The 5-month-old puppy was obviously very, very sick, and she had no one to care for her. So, she was going to be put down.

But Amaani couldn’t have guessed that her savior would walk through the door, and save her life at the 11th hour…

Heather Blazina spotted Amaani at a county shelter in Jacksonville, North Carolina, and she immediately knew something was wrong.

The sad pup had lost almost all her fur, and the pit bull mix was mostly unresponsive. It was just so heartbreaking!

Heather learned Amaani was scheduled to be euthanized the following day, but she also knew the pup really was extremely sick.

Perhaps there was no saving her…

However, Heather has a background in medicine and surgery from her time with the military, and she realized Amaani COULD be helped.

She agreed to foster Amaani and immediately took her to a vet. At first, the pup didn’t respond to the medication she received.

But Heather was determined, and after repeated visits to the doctor, Amaani finally got the diagnosis that would save her life:

The pup had distemper, a serious viral disease that attacks a dog’s immune system, and it’s very often fatal.

The vet quickly started treatment for that terrible disease and thankfully, Amaani started to improve.

“July 4 was the day she started showing signs of life, and it gave us hope,” Heather said.

“Amaani means ‘hope, aspirations, wishes and desires.’ She has definitely lived up to her name.”

The only downside is that the distemper stunted Amaani’s growth. This means she won’t get much bigger.

However, the pup that was once scheduled to die in only 24 hours is once again healthy and she’s now a lively, happy pooch.

And Heather couldn’t be more impressed with Amaani’s fighting spirit:

“I’m amazed that her spirit was not shut down, considering everything that she went through,” she said.

“When she came to me, she had a 105-degree fever, so that right there tells you what she fought.

She has an amazing spirit, and to be so minimally affected by everything that she’s been through already is just phenomenal.”

Talk about being saved in the nick of time!

Source: The Dodo

The post Sick Pup Is Running Out Of Time – Vet Runs One Test And His Heart Skips A Beat appeared first on Addicting Stories.

Thanks to one-sided reporting by the media, where seemingly every dog attack is blamed on a bully breed, most pit bulls in shelters won’t make it out alive.

There’s no doubt that a pitbull in the wrong hands can be a lethal weapon, and we should be cautious.

But ANY dog that isn’t trained correctly can be a potential threat and furthermore, all breeds that are raised with love and proper care can be great members of society.

“They are really amazing dogs if they are trained well and kept active.”

When Ronene Ando and her adopted a baby pitbull they named Ruby, they knew they’d have to be good owners for Ruby to turn into a good dog. Well, they were. And she did.

Ruby is such a good dog that she has a career as a therapy dog now! She has beautiful manners and has been the perfect pet for the Andos.

“The breed has a bad rap,” the Lakeview, New York woman told WIVB. 

“[But] they are very protective.”

That protective nature proved invaluable for the Andos when Ruby recently alerted them to a serious danger lurking unnoticed in their home.

Well, unnoticed by the Andos…not by Ruby.

Ruby is generally very quiet and well-behaved, but one night she just wouldn’t shut up. She kept pacing and whining and eventually began barking loudly.

That’s when Ronene knew something was seriously wrong.

After Ruby had whined and barked incessantly for over an hour, “…at that point, I knew something was up,” Ando explained.

Ruby had never tried to open any doors or gates but that night she managed to open the gate to the downstairs and was clearly trying to get her owners to go into the basement.

“She got up and went downstairs, she opened up the gate and was standing down there.”

Once Ronene’s husband went down the stairs into the basement, he knew immediately that they were in imminent danger:

They had installed a propane heater in the basement and it was leaking dangerous gas fumes into their home.

Their home was literally minutes away from exploding or filling with deadly carbon monoxide!

He quickly turned off the gas and they opened doors and windows to air out their home.

Did Ruby really save their lives? Did she truly know how close they all were to being in extreme danger?

“Probably, if it weren’t [sic] for Ruby… I can’t say. I don’t know,” she told WIVB.

Whether the carbon monoxide or an explosion would have killed them, they can’t really be sure.

But they are quick to say that they firmly believe Ruby did indeed save their lives.

And they aren’t surprised at all. They always knew she was extremely intelligent!

“Dogs are typically intuitive, I believe that breed is even more so,” Ando explained. 

“I think that was it, hands down.”

Ruby’s owners have a framed pic of Ruby as a baby beside a current photo. It reads:

“When I grow up….I’m gonna be a hero.”

Dreams do come true! Thanks Ruby for being a real doggy hero, and a great ambassador for an unfairly maligned breed!

Source: WIVB

The post Frantically Barking Pitbull Leads Owners To Basement, Where A Ticking Time Bomb Lurks appeared first on Addicting Stories.

This is for the general good of the public, after all, even if it means certain unfortunate dogs must be euthanized.

However, sometimes shelters are a little too quick to slap the “aggressive” label on dogs, though they claim they’re erring on the side of safety.

It’s also true that pit bulls have a reputation in the canine community; they’re typically seen as aggressive breeds, anyway, which is what makes them excellent protection dogs.

But again, we all might be too fast to apply a label without really looking…

Two pitbulls at a shelter suffered from the “aggressive” label in question and were scheduled to be euthanized.

Worse still, one was said to be “dog aggressive,” which means it couldn’t be around other dogs at all. This was a deadly combination of labels.

But one man just didn’t agree with the assessment.

Alex Knappenberger saw both pit bulls and spent some time with them, and then he realized the “aggressive” labels were simply flat-out wrong!

The “dog aggressive” one was actually great with other dogs and both aren’t a problem at all. Alex’s experience with pit bulls obviously helped.

See, he has a growing family of pit bulls; his first ones were named Bruce, Dexter and Lucy, and now he has two new members of the family.

Yes, pit bulls get a bad rap for being the breed they are, and shelters are indeed trying to protect people (and of course, they want most dogs to find homes).

But sometimes, it takes the vision and experience of a kind-hearted individual like Alex to break through the labels and save two lives!

Check out the newly adopted pit bulls below, and you tell me if you think they’re anything but beautifully sweet and gentle!

Source: The Animal Rescue Site

The post These Pitbulls Are ‘Too Aggressive’ And Scheduled To Die But One Man Spots The Lie appeared first on Addicting Stories.

Ask any new mother and she’ll likely tell you she suffered from sheer panic the first time the nurse put that baby into their arms.

Some people think of animals as being unemotional machines that pop out babies and keep them alive only because of instinct.

But in fact, dogs and cats feel the same maternal instincts that  human parents feel. And the same fears.

One sweet pitbull girl was rescued after what was probably a lifetime of abuse, and then the vet discovered that she was pregnant.

Not wanting to deliver a litter of puppies at the shelter, the rescue searched for a foster for her.

Finally, someone stepped up and agreed to care for mom and responsibly raise and socialize the puppies until they were old enough to be adopted.

The mama dog was so grateful to finally be in a real home! She really bonded with her foster mom, who fell in love with the sweet gentle girl.

Finally it was time for the babies to be born: The mother had a nice bed of warm blankets in the family’s living room, and the foster mom was there for the delivery.

Once all the babies were delivered, cleaned up and had nursed, it was obvious that the mama dog was suffering from those pangs of anxiety that hit new human mothers.

She suddenly got up and started carrying the babies to her foster mom!

One by one she carried them carefully to her, placing them precisely and gently into the waiting owner’s arms.

Ten trips she made until the woman’s arms were teeming with squirming, fat, healthy, happy warm puppies.

Only then did the sweet tired dog mama curl up beside her foster mom with the arm full of babies, and fall asleep. Such a beautiful thing to see!

Thanks SO much to the shelter that took in this sweet and gentle girl and gave her a second chance.

Thanks also to the foster mom that provided a safe birthing place for the babies, and gave the mama dog the necessary feeling of trust and belonging that it takes to raise a family!

Source: The Pet Collective

The post Rescued Pitbull Mama Just Gave Her Foster Mom The Ultimate Gift appeared first on Addicting Stories.

A few years ago, the word “selfie” hadn’t even been invented.

But with the advent of smartphones and social media, it became popular to post photos of yourself throughout the day.

It didn’t matter what you were doing, you needed to share it with the world.

And, the world watched. Pretty soon, it became popular to photograph even the minutiae of your day.

Your plate of food. The cute guy on a bicycle that you see in the park. And, of course, especially your pets.

One guy couldn’t help but post photos of what he was sure was THE most adorable dog in the world.

He and his girlfriend had been waiting for a very long time to be able to buy their own place so they could have a dog.

Then, once he started looking, he almost immediately fell in love with the perfect one.

And couldn’t wait to tell the world about “Sir Wiggleton,” the English bulldog he had adopted from the shelter.

This was the photo that caught his eye and led him to go visit “Sir Wiggleton” at the shelter. He saw something in the dog’s expression that just spoke to his heart.

Pretty soon after the adoption, Sir Wiggleton’s name was changed to Diggy. And Diggy was about to make that name famous!

But sadly, his notoriety almost cost him his life…

When his happy new owner posted a few of his favorite seflies on his Facebook account, something happened that he never expected.

This is the one that started it all…

Who wouldn’t want to share those happy faces? Of course, the Internet fell in love and began to share. And share. And share.

For the next few days after Dan posted his picture on the Detroit Dog Rescue page, Diggy’s Internet popularity just kept growing.

Within 24 hours, the photo had over 24,000 likes! Dan couldn’t believe what was happening.

Diggy was an overnight sensation. It seemed that it was impossible to get a bad photo of him.

Sometimes Dad might look a little goofy, but Diggy was always handsome and smiling.

Neither Diggy nor his dad could remember a life before they became partners and friends. They bonded so quickly, it was if they’d always been in each other’s life.

They did everything together.

Whenever you saw Dan, you knew that Diggy couldn’t be far away.

On the rare occasions that they had to be apart, they couldn’t wait to be back together again. They were buddies. A team. A family.

Then disaster struck. The wrong person saw Diggy’s selfies on the Internet and suddenly, Dan was stunned when the police showed up on his doorstep!

He was even more stunned when he was told that owning Diggy was in direct violation of Waterford’s ban on owning pit bulls and pit bull mixes.

Dan was left horrified by this development. Would he have to give up his best friend? No! He was determined to save Diggy at all costs!

According to the township, pit bulls were deemed “dangerous dogs,” and no one who lived within the township’s perimeters was allowed to own one.

It didn’t matter how friendly they were or if they had a clean history…or if they were internet celebrities.

According to the police, Diggy had to go. For a pitbull, going into a shelter all too often ends with them not leaving alive.

But Dan was adamant that Diggy was not going back.

Even though Diggy’s adoption papers, signed by professional dog people, stated he was an American bulldog, the officers “thought he looked too much like a pit bull”, so they decided he was one.

This “eye test” was a completely unfair assessment, but there was really nothing Dan could do about it.

The Internet had made Diggy famous, so Dan went back to it to get help to save Diggy’s life.

He was immediately met with an astounding wave of support from animal activists and fellow dog owners!

People were outraged that the police had stripped a responsible pet owner of his new pal and Dan prepared to fight the battle in court, and he was ready to win.

Dan’s lawyer had a pretty simple defense: the dog wasn’t a pit bull even though he looked like one.

But Dan’s goal wasn’t just to retain ownership of his own dog; he also wanted the township to lift the pit bull ban altogether.

In the end, Dan’s petition pleading with the court to let him keep Diggy gained more than 100,000 signatures!

Finally, after a heated debate that lasted months, Waterford agreed to not only let Dan keep Diggy, but they also changed the pit bull ban as well. Happy, happy ending.

It was an amazing victory for pet owners everywhere, but especially for Dan, Megan, and the incredible Diggy!

Can you blame Diggy for looking just a little bit smug at the decision?

Congratulations Dan and Diggy! It is reprehensible that anyone is judged by their appearance; you are innocent until proven guilty, not assumed guilty because you look mean.

Keep on being a great ambassador for bully breeds everywhere, Diggy.

Long may you reign the doggy king of the internet!

Source: Honest to Paws

The post Man Posts Selfies With New Pup and Pretty Soon The Cops Are Knocking On His Door appeared first on Addicting Stories.