Animal Rescue Stories

Our Boy Tyson

My boyfriend and I were looking for our first dog to bring into our first home together. We went to a local shelter to see an Austrialian Cattle Dog that I saw on Petfinder.com and wanted to get. The cattle dog was not very compatible with us,but my boyfriend and I decided to look around before going home. We saw Tyson, a brindle pit bull mix, and my boyfriend wanted to visit with him. I had seen Tyson on Petfinder also, but it said he was not good with other dogs and I never really cared for pit bulls so I passed him by. After a few minutes getting to know Tyson we decided he was the dog for us. We went through the process to appy to get him and then went to shop for some basic needs for him in case we did get him. He fit into our house hold well. He is a great dog, very smart and active. With him being part pit I was not sure about adopting him, but I am glad to have him in my life. Tyson is the best thing to happen to us so far and we look forward to a long happy life with Tyson and our eventually growing family. He was potty trained when we got him, and learned the basic commands well.

jennifer Ray
Tuscola, IL

Saving Sammie

I found Sammie on the side of the road when he was six-weeks old, covered in infected ant bites and starting to starve. He is now almost four years old and has brought us more joy then anyone could imagine!!

Reynetta DeVeau
Florence, TX

Whisper

Whisper was found as a baby after his mother disappeared and his littermates had starved to death. Because he wasn't expected to live through the night, nobody wanted to take him home and have their kids see him die. When he was brought to me, he was only skin and bones, badly dehydrated, had eye infections and upper respiratory infection. Because of hunger, he'd chewed his tongue til it was raw. I thought all I could do was make him a little more comfortable during his last hours. He slept that night on my chest. When he would wake, I'd give him his medicine or a saline injection or just squeeze drops of goat milk into his mouth. I"m happy to say that Whisper did make it thru the night and beyond. Because of his tongue, he never learned how to suck a bottle but we overcame that by learning that I could hold the bottle and squeeze while he caught the drops. A round-the-clock process, but it worked. Even so, it was a relief when, three weeks later, he took his first bite of solid food. Today he is strong and healthy. The only reminder of his ordeal is his low voice probably caused by damage to his vocal cords after hours of calling for his mother. He's recovering from castration and his second set of shots are due in two weeks. After that I plan to take him outside for awhile and introduce him to playing in the sunshine and green grass.

A. L. Shorb
Boise, ID

Buster, the Library Dog

We had recently lost our 15 yr old Australian Shepherd, Tess, when Buster showed up at the library one afternoon. He greeted & played with every child who visited the library that day before they entered. Since he was still out front when we closed, I decided to take him home while we tried to find his owner. I fed the very hungry dog and bathed him to rid him of his fleas. Three years later Buster still loves to play with children and has become our loyal companion!

Barbara Cosner
Madera, CA

Max

My fiance and I found Max through Petfinder.com - he was up for adoption from a local rescue. His photo captured my attention because he was on his hind legs, paws on someone's lap, and had this look on his face that spoke of, what we now know personally, a great energy and light. He had been found as a stray, and when we brought him home we just couldn't believe such a loving, well-behaved, beautiful dog could ever end up on the streets to fend for himself. He will never end up there again! He has brought so much happiness to our lives. Our rescue rescued us from a life that would definitely be less exciting and joyous without him.

Trish Roman
Scottsdale, AZ

Rocky to the rescue!

In 2007 our beloved Cocker Spaniel crossed the Rainbow Bridge. We had not planned to get another dog, but even after 4 months, the grief was overwhelming. We found Rocky at a local animal shelter. His neck showed scars from an embedded collar and he had a little cold when we got him. A week later that "cold" was diagnosed as distemper, yet he defied the odds and survived! Despite his background of neglect, he has a serene and loving personality. For the past year he has helped heal the hole in my heart that was left from the death of our other dog. He is MY hero.

Donna
Chico, CA

Lord Sesshoumaru - love at first sight

"Big white cat abandoned on the street" said my mother. She and some neighbours helped catching him, and he was immediately taken to the vetÃÂ´s and got castrated the very next day.
"He is big", I said when I met him. Then I hugged him and took him home.
This May 20th will be 3 years Lord Sesshoumaru is with me and my other cats. He sleeps inside my bed in winter, huggs or cuddls to me in summer, on top of my belly anytime. I can see him by the side of the bath every time I take a shower.
He has become "my boyfriend", cos I love him so much.
Yet, he unfortunatelly suffers from feline Aids..... And since he loves escaping just to lay on the sun..... I had to block all the ways out.
I just want to give him all I can for the time he is with me. And so it is that I love more the animals than humans.
Fortunatelly he only spent 1 month on the streets. Yet, so many animals are neglected by so-called-humans. Sesshy has more humanity in him that real people.
Thank you for helping animals!

Carolina
Buenos Aires, Argentina

Truly an Angel with a Tail

Annie is our beautiful Border Collie / Beagle puppy in this picture. We will be celebrating her 2nd birthday on March 21 2009, and she still acts just like the day we brought her home - an angel. We adopted her two summers ago when my wife and two children heard about a PAWS event here in Chicago called "Angels with Tails". Within minutes of arriving at the event, our eyes met hers, and we knew she was the one - we immediately fell in love! She truly brings an angels touch of love into our family, from her puppy kisses that wake you up in the morning, to her endless cuddling up to you at night. Our previous puppy, Amber, was another adopted angel from the Anti-Cruelty Society in Chicago, who blessed us with 14 years of love. These animals are truly angels and an endless gift to those who open their hearts to them and take them into their home.

Michael Kortas
Norridge, IL

Our Baby Girl

My sister-in-law found two puppies on her doorstep. She tried to give them away, but couldn't find anyone to take them. She decided to keep them, herself and were named Princess and Scooter. The morning after she found her puppies, she heard some wild caterwauling coming from her woods. When she got down there, there was another puppy that had fallen into a deep hole. And to make a long story short, my husband and I took the third puppy in. After some chewing episodes, potty episodes and general bad behavior, we decided that we were to old to deal with a puppy. We gave her to my son to keep for the day to see if he could find anyone who wanted her. Well, we decided that we really did miss her and went and got her back. She did a complete turnaround on behavior. She started minding and I trained her to ring a bell on the door to go outside. And she even stopped the chewing. It was like she knew that she would be gone if she didn't start behaving! Of course she's still not perfect, but she is very close! I think that God brought her to us because we needed each other. And my husband and I are so glad that He did!

Carla Weiss
Cedar Hill, MO

Happy Cat

I came home from work almost 4 years ago to find this little ball of fur living under my car. She was so small she could fit in the palm of my hand. We brought her in, scared and hungry. Today she's the queen of the house, rules the roost and plays hide and seek. A beautiful addition to the house! We love her and are so happy she decided to stay!

Debra & Melissa
Los Angeles, CA