Felix the Cat… Er… Dog

This story was originally shared on The Animal Rescue Site. Submit your own rescue story here. Your story just might be the next to be featured on our blog!

Shortly after my childhood dog passed away at 19 years of age, I wanted to get another pup to share my life with. I turned to Craigslist, posting a request saying I was looking for a dog to adopt. Within the first 24 hours, I had tons of emails, but one caught my eye.

A woman emailed me saying she was trying to get rid of a dog. We met the next day. She brought a little dog in a cage and explained that she had originally bought him from a breeder because she wanted a purse dog. Not being full Pomeranian, he quickly got too big for that, which meant she didn’t want him, and she mentioned he spent most of his time in that cage. I took him and left.

At home, it quickly became apparent that he’d lived his whole life in that cage. He was completely unsocialized and had no leg strength. Judging by his teeth and muzzle, he wasn’t the 4-month-old puppy she claimed he was, either. I gave him space, love, and cookies, and soon enough he started to come out of his shell.

I lived with a roommate at the time who had a cat. My new puppy would run around trying to copy his feline friend, trying to walk on top of the couch and making weird noises to try and meow, which was hilarious. I named him Felix for his coloring and his identity crisis.

Four years later, he’s my best friend. He has gotten me through some incredibly hard times. He’ll cuddle me when I’m sad or sick, insist on walks and play time when I’m lazy, and overall, take care of me as much as I care for him. I love that cute little face!

Story submitted by Mandy from Albuquerque, New Mexico.

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A Great Dog Dumped Twice

My colleague George at work knew that we had just said goodbye to my beautiful Doberman “Bear” after five great years. We had adopted “Bear” from my in-laws and he had been wonderfully happy for the last five years of his life. But Bear had a stroke at 18 years and passed away, much to our sorrow.

We needed a new dog, and George had heard of a great dog who needed a home. “Kobie” was a Newfoundland-Labrador cross. She was a beautiful and intelligent girl who had been adopted and returned twice to a local animal rescue shelter. She was fortunate enough to be in a no-kill shelter, but she was emotionally hurt by being turned in to a shelter twice, not knowing what she had done wrong.

We went out to visit Kobie and we hit it off immediately. Kobie looked like a small Newfie, at about 65 pounds. She and I were so simpatico that we decided to bring out our current alpha female, Amanda, to see how they would get along. It could not have gone better. Kobie immediately deferred to Amanda and they were walking together and smiling after only a few minutes of walking. We continued for almost an hour, and it was clear they would be compatible.

My wife took our Amanda home while I stayed at the shelter to do the paperwork to adopt Kobie. It was approaching the Thanksgiving holiday, and the shelter had put together a great Thanksgiving meal for the dogs in the shelter, paying attention to keep the meal safe for their puppies. When it came time to feed, a shelter worker approached us and tried to put a leash on Kobie to take her back into her enclosure for her dinner. To our mutual astonishment, the normally peaceful Kobie showed her teeth and refused to leave me. The shelter aide had to leave and give Kobie her special Thanksgiving meal with me.

From that day onward, whenever Kodie Bear (we renamed her) and I were together, she was never more than a few feet away from me. I have never felt so close to another living being except my wife Kate. My Kodie Bear and I loved one another for the rest of her life, which was a very long one at 17 years.

Story submitted by Hugh Blanchard, from Poquoson, VA.

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The Tale Of Wigglebutt

Sammie’s life had gotten off to a rough start. He had been brought in to the Placerville County shelter as a cruelty seizure. Best guess is that he was bitten on the base of his tail by another dog so severely that his tail was infected and necrotic. It had to be amputated and reconstructive surgery was required. Typically, shelter resources would not have had the funding to do such extensive surgery. Sammie was lucky. If a rescue group had could not come forward (Southern California Dachshund Relief), then Sammie would have been euthanized.

I saw a posting on Craig’s list about Sammie needing transport to the Bay Area from Placerville. I jumped at the chance after seeing his picture and reading his story. Sammie was in my foster care for a week and then he flew privately with Pilot’N Paws to the Los Angeles area where he had a potential adopter.

That home did not work out for whatever reason and I enthusiastically told Southern Cal Dachshund Relief that I would take Sammie back into my foster care. The moment Sammie was back in my arms I knew this little boy was not leaving. He got along famously with my other dogs and cats and was “home.”

Sammie is now is a cherished member of the family doing the “cha-cha-cha wigglebutt dance” when he greets you. He does Pet Therapy with children at the Pleasanton Library where children read to the dogs to improve their reading skills. He was the first ever Dachshund admitted to the program.

Sammie recently traveled to Delaware to visit one of his former foster friends – Huntley and Tammy’s best friend Marla.

Story submitted by Tammy Rieser, from Pleasant Hill, CA.

Felix, Kodie Bear, and Sammie’s stories were originally shared on The Animal Rescue Site. Share your very own rescue story here!