Volunteers at the SPCA of Brevard in Titusville, Florida figured someone would be along soon to adopt the adorable snaggle-toothed pooch.

After all, he was just a fantastic companion; he was friendly, active, and loyal.

But for some reason, potential adopters kept passing him by … was it the snaggle-tooth look that kept turning people off?

Well, whatever the reason, Dots just couldn’t find his forever home.

In fact, he waited for 3 long years, which officially made Dots the shelter’s longest resident. And that isn’t a title any animal wants to have!

So finally, a few SPCA workers decided they had to give Dots a boost.

The first step was to make him one of their “office dogs” so he could get a break from the kennel. That might cheer him up a little, at least.

The next step was genius; it was basically an adoption marketing plan, designed specifically to get Dots adopted!

They started posting like crazy on Facebook: they put up adorable pics of Dots over and over again, hoping someone out there would notice, and fall in love…

And it didn’t take long for that to happen!

When a woman named Kristy stumbled on to the pics, she quickly forwarded them to her friend Liz Shidler, who was actively looking to become a doggie foster mom.

And though Liz wasn’t 100% on permanent adoption, she took one look at Dot’s pics and immediately wanted to learn more about the homeless pup.

Liz watched some videos starring Dot, and visited the SPCA Facebook page as well. She couldn’t get enough of the shelter’s “oldest” resident!

And finally, she decided that Dots was just perfect for her. As she told iHeartDogs:

“We didn’t even second guess it … we contacted the Brevard SPCA to meet him ASAP. Due to our work schedules I had to go alone to meet him.

The next thing I knew I was leaving there with the newest member of our family!”

Finally, at long last, Dots’ long wait was over! He’d waited over 850 days in the shelter and for the longest time, it seemed like he was destined to be alone…

But thanks to some creative folks at the SPCA and Liz Shidler, Dots doesn’t ever have to be alone again!

Source: iHeartDogs

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Volunteers at the Humane Animal Treatment Society hear all sorts of excuses, but this one was especially grievous, simply because the two dogs were elderly.

The pups, Donnie and Marie, spent most of their lives outside. For 10 years, they called a backyard in Michigan home.

And that was okay; they didn’t appear to be mistreated or abused in any way.

But the owner suddenly decided to ditch them at the shelter, and when the team there asked why … well, they weren’t prepared for the response.

Firstly, the owner said the two dogs had been “barking too much,” and she just didn’t want to care for them any longer.

That alone is ridiculous; maybe they were barking because they needed the TLC they weren’t getting!

But then it got worse.

Mandy Risch, the Human Society’s director, asked the owner why the dogs had been riding in the back of a truck bed. It was extremely cold outside, after all.

The owner’s response?

The two dogs were “too smelly” and she didn’t want them inside the truck.

So, they barked too much (likely because they were being mostly ignored) and they smelled (because they desperately needed a bath).

Whose fault is all this?!

Risch said the dogs were absolutely filthy when they arrived at the shelter, too:

The post Elderly Pup Thrown Away Like Trash – Rescuers Hear Owner’s Excuse And Gasp In Dismay appeared first on Addicting Stories.

Nope.

Sitting there waiting for them was a surprise: an abandoned dog was tied up outside the door!

She looked a little tired and confused, as you might expect, and she obviously was hungry. Worse, rescuers didn’t get much help from whoever had left the poor pooch behind.

Said community relations manager Cassie Lackey:

“The minute they stepped toward her, it’s as if she was saying, ‘Oh my God, there’s people here! I’m good now.’

She was friendly and so sweet since the very beginning. She will give anyone kisses, whether they like it or not!”

The team named the adorable friendly dog Betsy, and they quickly got her checked out by a veterinarian.

As it turned out, Betsy was only 2 years old and had recently given birth to a litter of puppies. She also suffered from a bacterial skin infection.

But after giving her a much-needed bath, that “wriggling” was back in full force; Betsy was just so appreciative of the staff’s efforts!

At the same time, however, it is indeed a sad situation, as Lackey says:

The post Lonely Pup Tied Up Outside Shelter. Rescuers Creep Close, Notice She Won’t Stop ‘Wriggling’ appeared first on Addicting Stories.

Sitting in an abandoned crate was a very scared little poodle, who obviously hadn’t been shaved in quite some time.

The matted pooch was only about a year old and was in desperate need of assistance, so the rescuers immediately moved to help.

That’s when they noticed the poor pup came with a heartbreaking note:

“Can you please take care of my dog … he’s a great puppy I just couldn’t afford to keep him … 

His name is Lee … he will listen, he will bark, and will not bite, please don’t put him down.

I love him, but I can’t afford to keep him … I haven’t shaved him yet I apologize, but please care for him and find him a home … thanks.”

It’s sad that the owner couldn’t care for Lee, and it’s sadder still that the dog had to sit, terrified and filthy, in a crate … imagine what she must’ve been thinking!

Kerry McKeel, the shelter’s media specialist, told The Dodo that Lee wasn’t in good condition at all:

The post Adorable Poodle Left To Starve In A Dirty Crate – Rescuers Find A Heart-Wrenching Note appeared first on Addicting Stories.

That’s the name poor Coco was saddled with, and it almost led to a terrible and untimely demise.

Coco was 12 years old when she was picked up by animal services and deposited at LifeLine Animal Project’s Fulton County Shelter … it was the sixth time she’d been there in just one year!

Maybe the distressed pooch just wanted to get out of her current situation. But whatever the reason, Coco’s owner had had enough.

The owner threatened to euthanize Coco, calling her a “burden,” and that tragedy almost came to pass.

But Surrender Counselor Kim Meeks stepped in just in time, and fought for Coco’s life, as LifeLine’s PR Director Karen Hirsch told iHeartDogs:

“The last time she came in, her owner told us that she was a burden and he was going to have her euthanized by his vet.

We all had fallen in love with this sweet dog, and our Surrender Counselor Kim Meeks begged her owner to let us keep Coco so we could try to find her a home.”

And you know what? The owner at first refused! Why did he want to keep Coco just after threatening to put her down?

Well, the guy thankfully disappeared and never returned to the shelter, and that was great news for the sad pup. Because then, Meeks and the shelter could start looking for a new home for Coco!

Said Hirsch:

“We knew Coco deserved a family who would love her as much as she loved them, and that is exactly what she found!”

That’s right, the perfect family who would never, ever call Coco a “burden.”

Alicia and Eric McIntyre already had experience rescuing and caring for senior dogs when they brought Coco home, so the depressed pup was in very good hands.

She did, however, have to recover from a variety of terrible injuries, including a collapsed trachea. She was also missing most of her front teeth, and had even been shot with a pellet gun!

It’s a darn good thing Coco got out when she did, right?

The McIntyres have been quick to love the ailing dog and little by little, Coco has pushed through, and has made great strides both mentally and physically.

To celebrate, Coco’s new parents brought her to a pet supply store and let her pick out a special toy…

And here’s Chuck, a new best friend for Coco!

Things are definitely looking up for this wonderful four-legged friend, wouldn’t you say?

Source: I Heart Dogs

The post Heartless Owner Wants To Euthanize Sad Senior Pup, Shelter Jumps In With A Better Notion appeared first on Addicting Stories.

That’s what happens when your entire life feels as if it’s falling apart, and you’re permanently depressed.

Rio is a 10-year-old golden retriever mix who was leading a perfectly happy life for a very long time … then disaster struck.

Rio’s owner passed away and the poor dog was forced to leave the only home he’d ever known.

Worse yet, there was nobody to care for him, so he had to be taken to Detroit Animal Care and Control, which is where volunteers immediately noticed a problem:

Rio just wasn’t responding to much of anything.

He seemed scared of strangers, he wouldn’t eat, he wouldn’t even look at some people. Rio was obviously shutting down and there didn’t appear to be anything anyone could do about it.

He was just so devastated over the death of his beloved owner and now, he wanted nothing more to do with life.

The sad pup would simply sit in a corner and stare at the wall, crestfallen and hopeless. It was the saddest thing shelter workers had ever seen!

Said DDR executive director Kristina Millman-Rinaldi:

“A lot of people don’t realize what intuitive and sensitive creatures dogs are.

They sense, like humans, everything that’s happening around them.“

Millman-Rinaldi soon realized that if they couldn’t help Rio, he’d just wither and die. And she just couldn’t let that happen!

So, she went in search of a foster home for the depressed pooch; it was probably the only possible solution.

Rio needed to be loved again, to know that there were people in the world that would care for him. And incredibly, that’s exactly what he found in Ryan Callahan and his wife, Tashia.

“He needed us, and we were able to provide the one-on-one time he needed,” Callahan said.

Ryan and Tashia brought Rio home one snowy Valentine’s Day eve and to make the pup feel more comfortable, they arranged a special room for Rio in Ryan’s home office.

Time passed and the grateful pup slowly began to improve. The Callahans believe Rio “just needed a place in someone’s life” and they were absolutely right!

And while it’s true that his new digs are only temporary, everyone involved is hopeful Rio will soon find his fur-ever home. Added Millman-Rinaldi:

“My hopes are that he finds his place, finds his purpose again, and we’re going to help put him back together.”

We all hope the same thing, don’t we, fellow dog lovers?

Source: NTD.TV

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While that can be tough to take, sometimes you eventually realize it was all for the best.

That’s exactly what happened to this adorable pooch named Helena, who was brought to an animal shelter in Atlanta, Georgia for an unfathomable reason.

On the surface, that reason seems downright insane but when you dig a little deeper…

Helena’s former owner had decided that the dog was simply too nice.

Yes, seriously!

But wait, there’s a somewhat logical reason behind it, as LifeLine Animal Project spokesperson Karen Hirsch told Today.

“Yes, she really was returned for being too nice.

It was obvious the gentleman was looking for a guard/protection dog.

He also suggested she be adopted by a woman ‘because they are more into that petting stuff.’“

Bizarre reason for arriving there aside, Helena had zero trouble fitting right into her new surroundings.

She’s incredibly agreeable and easygoing, and she absolutely loves getting attention from folks she quickly forms a bond with.

“She sticks to your side like Velcro,” Hirsch added.

Just look at that incredible smile!

Helena was originally picked up by the shelter as a stray, but the person who adopted her the first time was the one who brought her back.

We’ll hold out hope that she finds a forever home – and a much better fit – before too long.

Based on her awesome personality, we’ll lean towards that happening sooner rather than later!

Wouldn’t you want this lovable pooch to cuddle with on cold nights?

Source: Today

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Unfortunately, not everyone exhausts every possible option before making a tough call. As such, the choices they make can turn out to be incredibly poor.

That was certainly the case for an unidentified dog owner in Prince George County, Virginia.

It seems the owner was no longer able to care for a beautiful dog named Zeus.

To handle that problem, the owner decided to tie Zeus to a tree with a note around his neck.

The note read in part:

“Hi, my name is Zeus. I am a very good dog.

My owner just can’t afford me anymore.“

Thankfully, poor abandoned Zeus was soon discovered, which means he didn’t have to suffer outside in the elements for too long.

He was in good shape and had a bag of food nearby, and it certainly seemed like he had come from a loving home.

But he still  had no place to go and required immediate assistance.

Not long after, Zeus would wind up at the Prince George County Animal Shelter, and he fit right in due to his friendly disposition.

He was really an adorable pooch!

Zeus was placed up for adoption soon thereafter, and was quickly snapped up after his picture popped up on the shelter’s social media account.

The shelter isn’t casting any judgement on the previous owner, but it took the time to note that there are always other options. 

“For anyone who may find themselves in need of rehoming a pet, please reach out to your local animal services.

Many areas have resources to assist if they can not assist personally.“ 

While it’s great that Zeus had a happy ending, we’ll hold out hope that the shelter’s follow-up note gains a ton of traction.

No matter how bleak a situation may seem, there’s always an answer if you dig hard enough to find it!

We’re talking about living, breathing creatures here, after all.

Don’t give up on them too fast!

Source: I Heart Dogs

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These streets can cause all sorts of problems; strays suffer from a variety of terrible ailments and afflictions.

This is why whenever a rescue organization brings in a stray, the poor homeless creature must be given a bath. And usually, the animal enjoys that bath.

But sometimes, the frightened, perhaps injured pet just doesn’t want to stand still.

And that’s when the shelter workers have to get very clever…

Detroit Dog Rescue does everything it can to help homeless canines and like most shelters, they bathe and clean every pup in need.

However, if the pooch in question is very resistant to the bath idea, they get an adorable “bribe” treatment that works like a charm.

Everyone loves peanut butter, right?

As shelter volunteer Kristina Millman-Rinaldi told The Dodo, they go through a LOT of peanut butter due to some particularly squirmy dogs.

“Oh my gosh, we go through so much peanut butter at Detroit Dog Rescue! Over 40 jars per month.”

“The largest jars we can find.”

The proteins and fats in peanut butter really attract most dogs, and the gooey treat also acts as a reward and positive reinforcement during their 3-month stay.

Anything at all to make them feel safe, comfortable, and happy, and it works. Added Kristina:

It takes patience, it takes enrichment, it takes thinking outside of the box. And a lot of peanut butter. So much peanut butter.”

There’s more than one way to skin a…! Okay, you know what I’m going for here.

At any rate, it’s great to see such innovative ideas employed by hardworking shelter volunteers, because they really do make a homeless dog’s world go ’round.

And if you’d like to donate to Detroit Dog Rescue, feel free.

Sources: The Dodo, Shareably

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Occasionally though, a Good Samaritan like Vet Ranch will step in and save a deserving animal’s life.

When a little husky puppy named Ice showed up in a shelter, he was given little chance to survive.

The poor pooch suffered from severe anemia, a terrible hookworm infestation, low blood sugar/pressure, and he even tested positive for parvo.

Thankfully, however, Vet Ranch stepped in and decided to give Baby Ice a fighting chance.

They knew it was going to be an uphill battle, though; the pup was so weak and lethargic that he could barely hold up his head.

The initial blood tests were startling. His anemia was much more severe than they had anticipated, and his blood sugar levels were so low that he was nearing coma status.

This picture looks as if he has been anesthetized but no, he was just simply too weak to care what was happening to him.

They quickly did a blood transfusion and after another IV treatment, they were able to raise his levels back up, to the point where they weren’t worried about death.

Still, he was still incredibly weak, and didn’t even show any signs of responsiveness when they had to change needles.

Within a few hours of the treatment and transfusion, however, Ice lifted up his head for the very first time.

It was a cause for celebration for everyone!

But he wasn’t out of the woods yet.

Even though he was very nearly starved to death, the Parvo caused him to have an upset stomach, so he didn’t want to eat anything.

They tried all sorts of tempting foods, but he kept turning his head away.

It was over a week later before Ice finally began licking at some of food. When he ate the first bite, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Baby Ice was finally on the  mend!

By the time another week had rolled by, Ice was eating on his own and wagging his tail at everyone who walked in. His personality made everyone fall in love with him!

When the blood tests came back this time, they showed that Ice was almost completely normal.

What a change 2 weeks can make! From near-comatose to wagging his tail and playing:

When he was strong enough, he went to live in a foster home until he was ready to find a permanent home.

But, guess what!? His foster family fell so much in love with Ice that they decided to permanently adopt him!

What a wonderful ending for a fabulous feel-good story.

Thank goodness for people like the staff at the Vet Ranch who are willing to go above and beyond to give special dogs a fighting chance at life!

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