How many of your pets are "rescues"?

Isn't that the truth Gin (and thank you for this thread, it's nice to remember in writing two dogs I cared for so much).


Shad in particular even after her first year was spent in the most brutal of circumstances, even tho she was so terrified to even whine in case someone beat her that we actually thought she might be deaf/mute, would still fight her fear of men to crawl to my ex-husband, tail between her back legs wagging madly but urinating in fear. She so wanted to lick his hand. She should have hated people but she didn't ever and gave us 8 years of total devotion, not even a grumble if any of our children (who we had after we got her) tugged her ears or stole her favorite chew toy.

Wouldn't it be a wonderful world if we could forgive those that hurt us, as some of our rescues are so able to do.


~~Jo~~

That is a really moving tale. My friend has a pitbull with a similar story as yours. He does the whole submissive-urination thing. I am just glad that he is in a great home now. It is amazing how forgiving they can be.

Its sad to see the abuse and neglect that goes on with animals but good to see people caring enough to do something about it. All 4 of my cats were strays (dont know if that counts as rescue). My Brazilian Rainbow Boa was a rescue of sorts. He had been starved almost to the point of death and I purchased him from a reptile store that wasnt taking care of him. In hindsight, I paid too much but he was well worth it. A couple hundred in vet bills later he is starting to come around and gain weight back.

my cat is, ive had her for 8 years and she was 5 or 6 when i got her. And last month i found a RTB or central american boa (i posted a thread out here somewhere) at my work, and hes been doing good since, was very scrawny when i got him, but looks much better now, actually getting ready to shed at the moment. it blows my mind, i try to hold him as much as possible and not once has he bit, tried to bite, or hissed at me, he/she is extremely docile.

Jamie taking in a stray cat/kitten definitely counts as a rescue in my books. You've rescued them from a life of going hungry most days, getting every feline disease out there (and some of them lead to horrible deaths), getting run over or caught in car engines (see Jeanne's awful experiences), breeding too young and too often, freezing to death, covered in fleas or ticks, the list never ends. Yes cats often survive the wild better than dogs but it's all relative...they shouldn't have to survive it and basic survival is never thriving...it's just managing to not die today.

Good for you Jamie!


~~Jo~~

Truer words were never stated.
I have another good story. About a year ago, my man dropped me off at my mom's house; it was about 6 Am and he was goin to work. We saw this thin black shape run out from under the car, as he's pulling away; a female kitty. He yells for me to "grab that cat!" I clicked my tongue a few times, and called to her to see if she would come up onto the porch, and she did; she was so weak, thin and degraded that she probably knew this was a better alternative than what she was enduring.
See, the "white trash" people across the street had moved and left 3 cats to fend for themselves.
We have a couple that we're good friends with, and they had been wanting a cat. She turned out to be the perfect fit for them, and they are still happy together now, a year later. I actually saw them yesterday, and Lib is doing great! She's a spoiled little indoor kitty with a big black Lab for a friend. :)

Gin, that is a great story! So glad for that kitty! Awesome job!

I took in 2 stray cats when I was younger and living at home. I bought the cat food, they stayed outside but stuck around because there was food.

Years later (after both kitties had passed on), it wasn't until I adopted my German Shepherd cross Ozcar from the SPCA, that I realized how much more of a dog person I was than a cat person. I call Ozcar "the best $100 I've ever spent" because he's brought me so much love and amusement in the past 3 years. I know no matter how bad my day was, when I get home Ozcar's going to be doing the cutest happy dance and sooooo happy to see me. He's definitely got his emotional issues because of his previous situation, but I wouldn't trade him for anything in the world.

I want to get more dogs, and rescue them from the SPCA, but it's soooo hard. It breaks my heart going to the SPCA. I actually cried last time we went because it made me so sad to see how many animals needed homes... I can't believe how irresponsible people are with pets. It's just ridiculous.

It's sad. A long time ago my stepdad "stole" one of the best field dogs we'd ever had. These people left a german pointer tied up outsides in the Oklahoma sun in the summer, when it can hit 90 to 100 F in the summertime. He was covered in ticks and was left outside with no water and no food. The people just left for at least a week.

He got a phone call from a friend to just take the dog before it died. That dog loved our family more than anything else. He has since passed on.

I have four pets. I will start with my BP I just bought from a pet store, the only animal I have ever purchased from a pet store besides hermit crabs for my kids.
I have a Lab/Border Collie mix, two weeks after we got her she went for my throat for playing with my kids too rough. I decided she was a keeper for protecting my children. She doesn't go for me anymore. She is a sweet loving dog and great with the family sleeping in each bed a little bit every night. She was taken on from a military couple who didn't have the time to care for her. They wanted a home where she wouldn't have to be kenneled or locked up 8-12 hrs a day.
I have two cats (breeds unknown) that have been given to us out of similar situations, both military people who bit off more than they could chew.
My mother does Purebred rescue, taking animals out of bad situations, nursing them back to health and placing them in good homes. She has about a 50 question interview, and makes people sign a contract reserving the right to take the animal back. She only places them in local homes and contacts owners and pets about every 6 months to check on thier well being. She always preached about puppy mill puppies and over breeding animals (dogs should never be bred more than twice). I have NEVER bought a dog from the pet store for those reasons.
All of my animals are rescues except my snake. I want to adopt two more BPs here shortly because of a military couple moving to Italy. I just spoke with them on the phone and they seem very knowledgeable about snakes and seem to have thier ducks in a row.