Animal Rescue Stories

Watched him for a long time.

When I would take a morning walk I would see this grey & white kitty sitting on a log; I thought he may belong to a house not far away from there. Over time I kept seeing him sitting on the log & after about 2 weeks I noticed that something didn't look good, because his head was hanging down. So, I decided to approach him, & the moment I touched him I could tell he was skin & bones & obviously starving. I scooped him up & took him back to my office, & called my supervisor & asked if I could take him to the vet because I felt it was an emergency considering his condition. After his visit I took him home & slowly nursed him back to good health, & named him Nick because I felt I saved him in the nick of time. He recovered great & became a new member of the family.

Judy Morgan
COLUMBIA, MD

LOST KITTEN

I heard a little meow outside in the bushes so I went out to investigate. Looking back into the back of the bushes I found this oh-so-cute kitten, all by itself, hungry and crying. Of course I picked it up and took it into the house and gave it milk. It was so happy. From then on she was mine. I named her ABBY.

vicki farrell
BROOKVILLE, OH

4th time is a charm

My Tilly (formerly Lilly) came to into my life via three previous homes. It doesn't matter how she made her way to me, all that matters is she is finally home.

Julie
SAINT PAUL, MN

A Christmas Tale

It was love at first sight when she crossed my path at the entrance to El Navideno, a Christmas-themed restaurant in the mountains of Puerto Rico. She reminded me of Sati, my dog who had died two months earlier while my husband and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary in Hawai’i.

We came out with the owner, who wanted to show us a life-size nativity at the restaurant’s adjacent event hall. The dog was by the door, eating my new friend Carmen’s doggie bag.

I squatted to hold her pretty face and a miracle happened. Sati came alive through this dirty stray dog.

“Sati,” I cried, “I would love to take you home!”

To my surprise, Carmen was a rescuer from Fundacion Amor, and she got on the case right away.

The restaurant owner teared up, too. “This dog saved my life,” he said and explained that she once stood up to a criminal who was chasing him, giving her protector a chance to escape.

“La perrita” would finally be safe from animal control, which had killed her five puppies and relentlessly attempted to capture her, the grand prize.

I named the puppy Natividad, which means nativity in Spanish in remembrance of the place we met. But her nickname, Nati, is also very close to the name of the one whose paw prints she follows.

Nati now lives in the lap of luxury on 16 acres in New Jersey with loving parents and two rescued sisters. She spends her days chasing chipmunks, then napping exhausted.

Rescuing Nati is the best that’s ever happened to me.

From the moment I saw her, she erased the pain of losing my best friend and replaced it with a feeling of unconditional love.

Nati follows me everywhere. Nati has made me feel loved more than any other being--human or animal--and her bravery makes me feel safe when I am home alone.

She’s my gift from Sati.

Sonia M Frontera
MILFORD, NJ

Rox-Mox Finds a Home

My dog Zero unfortunately had to be allowed to cross the rainbow bridge about a year and a half ago. My husband and I were heartbroken but knew it was for the best. Our dog Ruby became very depressed and didn't want to play, she ate only what she had to. My husband was set against us getting another dog. Last Christmas (2019), we had friends over. Our friends' daughter was a foster for a local rescue organization. She brought her foster dog Moxie, a mix of pit bull and black lab, to do some socializing. Moxie was about a year and a half old at the time. Her prior "owners" let her run around and she ended up getting pregnant. The owners moved and left Moxie behind. Moxie ended up living under a vacant trailer and had her babies. Fortunately, Urgent Animal Rescue was notified. They had difficulty catching Moxie but were able to rescue her babies. They kept going back and were finally able to catch Moxie. All of Moxie's babies were adopted out, but no one was interested in Moxie. When Moxie came to our home on Christmas day she was introduced to Ruby who instantly took a liking to her. What could my husband say? We adopted her and she is now Roxie! Rox-Mox for short! She had a little difficulty adjusting to my husband but I think that had to do with her prior owner. Roxie now knows she is home for good! She thinks she is a lap dog that weighs over 70 pounds. She sleeps in the bed with us and has her own spot on the couch. For my birthday this year, my brother in law sent a dog cot so she would be able to stay cool when we are outside! I am so grateful for her coming into our lives.

Lisa E Wimberly
LYONS, TX

LIFE WITH MINNIE

The nurse at the Vista School rescued an abandoned litter of 5 kittens and didn't know what to do with them. Born on 6/7, Minnie and Mannie were handed to me at 3 days of age. Mannie only lived 12 days. I made up my mind that Minnie would survive. Feeding every 2-3 hours, we had Minnie for 14 years before she succumbed to a mass in her liver in April 2020. She never got bigger than a six-month-old kitten, but she left a giant hole in our hearts when she went over the rainbow bridge to join other rescues that had gone before her. Minnie traveled with us to visit relatives in Virginia and New York. She brought smiles wherever she went. Her large green and gold eyes were always full of love and life. She always ran full out to get ahead of wherever we were walking. She enjoyed jumping and sliding across my worktable, scattering pages. She had several big brothers who protected her. Rocky, our black mackerel-tabby tom, took her under his protection when she was just learning to walk and explore her world. It's hard to have a favorite among your fur babies, but Minnie tried her darndest to be number one with her mom and dad. We have since adopted two more kittens to love and spoil, not to fill the hole in our hearts but to share our love and honor Minnie.

Marcia A Oster
HARRISBURG, PA

The Story of Eddie

My friend, Esther, had a friend who worked with the humane society as a side job. Esther told me about a cat who had been rescued and needed a home. I told her I already had 3 cats and I didn't need a fourth. She tried showing me a picture of the cat but I didn't want to look. She somehow got the picture in front of my face. "His name is Eddie -- how cute is that?" She suggested we go to this woman's house to see the cat. I said no because I knew if I saw this cat he was coming home with me. Esther called her and we drove over. So, I met Eddie.... He meowed and purred when I pet him. He was so friendly! I told the woman that I would take him until she found someone else. Yeah.... right!

She told me his story. He was 8 years old. His family had gone away but left him some food -- enough to last him 2 or 3 days. I don't know if his family intended to be away for only 2 or 3 days or what but he was rescued 2 weeks later. He had eaten whatever he could find: aluminum foil, cardboard, plastic... He had licked the toilet bowl dry. I'm not sure how he came to be rescued.

He was part of our family for 6 years. He just settled in when I brought him home. My other 3 cats accepted him like he had always lived with us. The picture is the one I took the first night he spent in our home. He found my bed and my pillow.

Tanya Kessler
Chapleau, Canada

Dumped

Sassy was dumped at the vet's where I worked. She was so tiny, and in a dirty carrier. She ran a temperature for days and it didn't go away till she got some weight on her. My husband had said no more cats, but I was taking care of her and even named her Sassy 'cus each time I picked her up she would hiss at me. She was so small she couldn't hurt a flea. I would tell her not to be so sassy, and the name stuck. I took her home, and because she was small and I had 2 little dogs, I borrowed a cat tent from my friend and she stayed in there for a few days. She was not afraid of the dogs at all even tho she was so small. Of course, once she was bigger she was allowed out for longer periods of time. And she became boss over the dogs. She is 10 years old now, and has a sister cat and a brother cat. She is very special to me 'cus she was there for me when my husband passed away.

Linda Karppinen
CORFU, NY

Nobody took him home

Patrick was found at a local shelter. Having lived in his isolation box for more than 3 months and with FIV, no one took him home. We had lost our last of 3 cats over 16 years. Our hearts were broken, and needing healing. My husband and son brought me this life-saver, all 25 pounds of him. He did heal us, and fast. What a perfect fit in our family. Big and lovable. Sweet and fun. Furry and snuggly. A keeper for sure. Such a gentle personality.

Gem
MOUNT VERNON, WA

Audrey

All my cats are rescues! Audrey’s litter was killed by a raccoon; she was brought to us starving. In hindsight, the person that saved her maybe should have left her: her mom came back! She was so small we thought she was a mouse; hairless and pink. She’s beautiful!

Charlotte LaFerrera
BOYNTON BEACH, FL