Animal Rescue Stories

A true angel dog, Sophie

My husband was cleaning up his dad's old house in the country getting ready to sell it and this sweet dog kept following him around. It was in the heat of a Texas summer which can be rather cruel. Apparently, this gentle dog had been dumped there and had been foraging for a couple of weeks as she was very thin.

He gave her some food and water and called me to see if I knew of anyone who would want this stray dog. (I had done animal rescue several years ago and had found homes for many dogs.) We decided that he would bring her home (some 50 miles away) and we would find her a permanent home.

When she came into our backyard, we started calling names to her to see if she would respond to any of them. She ignored every one except Sophie - twice. That had either been her name before or she chose it right then and there.

Speaking of "right then and there", we fell in love "right then and there". Actually, my husband who was always adamant that we would NOT get another dog since we had three, had already fallen in love with her in the country. Sophie, the angel dog, has been living us with us ever since and adores my husband, her savior. He's actually quite silly over her which is funny since he is not very emotionally expressive, proving that the love of an animal does bring out the best in a person.

Janye Anderson
Dallas, TX

He Never Left: The story of Blacky

One day I was gathering up the mail from our mailbox in the mobile home park we live in and noticed a sign posted on the board about this black cat who needed a home because he wouldn't get along with a newly arrived dog in the household. My heart went out to him but because we already had 3 cats felt we couldn't take him. A few months later my husband and I were sitting on the porch and up comes the steps this older black cat with a stub tail, an arthritic hip, and obviously well fed. He had no qualms and acted like he belonged here, making fast friends with my husband. It was then I realized this cat is the one whom I had read about on the board!! He has been with us for several years now and after the intial fussing over having other cats to contend with, is the 'grandfather' to all our other cats; watching over them and protecting our house! He has a great love for my husband and follows him everywhere, loves cheese and ice cream, This is one cat who knew he was home when he walked up those steps and never made an attempt to leave! He is a delight and we are happy he stayed; a true love through and through.

Vicki Garrett
White City, OR

Virginia, the Black cat

Virginia was found by Moncho -the Black dog living in our neighborhood's pet shop- lying in the side of the road, a days-old kitten that had been badly beaten. Like in most places in the world, Black cats are considered evil in Mexico. Moncho took her in his mouth, licked her wounds and brought her home to the pet shop. The next day I visited the shop and Moncho -who was my friend- brought his little protege to me. I fell in love immediately. Virginia has lived with me since then and she has brought me no evil luck at all, just the joy of her presence.

Alejandra Sarda
Buenos Aires, Argentina

Charlie, Kirby and Me

I got Charlie (on the right) after he had knocked around a couple of homes. He had lived a great deal of his life on the streets as an abandoned dog, so he came to me with some baggage. If I leave the house without putting the garbage can up I can be assured of coming home to a mess. He is teaching me patience and compassion and when he puts his head on my pillow at night as we go to bed, all is forgiven. He and Kirby (on the left) love to swim in the lake and play on the grass in the park. Charlie has found his forever home.

Bruce Jost
Rowlett, TX

They Saved Us

In March 2008, we lost of beloved Doberman, Sugar, to diabetes (ironic) at 11 years old. That left our 15 year old cocker, Holly. That March was difficult and we called our vet to see if he knew of other dobermans. He did not, but had Trixie (the red dog) up for adoption. We fell in love with her on the spot. Just before Chistmas 2008, we lost Holly, leaving Trixie alone. For Valentines Day, we decided to get Trixie toys and ended up with Alice who was rescued from Death Row by Puppy Hill Farms. She had been abused, abandoned and had mange. With lots Thanks to luck, timing and Puppy Hill Farms, they now have 5 fenced acres to run and play in and a pillow and each other to snuggle up with.

Linda
Alachua, FL

7 Lives

This is Tommy. He is a Persian mix, yellow and white cat. He was shot twice. Once in the side of the face, and once in the back. The bullet made his jaw crooked, and the other bullet missed his spine, and organs. If anyone tells you cats don't have 9 lives, tell them you know of a cat that had nine lives, and now has seven. He should have died. I work with Gunnison Valley Animal Welfare League, In Gunnison, Colorado. I foster mainly cats, and I love my job. If not for them, I might not have had Tommy, because without their help, he would have died. I have had him a year and a half, and he is a love. Please if you can adopt or even foster an animal, it is something that you will truly enjoy.

Barbara Ross
Gunnison, CO

Koko -The Miracle Cat

My first day volunteering at Nine Lives Foundation in Redwood City, Ca and he was with a bunch of kittens. I was asked to help give them baths. A woman named Trish who I was working with told me about Koko's trauma and how he was special.He was stepped on by his previous owners and was blind in one eye. Koko was not very active and I thought we could give him a safe home. We took him home and took him to many doctors to see if we could do anything to help restore his sight in his right eye, but unfortunely there is nothing. But he gets along just fine and has a new buddy our cat Smokey. Koko was featured in Cat Fancy in the Feb 2008 issue. I thought at first it would be a challenge to have a special needs cat, but he is a pure joy.
In August of 2008 Koko started to have seizures. The doctor said its probably from scare tissue from his accident. We had an MRI done in Sept of 08 and found out that his left side of his brain is missing and replaced with fluid. The doctors said they have never seen it before. He takes meds daily to keep his seizures under control.
He loves toys that make crinkle noises and he loves to eat pot roast, cheese and cupcakes.
We are so happy and thankful the Nine Lives saved Koko from being put down. Dr. Thompson Nine Lives has saved so many cats lives and she selfless in her pursuit to saves lives of cats who normally would of no chance in a shelter.
Koko has just turned two and is fearless.

Angela Giannini
San Carlos, CA

Katie Kitty

Katie has been with my Mom for almost 25 years now. She was a stray that moved into Mom's garage with a newborn kitten one day. After the kitten grew old enough, they both disappeared, but about three months later, there was Katie again, and expecting again. She gradually found her way into the house before the kittens were born, and has never left. We had no problems finding good homes for the kittens, but Katie was already home.

Patricia Baker
Clinton, IA

Our Donation Gift

My husband (fiance at the time of this story) and I decided we wanted to make a donation to a local animal shelter, we found an amazing shelter on line The AAWL, and found a wish list of items they needed on their website. We went out and bought a bunch of the items and took them down to the shelter the next day.We decided to take a quick look at the dogs there with no intention of bringing one home, we already had 1 dog, 2 cats, 4 sugar gliders and 12 lizards. We looked at the dogs and were about to leave when a volunteer informed us there was one more row of dogs we missed, we walked down the row when I spotted this beautiful little girl ! She looked nothing like we thought our second dog would look like, pointy ears, white hair, smaller than we would want...BUT she smiled at us and had the cutest white eyelashes ! We took her out to play and the next day we brought our dog down to meet her, it was instant love ! They have been glued together ever since that day and they were the perfect Maid of Honer and Best Man we could have ever asked for ! We went to the shelter to donate and we were rewarded with an irreplaceable member of our family ! The picture above is the first night we had her !

Melissa Mann
Chandler, AZ

...And Baby makes Three!

"Baby" was not abused but shared a home with an elderly veteran in poor health and 3 other cats. The cats were healthy and neutered but in need of food. A City agency found him and found family members in Washington State. They arranged passage for him but the cats needed new homes. They said that he cried when they took the cats. It broke my heart!
Having had a Calico before, I couldn't resist Baby who just needed to be rescued from her shelter cage, loved and fattened up! It didn't take her long to discover the cat tree, as you can see.
Since Baby is a bright Calico and my two other cats are Orange and White and Black and White, she completes the set! They make a pretty trio and what a great feeling! Baby is my first rescue cat and the most affectionate cat I've had. She seems very thankful!

Janice Tarbill
Royal Palm Beach, FL