two of us. Please save a life and go to the pound. You'll actually be saviing two.

Rosemary Chiaverini
Sherman Oaks, CA