AUDRAIN HUMANE SOCIETY PET PALS FOSTER PROGRAM audrainhumanesociety.org
Reflecting on Our Year: Stories of Hope and Healing
Dora came to Pet Pals when another rescue helped out with a hoarding situation and had more than they could handle. Dora’s new forever family wrote the following. “In February, we adopted little Dora from the Rescue Me site and drove all the way from Maryland just to add Dora to our family.” Dora is an 8-year-old Chihuahua who lived her entire life in a wire cage outside before being surrendered. She came to Pet Pals with an awkward gait from walking on wire for so long, a heart murmur, and a terrified spirit. Slowly, she came out of her shell, began to walk correctly, and grew stronger every day. Today, Dora is a happy girl living in Maryland with her new mom and Chihuahua siblings.
Peaches & Miko Jo are two puppies that by grace came to Pet Pals. We had a scheduled transport for four other puppies coming from Warsaw, Missouri. As our transporter headed to the meeting point in Marshall, a woman reached out about three puppies sitting on the side of the highway. Tragically, one puppy had already been hit by a car and killed. The other two were sitting by their sibling, waiting for help. We didn’t have a foster lined up, but we couldn't say no. Our transporter met the woman to add Peaches and Miko Jo to the trip. These two girls were incredibly sweet and were adopted quickly after their vetting. They were thrown out on a busy highway like garbage, but now they both belong to loving families.
When mental illness hits families hard, pets are often the forgotten victims. Mac, Tosh, Gus, and Wynter lived with a loving mom suffering from mental illness. Eventually she could no longer care for herself or her home. When she was admitted to a facility, these four were left behind. With permission from the family, Pet Pals went to the home. Mac, a Lab, Tosh, a Schipperke, and two cats, Gus and Wynter were excited to see us. We removed them all and are thrilled to report that all four have been adopted and are living their best lives.
Pet Pals received an email asking for help with an abandoned dog named Zora. Her owners had moved and left her behind in a kennel. When we took her in, she was missing a lot of fur— likely from rubbing against the kennel bars due to fleas. Despite her thin and dehydrated condition, her tail wagged furiously when she was picked up. She was the sweetest girl and eventually adopted by an elderly gentleman. The two became best friends, and Zora stayed by his side until he passed away just six months later. The man's son and wife reached out to let us know that Zora had become family; they never thought for a minute to give her back. Zora misses her dad, but she now provides comfort to the family who misses him dearly.
Odie and Gidget were taken in as strays at the Mexico Animal Shelter. While their history is mixed, we know that Odie had been severely neglected. Pet Pals took in both dogs, and Odie became our most expensive medical case to date. He was malnourished, dehydrated, missing much of his fur, and suffering from internal parasites. His recovery was a marathon: prostate issues requiring surgery, bladder stones requiring a second surgery, and a severe allergic reaction that led to yet a third surgery. No one could have predicted the extent of his issues, but today, Odie is living a great life and learning how to be a dog again.
We have had so many special cases this year from the S&R and Farmington pups that were scheduled to be euthanized, to the Moberly Chihuahuas, where we assisted a shelter taking in 11 dogs from one home, and the "Shih Tzu 5" from a breeder release group of 16. We helped Willie and Noel, who required eye removals; little Sprout, who needed eye repair; and Tiny Tim, who was hit by a car and needed a leg amputation.
This past year veterinarian care costs were close to $60,000. We are all volunteers with other jobs. We try to cover expenses through fundraising events, donations and sometimes local grant applications. Every stray, shelter pull, or surrender is so special. Each has a story to tell, and because of community support, these stories have happy endings.
#AdoptionsandAdoptionPrograms