Animal Rescue Stories

Beautiful Kittens who need 'Loving' homes!

About 3-4 weeks ago during a very bad storm, one of our neighborhood cats brought her baby kittens one by one and sat them right in front of my door. We knew she had had her kittens about 2 weeks prior but we couldn't find them. I heard a cat at the door and I thought it was Moma cat. We went to the door and there sat a little tiny kitten all by itself, soaking wet and crying. We knew right then that this was her kitten. I had no idea how many she may have had but it ended up to be only 4. Not only was it storming but she was badly injured on her stomach and lost a couple of her nipples. I have never owned a pet and I have fallen in love with Moma & her kittens. We nursed her back to health & the kittens are growing fast. The problem is: we arent allowed to have pets where we live & badly need 'loving' homes for the kittens! This mother cat trusted me to keep her babies Safe! We're going to have the Moma fixed & keep her (outside mostly)! We need help!

Cheryl Teague
Conover, NC

From Foster to Forever Home

I saw Benny on PetFinder, who advertised this young rescued dog as needing a good home with a loving family. That was five years ago. Extremely shy and timid at first, Ben has grown to trust us and is now an irreplaceable part of our family. I can't imagine life without this loving, beautiful mutt.

Lisa Beers
Plymouth, MI

Everything is OK

I went to the shelter to pick a cat, because all my previous cats had, by circumstances, 'chosen' me. I thought this was the perfect opportunity to get 'a beauty'. My beauty turned out to be a scraggly, disheveled kitty with a really 'bad hair day'. I named her Ashley, and for the first month she was so sick that the only place I could pet her and know it wouldn't hurt was her cheeks. So as I fed her by hand, I would pet her cheeks and tell her 'everything is going to be OK.' A month or so later, I came down with a bad cold and was laying on the couch, and Ashley jumped onto my chest and started petting my cheek as if to say 'everything is going to be OK'. 16 years later, we still keep care of each other. And, as you can see by her picture, she is anything but scraggly -- she is really beautiful.

LaVonne Ochs
Denver, CO

Atlas

Atlas started life as a stray kitten, rescued starving in an alley. He was a gift to me in college at a time when my life felt like it was falling apart, and I named him Atlas because at the time he carried the weight of my world on his tiny shoulders. He was my first pet ever, but he handled my learning curve with cat-like patience. I learned patience as well, as his favorite spot to lie down seemed to be whatever textbook I tried to study from. His love of paper would continue for the rest of his life.
Atlas was a lap cat and an athlete, a champion purr-er who came running when called, and he never met a stranger. You might say he broke down every negative cat stereotype. He was a clever escape artist who would hide in the most unlikely places and make an unsuspecting dash for the door when you came home, but only so he could sit in the grass outside. He once scaled a refrigerator and removed a drop ceiling tile to make his escape, only to crash through the kitchen ceiling.
His greatest legacy is that he led directly to the adoption of 6 cats by people who never considered having a cat. Around age 9, his liver began to fail. I tried everything medically possible to save him, and when the time came, we let him lie outside in the grass to hear the birds, see the squirrels, and sniff the spring breeze. That night he eased one final hardship by passing away in our arms, because he knew the next morning the doctor was coming to take him from us. People still talk about him 3 years later, and I still miss him.

Adam Switzer
Midlothian, VA

Handsome

I had seen this dog wandering around my neighbourhood and started to leave him some food outside the gate. I tried to touch him and get him to enter our property, but he was very scared and wild and always ran away, as soon as I opened the gate.My 6 year old daughter, was very taken with him and asked if she could choose a name for him...therwith the very original''Handsome''After not seeing him for a few weeks, he suddenly appeared in my kitchen one day with a badly injured eye!(Must have jumped over the fence)It looked like a cracker had exploded in his eye and he must have endured tremendous pain! He allowed me to pick him up, load him into the car and take him to the vet..amaizing, considering he never allowed me to touch him before! He healed beautifully from, which was in the end, a bursted absess.
I have 3 other dogs whom I love dearly, but Handsome just managed to sweep me off my feet. I have never felt such overwhelming love and willingness to please, from an animal.I believe that he must have sensed that I would care, when he came to me for help, that day.These 'previously disadvantaged animals' turn out to be the best companions ever! It is almost as if they appreciate everything so much more, as they never had it before!

Adele
Durban, South Africa

My special Jake

Jake found me working at the tiny Kyburz P,O, on a cold November day in 1995. He flinched when we tried to pet him but we had to save him from U.S, Highway 50 traffic so he came to work with me. He stayed with me, Musky, Nugget, and Cody and Iris the kitties and after trying to find the owner (who we think dumped him) he came to live for 13 1/2 years. He was about one year old when he "appeared". Sadly my wonderful boy injured himself in March 2009 and after weeks of steroids to see if he would walk again I had to let him go. He had another sister Caty and got to be with his two new adopted 10 year old sisters Pheona and Noel for 5 months. My three girls now help me deal with losing Jake and all are rescued members of my family. Please encourage adoption from shelters.

Carol Menke-Clark
Kyburz, CA

Our Little Sammy Boy

Sammy, who is 5 now, was given to us by a family member who as it turns out knew what was best for us! We had recently put down our 15 year old terrier mix, which was just devastating, and a few months later the puppy we had just gotten due to pneumonia. I was not really ready for another dog, when Sammy came into our lives. In fact, I tried to find him a home. My husband was immediately attached to him but it took me awhile. Now I cannot imagine life without him! He is a Boston Terrier Chihuahua mix, and has the typical "all about me" Chihuahua air about him...so cute! He LOVES his pack members, and dislikes everyone else. He shuts the refrigerator door, and all cabinet doors, dances, shows his tummy, and runs and hides when we tell him "a bad dog's coming". He is smart as a whip, has a very complex personality and is a real lap dog, wanting to snuggle practically every moment. He loves to go for a ride, but when the speed gets up to about 45 miles an hour, he hides his face. I guess he doesn't like the scenery going by that fast! He is truly part of our family and thank goodness the "powers that be" knew enough to bring him to us. Thank you Kim!

Syd
Charlotte, NC

Scared on the side of the road.

Riley was found sitting next to his dead brother, on a busy road, at 2:00a.m. one morning. After much coaxing and keeping a Rottweiler at bay, Riley finally came to me. At first, he was a little frightened, but soon realized that he had made his way to his forever home. He has settled in with the other 17 cats and 3 dogs that had a rough start in life also. He is such a joy. He is in the middle of everything that I do. He especially likes to help in the flower garden. I can not imagine my home without him.

Bonnie
Booneville, MS

Daisy Davidson

I was on my motorcycle heading home when up ahead I saw movement in the busy road. There was a scruffy little puppy chasing semi trucks! I made a U-turn and rode up on the sidewalk to get her out of traffic.

A bouncy little terrier jumped into my arms - without collar or tags.

No one was home at the run down shacks between this four lane highway with train tracks for a backyard. I had no choice but to stuff this little gal in my saddlebag for the ride home. Daisy popped into her new life without missing a beat - she is spayed, full of energy, and loves to run and dig all day long with her "big brothers". I feel lucky it was the right place and time for me to rescue this little munchkin.

Robin
Summerfield, FL

Dr. Claw

This is a picture of Dr. Claw. In February of 1999 my mom found her huddled in the middle of a freezing cold road. She had been abused and abandoned, and was on the verge of death. When my mom took her to the vet she was told that the cat was blind, and would probably die. My mom paid for all the vaccinations, a spaying, and surgery to repair the broken parts of her body anyway. The cat recovered and enjoyed 9 years of life living in my mom's house. Despite being blind Dr. Claw was able to navigate first our house, and then the apartment that my mom moved into after we left our house. She enjoyed playing in boxes that my mom would bring home and set up as mazes for her. She was quite the little cat.

Matt
Allston, MA