Animal Rescue Stories

Best Fishing Trip

It was a summer day on Lake Amador. We were cruising the lake fishing for bass. Went into one of the fingers of the lake to fish the bank. As I was casting, I heard a shrill cry. Sounded like a kitten. It continued. I told my husband to beach the boat, I wanted to check it out. I took some of my turkey from my sandwich, in case I needed to lure him. A boy was coming down the hill and told his dad it was an older cat. They left. With bait in hand, I started up the steep hill. I finally reached the point of the cries. It was a black kitten, crying. Because he was a long haired, burrs and pine needle were stuck in his fur. I talked to him and presented my turkey. He came right to me. Picked him up and took him back to the boat. It took 2 hours to clean him up. He spent the rest of the weekend fishing with us. He sat under my husband's seat for shade. When we returned home, he had his well baby check -up. He was 3 months old.
We named him Amador, after the lake he was rescued from. He was the love of my life. We had him for 16 years. Amador blessed our lives.

Natalie Ritter
TOPAZ, CA

Howard didn't die in vain

In May of 2012 I had the most difficult time of getting over the death of my Jack Russell, Howard, affectionately known as Howdog....Howpuppy etc. My roommate forgot to lock the fence and Howard was gone for over three weeks, during which time I hung posters around the neighborhood offering a reward for his return. I searched the internet every day several times hoping that he would turn up at a shelter or someone had found him and posted on a website like craigslist.
During my search I came across a post with the subject line "Help me. I don't have much time." The post contained a picture of a little red nosed pit bull that was so skinny, yet he was wide-eyed and looked so happy. I bookmarked that page....one of the smartest things I've ever done.
The next day I received a call from a lady telling me she had seen my poster offering a reward for Howard's return. My heart raced with joy when she told me she had seen him the day he got out. She had tried to get him in her car and he ran out in the road and was hit by a car. My Howdog was dead. I was heartbroken.
I remembered an image I had seen on the internet about a dog and his "last will and testament". It stated "I'd will to the sad, shelter dog the place I had in my human's loving heart, of which there seemed no bounds." I decided to go get the dog I had seen just the day before on the internet. Howard would want that. I drove to the shelter and told them about the ad I had seen on the internet. The lady led me right to him and I met with "Solja". I was less than pleased with the given name, which was quickly changed to Fred. He was 31 pounds and had heart worms and hookworms. He only received treatment for these things once I agreed to adopt him. Turns out the ad on the internet was an indicator of the fact that Fred was scheduled to be put down two days from that day. He was skittish. I was told he was found in a boarded up old house after someone had heard his whining and yelps for hope of rescue. Inside the home, he was found surrounded by several pitbull carcasses. It seemed to be a dumping ground for these dogs once they had been fought and lost. It had been determined from the marks around Fred's snout that he had been muzzled and used as a bait dog. For those of you who don't know what that is, it is a dog that is used to train the dogs that actually fight. He was tied up and muzzled so the other dogs could attack him and he could not fight back. Fred was covered with scars. I knew this little guy would be a handful, but I was determined to give him a better life and show him that all people are not so cruel. It was hard to wait the two days I had to wait to return to the shelter and get him while he received the necessary treatment he needed. I even went back the next day to visit so he would know someone cared. The following day I brought him home. He had two little shaved spots in his fur above his hind legs on his back. This is where he had received injections for the heart worms.
Fred was food aggressive and would growl and snap when I walked by his bowl while he was eating. He would also cower as if he had been hit while being fed before. I would try to snuggle with him at night and he would jump off the bed and whine by my bedroom door. I would often sit in the floor with him with my arm extended to pet him and reassure him that he would never endure anything like the life he had before. So many people told me I was crazy for adopting such an aggressive dog. I even had friends that stated I could not bring Fred to their home if I came to visit or they would not come to my apartment unless he was locked away. I couldn't believe such ignorance. People need to understand that a dog's behavior, no matter what breed, is a result of the dog's human and how they are raised. I won't be told otherwise.
So almost seven years later I am still with Fred, and he has two little rescue brothers and a rescue big sister......Milo, (a chihuahua), Petey (a dachshund), and Gracey (a pit english bulldog mix). They all sleep in the bed with me and get along like no other pack of dogs I've even seen.
Sure I have to deal with dog messes on the floor sometimes (God bless the inventor of the carpet steam cleaner), and shelling out money for heartworm and flea meds, but I wouldn't trade the joy of being a dog mom for anything. I think of all my fur babies, Fred had the worst life of all before he found his forever home. Oddly enough he is the most docile and calm of them all. That doesn't mean that people give him disapproving looks when I take him out or walk out of their way to avoid him. I smile and feel sorry for them. People who are closed minded like that will never experience the joy I have felt since the day Fred rescued me.

Shannon Dalton
ATLANTIC BEACH, FL

Our cat family

One late spring day I was gardening in a corner of our large garden, when suddenly a tiny tabby kitten appeared. It had come through a gap in the hedge, then it disappeared into the wooden part of the garden. My husband and I had been feeding a feral cat. The next day I was working in he same part of the garden when a tiny white cat suddenly appeared then disappeared quickly. My husband started to put milk down for them in a small clearing, then food. Tilly, as we called her, started to come under the veranda to us when we sat there in the afternoons, as summer came so the kittens used to join their mom; so long as we didn't attempt to touch them they were happy to come close. The summer progressed and we spent most of the time in the garden with a family of four kittens and their mom. As they grew they started to explore, one day sadly the one tomcat went missing; he was later found dead on the very fast road past our house. It was strange, and seemed to affect all the other kits and their mom. A few days later one of the female kits was missing, Roy went looking for her and found her dead at the side of the road. We were heartbroken; we realised if we didn't do something, the possibility of the other two being killed was very strong too. We made the decision to bring them into the house. We already had a dear little cat, a tortoishell; how would she take it? She reluctantly accepted them. Tilly had another littler the following spring, in our utility room, a tabby and a white, both she cats. We have brought these in the house to live too. We managed to catch Tilly and have her spayed. Sadly, Tilly didn't come into the utility one day for her food, all day she was missing. My husband went looking for her, he found her dead on the side of the lane. She had managed to miss being hit by cars for a good few years, she was probably five or six, but even she succumbed to the road in the end. Our little torti cat died just before last Christmas aged fifteen. We still miss her badly, but we have our four little girls who keep us company and delight us with their characters and affection every day.

susan anne booth
Elesmere, United Kingdom

Motley Crew

I was 24 and working in construction in NYC. My first construction job was the Jacob Javits Center, a huge wide open trainyard that served as the home for several colonies of community cats. I had never had a cat before. I set up a feeding station and sat back to watch the procession of the hungry ones, worn out by life outside in the wind and weather. They came from near and far-- the tabbies, the tuxedos, the calicos and more. They were so regal, in their various states of disarray.

I called them my Motley Crew, with their tattered ears and stumpy tails. They touched my heart every single day with their dignified presence, studying me as hard as I was studying them. There were those who would never come close, and then there were those who came a little bit closer every day. There was one very tame TOM CAT who had been around the block a few times. Every kitten in the yard looked like him. I called him Notorious C.A.T.

I did my best to befriend Notorious. He had a stumpy tail and a dirty nose, but I could see the cuddly kitten inside of him. I pulled out the big guns to trap him. Sardines seduced his keen sense of smell and, before I knew it, he was howling in my trap. I got him neutered and socialized him. He came home with me and was my very first cat. Notorious C.A.T. started my lifelong love of feeding, trapping, neutering, vaccinating and returning (TNVR) outdoor cats, as well as my love of having indoor cat companions.

Notorious C.A.T. opened my heart in a way that, almost, no else has. His courage and coping skills taught me how to be courageous and take risks. He taught me to be noble and forgiving. He taught me that, sometimes, the most loving gifts come in the most foreboding packages. He was everything to me, and we enjoyed several wonderful years together until he passed away from natural causes a few years ago.

He was an original member of my "motley crew." I took a risk to rescue and love an animal that needed a good home, and it made all the difference in my life so, I ask myself the same question most animal rescuers who have rescued feline angels from the streets-- who rescued who? I know that Notorious C.A.T. saved me way more than I saved him, and I will be forever grateful to him for opening my eyes and my heart to the glorious world of cat rescue.

*Denise's story was randomly selected as the winner in our Fur Baby Valentine Story Submission Giveaway! -Ed.

Denise Bulger
GENEVA, NY

Some Bunny to Love

When my wonderful black cat Raven passed away in April of 2017, followed by the loss of my friend's darling rabbit Snoopy, I was sent into a spiral of grief I didn't think I'd ever escape from. Last year, I decided that a new friend might help. Why not a rabbit? After looking around and reading a few books, I realized I didn't know much about rabbits, even after knowing Snoopy for so long. I decided I wanted a rescue and went to check out our local House Rabbit Chapter. We took an educational class and then went to meet the rabbits available. None of them were really that interested in me and if was beginning to feel discouraged until I got to the cage of a big white rabbit with brown markings. His name was Curtis and when I said hello to him, he jumped up and practically threw himself at the side of his cage to get to me! When they took him out for me to get acquainted, he hopped right over and snuggled next to me, even getting on my lap for kisses! I was told he'd never acted like that for any of the other people who looked at him, just me. That settled it! A few days later, I took him home. He's been such a help in helping me heal. I'm so glad he chose me as his forever human!

Marie Carter
UNION, MO

It was meant to be..

I was walking in "Paws for the Cause" October 18,2006. It had been a tough year. I had survived cancer and lost my mother. There was a dog there with the adopt me jacket on but he was a mess. Cherry eye (both of them), flea bitten so bad he had an allergic reaction, underweight, patches of hair missing. I said to the guy walking him, "why would you bring a dog that looks like that here, who would adopt him?" He said the dog was found two days earlier and they thought it would be good to get him outside. Two days earlier was my mothers birthday, the first one without her. My daughter looked at me and said, "we are taking him home, aren't we?" 12 1/2 years later Nemo is still my love. I am so glad I "Found Nemo."

Roslyn Nordaby
PHILADELPHIA, PA

Love at 1st sight

It was love at 1st sight. I had decided it was time for another dog after my previous dog passed. I was watching the ads on the internet site from the shelter in the next town over and I saw a puppy as cute as could be, so I went to check him out. When I got there I told them who I wanted to see, + they told me to wait outside, that they would go get him. I sat down, then all of a sudden this little black dog came running to me all happy and excited. He sniffed me, he kissed me and then he picked up my pocketbook which was bigger than him and dragged it towards the door, looking back at me like he was saying, come on, let's get out of here. I filled out the adoption papers and left. The next day I went back to see him and the exact thing happened again with my handbag after he ran to me, then kissed me. I asked if I could take him and they said they still had to check my references. The next day, #3 I went to visit him again and the pocketbook incident happened again, only this time they told me I could take him home. It has been unconditional love ever since. Blackie will be 10 years old on April 6th and we still love each other unconditionally. A match made in heaven.

Vickie McDermott
SPENCER, MA

Geri & Wiley

My 14 year old Papillon rescue was very ill and passed away; my heart was broken. I knew I had to rescue again after several months passed, one door closes and another door opens, so they say. I searched and searched, but my heart was still broken. Then I happened upon one little guy who had been in rescue group for a year due to heartworm when multiple pups were rescued from hoarders & puppy mills. I checked on him for a month or two and then my heart began to heal, so I contacted the rescue group, talked often with the foster mom, and we finally were ready to meet. It was love at first sight for me, he was a petrified little boy for 6-8 months more, but he learned to trust me and we are inseparable now going on 6 1/2 years! He is the sweetest little Papillon you will ever meet and kind and gentle, still somewhat fearful of things, but he knows I am his protector and I try to spend all the time I have with him. We have a superglue bond now and he makes me happy each and every day. He saved me more than I saved him! I am so happy we found each other.

Geri Bernier
HOLIDAY, FL

My precious Olivia

Olivia is a Fox Terrier. I rescued her. She had been with several families, but was too hyper. She was always ready to play outside, ready to fetch a ball. At first she was unsure, and I could tell she was thinking, is this another temporary home? That fear went away. I have had her for 6 joyful years. No one could love me as much as she does. And I feel the same about her. She wants to be with me wherever I go. I am so glad I rescued her. Oh my precious Olivia, you are so special to me.

Tina Ezzell
WHITAKERS, NC

Miss Mona

She is no longer with me but Mona Lisa gave me a run for my money. I found her tied to a tree at Valley Forge National Park. I already had two rescues and was going to give her to my nephew. She was so aggressive towards other dogs, I didn't feel comfortable homing her with my nephew. After much work, that girl paid me back by preventing a break in of my home. A friend of the family with a drug problem tried breaking into the house but Mona would not allow her to break in through an upstairs bedroom window. She only weighed 35 pounds but she was mighty.

Monica Zelinski
MONROEVILLE, PA