Animal Rescue Stories

Saving Kody

Kody was taken to a shelter by his owner along with 7 other dogs and 1 cat, all surrendered for different reasons. Kody was said to be too big at 95 lbs. The owner tried to adopt a puppy after all the animals were surrendered. The staff was pretty incredulous at this callousness and the request was refused. Kody was 18 months old and friendly but he quickly began to not do well in the shelter. He started growling at anyone approaching him and did not want anyone touching him. I was called to see if the breed rescue I volunteered for, National Great Pyr Rescue, would take him since he was not adoptable out of the shelter. I spent hours every day for a week sitting in his kennel letting him get used to me. One shelter worker could still touch him and she would put a leash on him and let me walk him around the property. After a week, he was a little more comfortable with me and I took him home. The second Kody got into my car his whole demeanor changed. He became a different dog, puppy-like, playful, friendly, loving, and a huge cuddle bug, but only with me. My adult daughter lived with me then and he never let her touch him. He would scrabble to get away from her and growl if he felt cornered. The betrayal of being dumped at a shelter had a profound life-long effect on Kody. He became the most one-person dog I have ever met. This is very uncharacteristic of Great Pyrenees, who are usually quietly friendly to everyone and can become excellent therapy dogs because of their calm friendliness. Within six months, I realized Kody would not go anywhere else and I accepted the fact that he had adopted me. I have gotten Kody to the point he will allow vets and vet techs to handle him if I hold his head, but he will never be the dog he was before he was taken to the shelter. As a result, I do all of his grooming, which is a big job, and I take him with me whenever I travel. I can't leave him with a dog sitter and I will never put him in a kennel even for boarding. So I drive whenever I go on vacation and stay inside the U.S. Where I go, Kody goes. One of the things I love about fostering is watching a dog bloom into the dog they were always meant to be before abandonment, abuse or neglect beat them down. But some dogs never get back to that original point. The female Pyr I fostered and adopted reacted to her abandonment by refusing to eat in the shelter and was emaciated by the time she came to me, but she never lost her love of people and is clearly one of those dogs that takes a great deal of comfort in being close to people. Kody takes comfort only from me now. People have said how sweet this is, but it is a huge worry for me. I had to go to the emergency room and was admitted to the hospital for an illness. Fortunately, friends of mine who are excellent dog handlers and were familiar with Kody were able to go into my house and without touching him or looking at him, put a slip lead on him to take him outside, dragging a long leash attached to the slip lead. On the flip side, Kody had major surgery and the vet wanted him to stay at the animal hospital for three days afterward. The day after surgery, I had to take Kody home because he wouldn't eat, drink or take his meds and was snapping at the staff if they tried to give him his meds. Kody is six years old now, and I just pray that neither he nor I have to be hospitalized again in his lifetime and that I outlive him. It is pretty horrible to have to worry about such things. I want people to think first before taking an animal to the shelter. I realize that life happens and for some the only answer is to surrender their pets, but most of the time there are other choices that could be considered such as obedience training, behavioral training, putting up a fence, etc. My female Pyr was taken to the shelter because, "she won't stay where she belongs." All she needed was a fence. Animals can be emotionally damaged by being taken to a shelter, even a no-kill shelter with dedicated volunteers, so think first and don't always take the easy way out.

A rescuer
LOUISVILLE, KY

My Beautiful Belana

The sweetest, most loving dog I've ever had was a stolen dog. I wasn't the thief, but I did receive the stolen goods. A friend went to the mall one cold January evening, and on her way through the parking lot heard whimpering from a car she was passing. She looked inside the old beat-up car and saw a tiny puppy on the back seat, shivering in the cold. She went on into the mall and visited several stores, asking everywhere if anyone had left a puppy in a car. She made her purchases and returned, checked, and the car and puppy were still there. She located a mall security guard and told him about it and that the puppy shouldn't be left in the cold. His response was, "That's why dogs have fur," and he refused to do anything about it. She went back to the car, tried the door, found it unlocked. She scooped up the shivering puppy and put it inside her jacket. She lived in a small apartment and couldn't have pets, so she brought the dog directly to me from the mall. We soon discovered that the poor little thing was covered with fleas. We bathed and fed her and after my friend left, I spent hours with alcohol and cotton balls killing fleas that survived the bathing. What I had thought was a black dog, turned out to be a beautiful brindle. The next day I took her to the vet. He estimated she was no more than six weeks old and said that she was healthy but anemic from all the fleas, and that by taking her, my friend had saved her life, as a flea infestation that heavy on such a young pup would have killed her. I named her Belana, had her for just under 17 years, a long life for a large dog. She turned out to be a pit bull or pit mix, and although timid, she was loving and gentle, got along well with my other dogs, loved to play, and loved to snuggle next to me at night. I still miss her, though I have other wonderful dogs, and one, like Belana, is a loving, sweet-natured, gentle pit bull. Thanks to Belana, I have no hesitation in adopting rescues of that breed.

Elenora Sabin
SAINT PETERSBURG, FL

Lefty Loves Everyone

Lefty, around age 1, a Chihuahua-Terrier mix, was picked up in Southern California at a high-kill shelter by a rescue group from Washington state. This rescue group named him Lefty because his left ear didn’t do what his right ear did...most of the time! He was adopted out to a woman in Oregon who owned a stable where my daughter kept her rescued horse. She noticed that Lefty was always running around the stables at any time of day. When she asked after the dog, she was told that he wasn’t house broken, they didn’t have time to train him, so Lefty had become an “outside” dog. Knowing there were many coyotes around, my daughter offered to take Lefty home with her, so he wouldn’t become a coyote meal! She had Lefty about six months, and since he barked at squirrels daily, driving the neighbors nuts, Lefty came to live with me. He’s smaller than my cat, but he doesn’t seem to know how small he is. He’s a tough little guy who loves people. He’s healthy, very spoiled, and loved unceasingly! He goes everywhere with me. If one defines the term BEST FRIEND, that description fits Lefty.

L. Davies
PORTLAND, OR

my Buddy

Back 2009 I noticed a white cat with a flea collar wander through the yard every now and then. As time passed he became scruffier and thinner, so I started putting food and water on the landing of my apartment. A friend of my son saw him one day and told me that the people that owned this cat had moved away and left him behind. For the next 18 months I kept food and water out there for him; I couldn’t really get near him because he was very scared and skittish. One evening when he came up to eat, he had a large puncture wound in his head and and his head was very swollen. I was very worried about this because I couldn’t catch him to get him the vet, so I just asked God to please let him heal up with no complications, and he did. Every night I would sit out on the landing and talk to him even though he wouldn’t come near me. He adjusted to my presence there and sometimes he would fall asleep. He was so beat up, battered & dirty... and getting thinner and thinner all the time, despite all the food. One day, about 15 months from the time I first saw him, he came up on the landing and just looked at me. I called to him and said ‘come on buddy I promise I won’t hurt you,’ and to my great surprise he came up to where I was sitting and head butted my leg and didn’t run when I reached down to pet him. From that time on I made it my mission to try to get him inside because I was in the process of buying a house and I was determined he was coming with me. I finally was able to scoop him up one day and bring him into the house, two days later I had him neutered and the vet told me he was probably seven or eight years old. He had worms, he had fleas, he had seriously bad bladder inflammation & was a mess. Two days later he crashed out the second-floor window screen and disappeared. I was frantic with worry and when he finally showed up again I picked him up and talked to him. I told him ‘I’m moving away and you have to come with me because if you don’t, you will have no food, no water and no one to take care of you.’ He never broke eye contact with me and I really do believe he understood what I said, because he never tried to go out again. Fast forward now 10 years and he has never again been outside; he has no desire to go outside, he is content to be spoiled rotten & living indoors. Whenever the weather is really cold or rainy or hot and miserable, I look up and say thank you to God for letting me catch him, and that he is no longer out there trying to fend for himself. Since I didn’t know when he was born, I chose a birthday for him, I picked February 14 because Buddy is my heart walking around on 4 feet.

Teresa Haugen
GOOSE CREEK, SC

My Mag the Pie

My Mag the Pie, a.k.a Maggie, came into my life 10 years ago. My friend and I were living in North Carolina when I first laid eyes on Maggie. We lived in a development which was rather new, with little to no trees. Our rental home had a large fenced-in yard which our dogs spent many hours exploring and enjoying with us! Next door there was a family who had several children. We noticed that they would have a pup which suddenly disappeared not once, but twice! When we asked the kids what happened they nonchalantly say oh it died! No tears... no regrets... nothing! We thought this rather odd. Then the third pup showed, chained to a small tree which provided no shade. The children did not treat the pup kindly. From my bathroom window or from our yard I would talk to the pup, who responded with joy and excitement. One day, while I was recovering from surgery, my friend and I heard pitiful whimpering from next door. No one was home. No pup was once again in sight! Finally I asked my friend to go over and find out where the whimpering was coming from. There was a shed with no windows in our neighbor's yard where the whimpering was coming from! When she opened the door of the shed she found the pup crated with no food, water, light or fresh air! Feces and urine were all over the floor. We talked with our neighbors about letting the pup stay in our yard and play with our dogs if they were going to be away. They agreed. Soon a very strong bond developed between me and the pup. She would spend hours sitting as close to me as she could with her head tucked safely under my arm. One day the neighbors were late coming over to take the pup home. I told them to make sure the pup got lots of water because it was very warm and she had been playing hard. As my friend and I watched, one of the children brought out a small glass of water for pup and then put her in the shed! Horrified, we confronted the neighbors! We gave them an ultimatum... we call the police and turn them in for cruelty to animals, or they give us the pup and as long as we lived next door to them that they would not get another pup or we would turn them in! Well, that evening when it came time for our fur babies to come in for the day, one happy little black pup with a white blaze on her breast was welcomed into our home! We renamed her Maggie after Maggie Smith the actress, but nick named her "Mag the Pie" because she reminded us of the magpies in the Windex commercials, which make us smile like Maggie does!
Don't be afraid to step in to rescue a young or older fur baby, because you never know what a blessing you will receive! Though now after 10 years her eyes are cloudy and she moves a bit slower, my grateful Maggie still gives unconditional love with a smile, a butterfly kiss and a snuggle every day! Way to go Mag the Pie! I love you, and wow am I blessed!

Sandy McGrady
TUXEDO PARK, NY

Cuz came inside

A friend of mine called me to share that there was a young kitten in her front yard that was wild. She could not keep it, but it was scared and she was afraid for its safety. I took my Have a Heart Trap and went over and caught the little thing in just a few minutes. The kitten was ear-tipped, so I knew it was a Trap, Neuter, Release cat. It was wild, and I was advised to take all its things outside and let it live out there. It upset me to have it out in the winter (and I live in Arizona), and I started talking to it and feeding it; finally it let me pet it and then pick it up. That took 2 years, but one morning I scooped Cuz up in my arms and brought it in the house. It loves pets, and each day is a little more tame and loving. I named it Cuz because it looks like it could be a cousin of Dickens, one of our other cats. Kitty has even learned to share a house with Dobermans.

Sue
SCOTTSDALE, AZ

Princess Hermione

It was a hot July in Houston, Texas, in 2004. I had just come out of a Burger King and was walking to my car when I heard the faint cry of a tiny kitten. I told my wife that there was a kitten somewhere in the parking lot, and we needed to find it. We split up and searched until I finally found it on a very thin patch of grass at the edge of the parking lot. She was so tiny, and couldn't have been more than a few weeks old. I picked her up and gave her a quick scan and found no wounds or even any dirt. There was no way that kitten could have gotten to this location on her own, as the restaurant was surrounded on 3 sides by busy streets and the other side had a huge parking lot. Clearly, someone had driven up to the parking lot and tossed her out, hoping that someone else would find her. I am so glad that I did. I got in my car and set the tiny kitten in my lap and started driving home, which was only a few miles away. She immediately started climbing up my shirt to be as close to me as she could, so grateful to have been rescued from the terrifying experience she had just endured. I don't understand people who would toss out a precious living creature just because they don't want to care for it or find it a good home.
Fast forward 14 and one-half years: Hermione is a healthy, dainty, loving cat who stays close to me when I am at home, which is most of the time now that I am retired. She earned the title of Princess one day as she walked through the kitchen and inadvertently stepped on a single drop of water that someone had spilled on the kitchen floor. I happened to be standing there and saw her lift up the offended front paw and look all around her as if to say, "Somebody help me, I got my paw wet!" And she has been Princess Hermione since then. We love her very much (and spoil her rotten), as is the same with our other eight indoor cats. They all have a story of their own, as I absolutely love cats and cannot bear to see one tossed out and abandoned by some cruel human. We have also trapped many feral cats in our yard, taken them to the vet to be spayed/neutered and given a rabies shot. They were then returned to the neighborhood. This has helped to decrease the number of homeless kittens that are born every year, but it still happens. I wish people would get their pets "fixed" so that fewer homeless cats and dogs would live terrified out in a cruel world, unloved and uncared-for.

Larry Emmons
HOUSTON, TX

Brathwr, Snake-Killer

My sister, Maureen, asked me to share this story of her cat, Brathwr (Welsh for "biter") (The photo is only representative of Brathwr.)

In Africa, Brathwr was the only cat I ever saw in Sierra Leone. This handsome grey tabby came out of the jungle and came to me when I called him. Asking around, I found out he’d been abandoned by those who’d brought him when they returned to their home country. I crouched down to pet him, and he jumped into my lap, purring away. I stood up, and he stayed in my arms purring while I stroked him. As I carried him home purring, he bit my thumb, HARD, hence his name.

Simon lived on the other side of the garage from my house. He didn’t like Brathwr; in a country where the average individual got only 49% of daily minimum protein requirements, an animal kept solely as a pet seemed a decadent luxury. Then one day, Simon was coming out of the garage when he saw a 5 foot black snake sunning itself in front of the garage. He started backing into the garage, and the snake followed him. He was terrified and had nothing to defend himself with. He was sure he was dead.

Brathwr dashed into the garage, jumped the snake, bit its head off, and then vomited it up! After that, nothing was too good for the miraculous snake-killing cat. Watchdogs were good to deter thieves, but even a watchdog wouldn't save you from a snake. Neighbours and students came from all over to see the snake-killing cat, and he was much revered until his death.

He was also a sweet snuggler when he didn't have the biting urge.

Kitty
FORT WAYNE, IN

Lady the culvert dog

My dad was a postal employee who delivered a rural route in central NH in the 60's and 70's. For several days as he enjoyed the sandwich lunch my mom sent him off with every day, which he ate on the route, he noticed a "fox cub" watching him from the end of a culvert pipe. After a few days he decided it was a dog pup, not a fox, though it certainly was as red as any NH fox. He asked my mom the next week to make him 2 sandwiches for lunch, she complied though chiding him about potential weight gain. He didn't tell her why, he knew better. After 3 days of feeding her at his lunch break every day, he spent one the afternoon after work coaxing the pup, who was alone, out from the culvert pipe with bits of sandwich he had left from her earlier lunch with him. She scrambled up into his lap trying to get more food, he scooped her up, filthy dirty, covered with leaves and debris, and brought her home. My mom took one look and said "Oh no, no dogs here, either she goes or I go!"
After 11 years they were both still there along with the rest of our family. We lost her to old age in the late 70's, but we remember her with tremendous love to this day. She was a great dog! And a lucky one...

Kathy Houghton
MEREDITH, NH

She lost her momma twice....but landed well in the end

MaryJane was taken from her birth mom at 4 1/2 weeks old, as the owner felt it was better to remove the kittens early rather than be left with unwanted kittens. She lived in a loving home for over 6 years enjoying the life of a princess. Sadly her adopted mom died from a cancer 2 years ago, and her adopted dad had physical disabilities and was unable to care for her even most basic needs. He asked us to take her to the local Humane Society, but instead we brought her home with us where once again she is the Princess. It took her a li'l less than a year to settle into her new home, but she is a happy, relaxed and deeply loving kitty today.

kathy houghton
MEREDITH, NH