A good Samaritan, Gary DeNicola, rescued a stray dog running in traffic, most likely saving her life. What he didn’t realize at the time was he saved 10 lives,  she was pregnant. When he picked up the dog she was starving and emaciated, it looked like she had been nursing but when he searched the area for puppies but didn’t find any.

He took the dog home and put her in his spacious backyard to keep her safe, he was worried about bringing her in because he has a 12-year-old and wasn’t sure how he’d react. DeNicola planned on dropping the dog off at the shelter the next day, things didn’t work out exactly as planned.

Here are the details from the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

That evening, on Sept. 27, DeNicola noticed the dog begin to hunker down in a garden bed. Next, she was giving birth to one, two, four, seven, and then nine black and tan puppies. Read the rest of this entry »

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How sad is this, a beautiful senior lab who is going to be put down without anyone even knowing her name?  She was picked up as a stray and is only known as 1054.

I have no doubt she was a very loyal, loving companion and now she is nothing but a number. Her age is unknown, but she is obviously an old gal.  Don’t let old age fool you, if you’ve never adopted an older dog before this girl can bring more joy than you can imagine.

She is located at  Portage County Dog Warden Shelter in Ravenna, Ohio. You can reach them at 330-297-6924.  There is no time to spare,  I know there is a perfect family out there for this beautiful girl, is it you?

Please post and crosspost this message, before it’s too late.

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A while back I was speaking with Dogster member Ron about his pup Takoda, a special needs dog. I asked if he would like to do an article on what it’s like to adopt a  special needs or older dog. What you bring to their lives, and the unbelievable joy they bring to yours.

I recently received Ron’s response and it seems like the perfect post as American Humane’s Adopt-A-Dog Month comes to an end.

I guess you could say that research started when my wife and I adopted Takoda. Like Logan, he was a stud dog in a Puppy Mill, used and abused for the first three years of his life and then ready to be tossed away, along with four other Dobermans, when the people who owned the Mill decided they were no longer of use and were ready to toss them to a Kill Shelter. Thank God a Rescue Group heard about that and promptly rescued them all. If that hadn’t happened, we never would have known how much love a Rescued and Adopted dog, be it a Senior or Special Needs, has to give.

I wanted to really be able to tell you exactly what was needed to adopt that Special Needs, or Senior, dog so I joined several different groups to see what others had to say. I just wanted to read the posts and see what was being said from the heart, not from the mind. What I wanted was their feelings and comments that were spontaneous, not thought out. Those reasons and feelings that came from deep within.

I’ve been visiting, reading and taking notes for quite a while now and just knew a pattern would start forming rapidly. Well, after all this time that hasn’t happened. From what I read in all those posts, there really wasn’t anything specific about the people who adopted a Special Needs or Senior dog, they varied from young to old, from those with the ability to give the best of care to those who would have to scrounge a little to take care of their pet. There just didn’t seem to be anything specific that was needed.

Read the rest of this entry »

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I received a letter from a volunteer at the North Mecklenberg Animal Rescue about a beautiful girl named Hope, a throwaway who survived against the odds.

She is currently being fostered at a wonderful home but needs her own permanent loving forever home.

Hope was neglected and abused until, as a 6-8 month old puppy, being thrown into a rock quarry in an attempt to drown her. Her spirit and determination allowed her to fight for an indeterminate amount of time, acquiring significant injuries to her feet and legs as she tried desperately to free herself. Somehow, she found a small ledge, where she huddled for another indeterminate amount until Fire and Rescue rock climbed and rafted her out. By this point, she was totally catatonic and responsive due to her fear.

The reason my home was chosen for foster care was because of the very special pack of rescued animals who lives here. There is a rescued fighting dog who was used as bait and subsequently lost a rear leg and underwent 3 surgeries, another dog that was abandoned twice before the age of 3 months who is now a Therapy Dog for humans and other animals, and three elderly cats who were abandoned at various stages in their life. They now work together to help other animals adjust and recover from bad situations. One of these cats keeps all arriving foster dogs company by spending the night sleeping in front of their crates, as well as by engaging in boxing matches with the dogs regardless of their size.

Read the rest of this entry »

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Any regular reader of the blog will know I have a soft spot for seniors, so when this email came through I knew I had to try and help save these pups.

They are located at a high kill shelter in Kentucky, so time is of the essence.

Soxy

http://www.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=14934088

Cupcake

http://www.petfinder.com/petnot/displaypet.cgi?petid=14934672

Luna

http://www.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=14934933

Mitzi

http://www.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=14934945

The pups are at the Daviess Animal Control located on 2620 Highway 81 Owensboro, KY 42303.   You can reach them at (270) 685-8275 or via email,  click here.

Please post and crosspost this message, let’s help save these senior gals.  They still have a lot of living to do, give one a chance and in return you’ll get an endless amount of unconditional love.

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I’ve always thought Hilary Swank was an amazing actress, now I know she’s also a great person.  Swank is the owner of two rescues, Karoo and Rumi, and according to USA Today she is the new face of Iams “Home 4 the Holidays” pet adoption drive with the Helen Woodward Animal Center.

Their goal in the campaign, which runs until Jan. 4, is to find homes for 1.5 million pets. I posted about their adoption drive last year, they not only met their goal, they exceeded it. One Million Eighty-Eight Thousand, Five Hundred and Six Pets found forever homes last year thanks to Iams ‘Home 4 the Holidays.’

*Photos courtesy Timothy A. Clary, AFP/Getty Images

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On October 2nd I posted It’s Time To Celebrate Adopt-A-Dog Month. I put some zealies up for grabs, all you had to do was send me your dog’s rescue story for a chance to win.  The winner would be featured on the blog and their goodie stash would get richer by 50 zealies.

The winner is The Wee Beasties, a very cute group of pups, and their mom Charlotte. You’ll see from the stories below why people like Charlotte are the unsung heroes of the world and a true inspiration.

Peaches, a 7 year old chihuahua was found in a water-filled ditch in Tennessee. She was emaciated, had a broken jaw with a bad wire job and kennel cough. A shelter volunteer took pity on her, took her home and reached out to rescues. A rescue in Missouri took her in and listed her on Petfinder. We were lucky enough to be chosen to adopt her in December 2006. She was terrified of men but with time, care and lots of treats, my husband was able to win her over. She’s now a true Daddy’s girl and loving spending her golden years with us.

Sam, a 3 year old chihuahua mix, came into the shelter where I volunteer. He had been abandoned and was starved. Weeks passed, other dogs came and went but but no one wanted Sam. He did get one home who promptly returned him, claiming that he’d bitten their baby. After questioning, they admitted there was no bite- they just didn’t want him. I took him home and he’s happier than ever. He does have some separation anxiety and phobia of storms but we’re working on that.

Rufus (another chihuahua) also came into the shelter, about a month after we got Sam. Read the rest of this entry »

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Are there now dogs being trained to sniff out cheating spouses? Well, not exactly, but a Yorkie in Italy did rat out his mom.

A Sicilian woman told her husband she was taking their dog for a walk.  A bit later the husband was out with the kids when he heard a familiar bark. He found his pup tied to a tree in front of a bar.

According to the Metro.co.uk, the husband looked in the bar and found his wife in a passionate embrace with the owner. This probably won’t come as a surprise, the couple is planning on divorcing. I wonder if there will be a custody fight over the dog? I’m thinking the dog goes with the husband.

If  anyone out there needs to keep their spouse in line, Princeton is up for adoption. He’s 3-months-old and was surrendered by the breeder who could not get him adopted. He is on Dogster’s Dog Adoption & Rescue Center, totally unrelated to the story, there was no picture of their Yorkie.

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This week’s Dog Of The Week is Flash, he’s a real cutie, with a killer smile.  He is a 10- year-old Basset Hound/Chinese Shar-Pei mix who’s been on Dogster for more than 3 years.

Flash was abandoned by his previous owner but luckily found himself a wonderful new furever home.  He now enjoys hiking  with his family and chasing rabbits.

Here’s a little more from Flash’s mom on how he found them.

Unfortunately, Flash was abandoned when his previous owner moved from his house and left Flash tied to the porch. Somehow this dog escaped the porch he was tied up too.

When he showed up at my house I was outside in the front yard. I felt something staring at me and I turned around and there was this dog looking at me. It was like he appeared out of nowhere.

I was told by several neighbors that he had actually been from door to door trying to get someone to take him in. He was terribly hungry, thirsty and scared.

I’ve had Flash since 2002 and I feel blessed that he came and found me to take him in.

He is my Best Friend!!!

I’m not sure who adopted who, but this match seems like fate.

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Sadly 12 of the 25 pit bulls that were rescued from the dog fighting ring in Buffalo, NY have been put down.

(AP) According to WHAM 13, officials at the Buffalo City Animal Shelter say they had to put 12 of the dogs down because they were extremely aggressive. Authorities say many of the dogs were covered in scars from fighting.

Out of the 13 surviving dogs 8 are puppies.  Hopefully all the others will be adopted into loving homes. Once again we see the victims paying the ultimate price for the abusers crimes.

* PIC NOT RELATED TO ARTICLE:  There was no pictures with the story so I put handsome TJ up to see if we could get him a home, he’s a very gentle and loving boy. He’s a lover, not a fighter. This cutie is being fostered in NY, check out his homepage.

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