Have you ever saved an abused or abandoned dog or cat??

Question

If you have I would like to hear about it! People who have compassion for animals and help them deserve to be recognized for the good things they do! I just finished reading a question posted by Dhara about an abused dog she saved, and it made me feel really good to know that even though she knew nothing about dogs she had it in her heart to help save one from an abuser, good for her!!
Anyway I would like to hear more stories about people helping abused or abandoned animals, the 10 points will go to the most touching story...

Answer 1

My most touching story from many rescues was Edgar, an elderly dacshund cross I found one day. I tried to find his home for a month because I knew he would not be considered adoptable by the pound due to his age and physical condition. After a month I knew I wasn't going to find his home so I took him in for a checkup. I'd already de-wormed him and had noticed his teeth were really bad. My vet told me both his ears were badly infected, he had two skin tumors that needed to come off and he had about 12 teeth that needed to come out. She said the cost would be several hundred dollars. I had four other dogs, a cat and lots of bills, but I knew I had to help him. I took photos and did a letter which I sent to every I knew asking for money to help him. I talked about it to everyone I met and was able to raise almost $400 which covered about half of what he needed. He was a very sweet natured little guy and adjusted nicely into my home with four much larger dogs. He seemed to really enjoy the socializing and I nicknamed him "Rocket-Boy" for how he raced around the yard. I think he hadn't been allowed to bark by his old owner because he would bark and then look at me and duck his head. When he finally realized he wasn't in trouble for barking he barked his little head off for the rest of his life. He loved cooked carrots and behaved wonderfully. The only bad thing he ever did during the time that I had him was the first day I introduced him to my dogs he took one look at my beautiful leggy husky Zena and turned around and peed on the wall. He never ever did anything else that I had to correct he was sweet and loving and well behaved til the end of his days. About six months after I got him he was diagnosed with Cushings Disease (different for dogs than humans) and he lived another two years. The day I had to take him in to be put down (reaching the end of the quality of life place, it was very hard) I made him scrambled eggs with cooked carrots and took him for his last car ride. At the vets office in my arms as he was getting the injection he turned his sweet little face to me and laid his head on my chest and snuggled into me. I know that I gave him a wonderful life and I am grateful for all the time that I had him with me.

Answer 2

I don't know how touching this is.. but it is a true story - my story.

Back in August, I was driving to work as usual, and I did a double-take when I saw someone pushing a stroller across the street. Only it wasn't a baby stroller, it was a DOGGIE stroller! I thought that was the most ridiculous thing I'd ever seen in my life. I wrote my friends saying.. did you know these things existed? How lame is that? How embarrased is that dog? Dogs should WALK not ride.

My best friend of 23 years wrote me back and said she had just rescued a dog from the street and it would fit lovely in my stroller (she's a smarty). She asked if I would take the dog, knowing I wasn't allowed to have dogs. Curious, I asked what kind of dog it was, she said 'some type of terrier." I replied "anything but a Jack Russell, I do not have the time or the energy for a JRT." That night I met and retrieved my JRT/Westie mix Ginger. Yeah, JRT, you heard me right. I brought her to my grandmother (landlord) under the guise of letting her keep the dog, but she said that she didn't want to be burdeoned with an animal, but that since she was so cute I could keep her. :)

A month & 1/2 later, it was clear that Ginger needed a friend to keep her company while I was at work. Besides my 16yo daughter was jealous of the attention Ginger was getting from me, so she said she wanted a purse dog. Ginger and I went to the animal shelter and looked at all the dogs. So many Pitbulls it was quite sad. We found a couple companions and tried them out then and there. The first companion was NOT a good fit. He was an unneutered male brown Chi and he was toooo hyper. The second choice was the dog we brought home. A female b/w Chi/Italian Greyhound mix.

These two are the best of friends now and we love them to death. You can see pictures of my girls here:

Foxy http://www.dogster.com/pet_page.php?i=418115
Ginger http://www.dogster.com/pet_page.php?i=418091

Enjoy!

Answer 3

I took an Animal Care Aide course in college, when I was done I did my work placement at a small Humane Society, the first week I was there they had a run of feline upper respiratory wipe out about 10 cats........ then a case of parvo run through the dogs, there was one dog Husky cross, ( he was the only non-pit bull out of all the dogs in there)he was so cute and friendly he had been there a long time and they were running out of space in the shelter because all the dogs were getting sick and we were trying to make room to quarantine the healthy ones, ( I didn't want them to put him down just to "make room)so I asked my mom and dad if they would "foster" him just for 10days, then the parvo came back again just ten more days please, then again 10 more days (they already had 4 dogs and about 20 horses ect..) Well that was 10 years ago his name is Riley and he has the run of the farm.
Also the Lasoapso Ted, my mom and dad had the people move from their appartment and left the him, the "Benji" dog we had the owner passed away and the family were going to put him down and my parents took him!! My parents are the best they never turn down anyone or anything that needs love, and place to call home!!!

Answer 4

Long ago, when I was still a small child, I saved these 2 puppies which were stranded on top of roof top. I have no idea how they got there and I didn't think much, I crawled out of the window from 3rd floor and got them out. I didn't know what to do with them because my parents wouldn't have accepted. I hid them inside my room till they started barking. I was told I could only keep one after my parents found out.

2 years ago. I drove home after work. I saw this old dog, probably a shi-tsu mixed, sitting in front of my lawn. I thought it probably belonged a family guest, because it followed me into the house after I got out of the car. I asked my family and no one knew where it came from. And no neighbor claimed the dog. I gave it bath and cooked chicken breasts like the treats my dog gets and the dog has became very attached to me in a few days. I posted an ad on the newspaper and hoping someone would come forth and claim the dog. And finally, the last day before the ad expired, an old man called me and described the lost dog. It was him. But then I've already took the dog to a non killing santuary. That feeling of giving an attached dog away was horrible, I can't believe I actually cried for an entire day. I hope he is in good hands.

Answer 5

We just adopted a 6 y.o. female chihuahua. At the Humane Society, we realized after a few visits that she was still there. Apparently the former owner surrendered her, but they don't know much more about her. She is 12 lbs, which is way too much for a chihuahua. We were told that she must have been fed table food on a daily basis. She also suffers from a skin allergy. In other words- she isn't the prettiest chihuahua you've ever seen. We adopted her, because she is so sweet nevertheless and because we know that she would have been put to sleep, if nobody adopted her.... and because like humans- no pooch is perfect. We also realized that after three days she hasn't barked at all.... but even that's okey with us, because we are surrounded by houses with barking dogs. Rosie is as old as I am in human years.... lol- she will lose those pounds in no time and look her best very, very soon! No table food from us!

Answer 6

Yep, I have. Ten years ago I adopted my Cocker Spaniel, Jake from some people who kept him tied outside on a three foot chain, under a trailer in mud. The guy abused him by smacking him and so forth when he barked. The day I showed up to adopt him, he had no food or water dish outside, and looked quite underweight and small for a male Cocker.

When I asked the guy what the dog's name was, he said, "Jake". It was really funny, because on the way over, I thought if I adopted the dog, I would name him Jake. So I knew it was meant to be.

When I got there, Jake seemed shy, but when I bent down to pet him, he wagged his tail and got excited.

I led him into the car with the leash I had brought to bring him home, and as soon as I got into the car, he came over and gave me a big kiss on the side of my cheek. I knew the whole thing was a good decision on my part.

Today, he is my best friend and goes everywhere with me.

I found out that Jake had a case of heartworm, ( not real bad, but it needed to be treated). Well, where I was living at the time, the method the Vet described to me and how they get rid of the worms, would not guarantee that Jake would live.
So I called his old Vet I had when I first got him, and he had a much more humane way of taking care of the heartworm. He saved Jake's life.

Today, Jake is extremely attached to me, and a great companion and friend. He sleeps with me, too, and as I said, goes everywhere with me. I would do it all over again.

Answer 7

I rescued an abused shepard from the humane society. He had severe blunt force injuries to his back leg when he was a pup so the leg never grew. I met him when he was a resident of the pound, and now his bad leg has been amputated (yesterday), he is neutered, has all of his shots, given a flea treatment, and best of all, he is home with me where he belongs. He would have been a 4 legged stallion had he not been abused by his former owner. The leg itself could have been saved if that person had just taken him to a vet, but he ended up almost 40 miles from home at the humane society. He is such a great friend to me, and such a wonderful doggie too! He is quite handsome, and 3 legs just makes him more awsome.

Answer 8

Almost all of the dogs I had/have for the last 40+ years came from the Humane Society or were found wandering the street. Also most of my cats were adopted from the street. Right now I have two dogs and two cats. One dog was found on the street by friends of mine and given to me. The second dog I adopted from the local animal pound last May, three weeks after my elderly Schnauzer died.
The Schnauzer was also from a local kennel. The two cats I have are feral cats who reside in my shed, and they just come to eat, and then leave again. One day I will catch them and have them seen by a veterinary, and have them neutered so that they are not able not breed more wild cats. At this time none of them had a litter.

Answer 9

I do it on a Daily Basis..Its My Job I am The Animal Care manager in a very big animal Shelter(over 100 dogs) We get stuff in that I dont even want to describe on here..Right now I have a Dog in a Run in my Back yard that I'm treating with one of the most severe ear infections I have ever seen.I have a cat in a crate inside suffering from Coccidia and an URI plus Half Starved..He's slowly getting better.
The most Gut Wrenching work I ever did was after Katrina A group of us from My area went to New Orleans and helped with animal rescue.It was horrible,Starving Dogs in Toxic water..Starving ,Sick, It was also the most rewarding.Its wonderful to see the face of a person who has lost everything be reunited with their Pet! When You have nothing left you realise it doesnt matter as long as your family survives and you get your Pets back!
As Pet Lovers We should ALL keep our eyes open and CALL the Authorities when we see an animal being abused.If we dont that makes US as Guilty as the people doing it! IMO Like Children animals are helpless against the sickos in this world. I dont care about the 10 points but am glad you raised this topic We can All do little things to help..I carry dog food in my car and feed dogs that are starved but wont come to you...Eventually they will and you can get them to the Shelter and get them taken care of...

Answer 10

I was looking for a cat to adopt at our local animal shelter. I had a hard time deciding since there were soooo many cute cats to choose from. Though, the one that cought my eye, was this beautiful Maine Coon Cat, the sad thing was, was that he was sooo thin, fur full of fleas, and in pretty bad shape. The animal shelter was doing nothing to help that cat. My heart went out to that one so, that cat I had to have. As soon as I got him, we went straight to the vet. The cat was infested with fleas, he was full of worms, had ear mites and an ear infection, horrible mats in his fur and so on. After all the medications and vet visits and getting the cat brushed and brushed and fed well, he was the nicest and friendliest cat I had ever had. I think he must have known that I saved his life! The sad thing was, is that if I didn't adopt him, the shelter was going to put him to sleep! They didn't want to spend the money to get him healthy! So I guess I saved his life.