Animal Rescue Stories

Read heartfelt stories of rescue, and share your rescued animal stories with others.

Kira & the Kitty

Kira & the Kitty

Kira was a "rescue" in July, 2008. She needed a home and lots of love.
Kitty needed about 2 months to accept her. She now lets the dog have the chair (sometimes).
We love Kira's sweet, friendly nature. She filled a big hole when our corgi passed on.
I like to say, "she was not the dog we were looking for, but she was the dog we needed"

Ron Rothenberg
Bedford Corners, NY

The Best Christmas Present Ever

The Best Christmas Present Ever

Our kids had been begging for another dog for Christmas and we had secretly been looking for just the right one. I had my eye on several small dogs, all at various shelters and rescues. But a week before Christmas, Harley found us. He was a stray that made a home for himself under a friend's tree, during a bitter cold week. We received an email from our friend explaining the situation and we knew we were meant to give this dog a warm home.
Granted, Harley's MUCH larger than we had planned on; the vet has determined he's part Mastiff! But he's got tons of love (and kisses!) to share and we simply cannot imagine our lives without him now!

Polly
Mason, OH

Lover, Not a Fighter

Lover, Not a Fighter

Starr was born into a household which used their Pit Bulls for fighting, a fate she was doomed to endure. She was the sweetest, most loving puppy I had ever seen, and I made it my mission to bring her to our house instead. That was almost 8 years ago. Being a Pit Bull and weighing in at 102 lbs intimidates people, until they get to know her. Her character has changed many a person's mind about the Pit Bull breed. She is my best friend, a beloved member of our family and the best dog in the world!

Elle Richardson
Racine, WI

Hurricane Katrina Victim

Hurricane Katrina Victim

I had just lost my baby girl Sheba to Lymphomia a couple of months earlier. I came across Sammy's picture on a website. He needed a home. He was a Katrina victim separated from his family. I contacted the woman who was fostering him in Louisiana and paid for him to be flown to me in New Jersey. There was an immediate bond. He came to my rescue as much as I did his. I am forever thankful to have found my precious boy.

JoAnn Russomanno
Harrison, NJ

Lucy is my inspiration

Lucy is my inspiration

I found Lucy and her brother in an abandoned, dilapidated second-story home in the middle of winter. She had clearly lived a hard life although very young. She was wary and frightened. After months of hiding, she slowly came to trust and enjoy life. She would follow me around, roly-poly on the rug for the pure joy of it and watch me wake up in the mornings while perched on top of the dresser. Illness took her last August, but I remain in awe of her courage and willingness to give life and humanity a second chance. I still miss her deeply, and I continue to do cat rescues in her honor.

Jin
Hoboken, NJ

From Unwanted To Cherished

From Unwanted To Cherished

I'm not sure if it was fate or just luck. I work at an animal shelter, so I already had enough animals, but one day I was driving down to Johnson City, TN and happened to pass by another animal shelter. I do not know what I was thinking, but I decided to stop by and see what they had for adoption. I walked through and saw a lot of cute little puppies, older dogs and so on. As I was nearing the last cage I came to a pit bull that was labeled "vicious". He looked so sad, like he had just given up on life and did not care anymore. I bent down to talk to him and he instantly came to life. I have never seen a dog so happy just because someone paid attention to them. I asked the woman why he had "vicious" written on his kennel card and she said it was because he had growled at a little boy who was kicking his cage door. Then she went on to tell me that he was going to be put to sleep because of this. I am a pit bull lover and I already own four, so I really did not need another dog, but something had brought me to this shelter for a reason and now I knew it was to save this dog's life. So I did. I could not have made a better decision. Biggie is one of the best dogs I own. He is now my main dog to educate people about pit bulls. So, in saving this dog from death's door, I hope that he will save other pit bulls from euthanasia by showing people how loving and caring this breed really is.

Tamara Bowman
Spruce Pine, NC

UN PERITO ENCANTADOR

UN PERITO ENCANTADOR

AQUI EN URUGUAY COMO EN TODOS LADOS LAMENTABLEMENTE MUCHOS ANIMALES SON ABANDONADOS.
ESTE PERRITO DE MI HISTORIA APARECIO EN LA CUADRA DE MI CASA EN UN ESTADO DE DETERIORO TERRIBLE.
LO PRIMERO QUE HICE FUE ALIMENTARLO,BAÑARLO Y LO LLEVE A QUE LO VEA EL VETERINARIO DE MIS PERITAS Y COMENZO A EVOLUCIONAR FAVORABLEMENTE.
PERO NO PODIA SEGUIR EN ESTADO DE CALLE,DADO QUE MALA GENTE EXISTE Y LO PATEABAN Y HASTA FUE ATROPELLADO.(FELIZMENTE SIN CONSECUENCIAS IMPORTANTES)
JUNTO A UNOS VECINOS QUE ALIMENTAMOS Y DAMOS DE BEBER A LOS ANIMALITOS DEL BARRIO ABANDONADOS INTENTAMOS UBICARLOS CON GENTE QUE LOS PUDEA QUERER.ME ENCANTARIA TENER UNA CASA DONDE DARLES PROTECCION ,PERO ES IMPOSIBLE .
JUSTO ESTE PERRITO QUE LE PUSE DE NOMBRE PEKE CON EL CUAL ESTABA MUY ENCARIÑADA; HOY VIVE CON MI PRIMO JORGE EL CUAL VINO DE VISITA A MI CASA Y QUEDO ENCANTADO CON EL CUANDO SE LO MOSTRE .ASI QUE DESPUES DE HABER SIDO ABANDONADO Y DORMIR POR UNOS MESES EN LA CALLE AHORA LO PUDE COLOCAR EN LA CASA DE EL.
HOY YA HACE 1 MES QUE VIVE EN UN HOGAR JUNTO A LOS OTROS PERRRITOS DE LA FLIA CON SU CAMITA ,SU JUGETE,TODA LA ATENCION REQUERIDADA Y SOBRE TODO MUCHO AMOR

kamila
la paz, Uruguay

We Rescued Eachother

We Rescued Eachother

After four months of enduring the grief of losing my husband of 33 years, I had to put our beloved 15-year-old doggie to sleep. What a bad year!

I really wanted to adopt a dog that needed a loving home, so I searched the rescue sites and the shelter sites. No success!
When I learned that my next-door neighbors were going to return their Lab-Heeler mix to the "Dog Pound" less than a year after they had adopted him, I just couldn't bear it. They couldn't keep him because they "couldn't control him," and one of their children had an allergy problem. In the few months prior to this, he and I had become good friends through the fence. It wasn't HIS fault he'd been ignored and neglected for the previous 7 months, nor his fault that there was an allergic child.

So I became Blackie's owner in May 2008. He was TRULY a "wild dog," and I looked like an assault victim for the first three weeks that I had him here in my home.

Fortunately for both of us, he's become a WONDERFUL DOG! Because I could not give up on him, I endured the scratches, bites, bruises, anxieties, and dreaded encounters that were evidence of ignorance and neglected training by his previous owners. At one point I even considered returning Blackie to the dog pound myself. I'm so glad I didn't.

I am proud to say that Blackie, who would likely have been euthanized because of his age and behavior, is now living happily with me, and he's making great strides as he learns his requirements to earn his "AKA Good Citizenship" certification.

The interesting part of this is that I had been rejected as a candidate to adopt a rescue dog because I have to work.

Anonymous
Tucson, AZ

Dazy Rescue

Dazy Rescue

It was almost spring in 2008. I was the den leader for my son's Cub Scouts. We were at the elementary school cafeteria having our meeting when my son noticed food dishes next to a portable storage building and seen a puppy. We all went out to see and there were two puppies apparently living under this building where they had been thrown out. My son helped me and within about and hour, we caught both of the puppies, one male and one female. We took them home and over the next two days, the little male died from Parvo. The little girl didn't get it and so we were fostering her for the Humane Society. We did find out that she has Demadex mange and are currently treating her. As she grew older, she became extremely smart and learned MANY tricks and we decided to keep her. Because she was so smart, I felt that she could help others. She is now a member of our local sheriff's search and rescue team. She is giving back to the ones who gave her a second chance...people!

Tish
Texarkana, TX

Parvo puppy saved

Parvo puppy saved

Our family took in a puppy, abandoned with the worse case of belly worms I have ever seen. When treating her for that, my husband, having lost puppies to Parvo in the past, could smell a distinct odor coming out of this puppy. We took it to the vet and sure enough (Parvo) in the first stage. We were able to catch it before there were visible symptoms because of the smell. If the animal is still running a fever, the chance of survival increases. Not having the money to hospitalize the pup I had the vet tech. administer the first treatment 3 shots and received instructions - 2 iv bags, 3 shots, 2 for the stomach, 1 antibiotic. Armed with bleach and water spray bottle and a dependable washing machine we went to work. She went from 16lbs. when we started all the way to 8 lbs. before we saw any improvement. It took a lot of love determination and praying. Keep in mind my husband is afraid of needles and we had to administer 5 shots a day plus an I.V needle twice a day. He rocked her, sang to her and did laundry all day long he played 24 hour nurse maid while I worked and I was nurse when I wasn't working to give him a break. I am proud to announce she is 2 years old healthy, happy and just had 9 healthy puppies. We are getting her spayed as soon as the puppies are wiened. They already have homes. her pregnancy was not an accident. And most Importantly our other dog (also rescued)did not contract the virus because she was VACCINATED.

anonamous
clarkston, WA