I have done several posts, sent numerous tweets and posted many pictures on my Facebook page of pets looking for their forever homes. Some of those pets have been lucky enough to have found that someone special to take them in and care for them.
However, I don’t hear about their lives afterwards. I wonder about them; are they happy, have they settled in alright, do they now have other furfriends to play with?
So I decided to find out.
I’ve asked people if they would share their pet rescue stories.
You will hear how these pets came to their new home, struggles they may have encountered, how it changed the lives of both the pet and the humans involved.
Terabyte’s Story
as told by her “mom” Erin
Terabyte
When we first met Terabyte, we had no plans to adopt a dog. We had two cats in the house and I usually have a limit for how many animals I can afford to rescue at any one time (I now have five animals). But the local humane society had put up a page called “Panda’s Puppies”, and kept a live webcam in the foster home so everyone could watch Panda’s puppies grow.
Panda had already found a home, but strangely, they were having trouble finding homes for her litter. It quickly became locally popular, and many people would log on to chat and observe the puppies at play.
I thought: I have a well-paying job and a workplace that offers pet insurance (!!!), why not? So we made an appointment to go visit Panda and her puppies.
Panda was a pregnant stray that was found abandoned on a local farm (common in our area). She was a sweet little cattle dog, and it looked like maybe a beagle had helped sire the puppies. They all had VERY short legs (as she grew, Tera’s turned into an issue of conformity with her right front leg). Since they were fostered from birth, they were well taken care of, and several donators sent them home with gifts. She got her own personal Panda toy to take home when she came with us.
We immediately fell in love with her. While all the other puppies were happy and excited, she was very laid back and maybe just a little bit nervous. When we brought her home, she took to the cats like they were best friends (though the cats learned to run away.
Terabyte learning about life with cats
Overall, she’s been a great dog. Her health has been great despite the bone, joint, and gait issues she experiences (I imagine she came from a breeding facility because she has the AWFUL bone structure of an over-bred cattle dog), she hasn’t ever had any major health issues or problems.
Her demeanor is completely sweet, and she’s very well trained.
I would not hesitate to rescue another dog. While there are dogs out there that do come home with problems, shelter facilities do health checks and behavioral checks before adopting out a pet to ensure the alert the new owners to these potential problems. It is as important to them that the animals find a good fit as it is to the animals who need homes.
You can find any breed of animal through local humane societies or even contact local breed rescue foundations (every breed has one, and are the surest way to see that you get a particular breed of dog if you want one), so there is no reason to pay money for a bred dog when there are adorable purebred puppies that don’t have homes. It ends up saving you hundreds to thousands of dollars as well.
Every rescue story is a success story, the human hero saving the canine or feline victim from a life in a shelter or worse. I cannot stress enough the importance of people stepping in to bring an animal home from a shelter instead of heading to a local breeder. With millions of human homes throughout the world, there is plenty of space for the millions of pets that are otherwise on the streets. For all the love you give them, they provide tenfold in return.
I thank Erin for sharing Terabyte’s story with us today. If you would like to share your “Rescue Story” and be featured, please let me know: edie@ediethepug.com, we’d love to hear it!
Erin Clifford is a CVT and the owner of Tossed Cookies (www.tossedcookie.com), a website designed to keep pet owners informed about pet health, pet poisons, and poison prevention. She lives at home with her husband, her son, her rescue dog Terabyte, and her 4 cats (Sammich, Eggroll, Pixel, and Oz). Erin has always been a big proponent for the cause of adopting an animal for several reasons. One is she believes that pet shops almost always obtain puppies from puppy mills – a cruel process that traumatizes thousands of animals. Two is that it is difficult to find a good breeder who specializes in the appropriate methods to keep a line healthy and disease free (not too many meet these standards today). Finally, there are millions of purebred and cross breed animals all of the world that need homes.
April 14, 2016
Great rescue story! I am glad Terabyte found a home!
April 14, 2016
I love reading about rescue stories! Thank you for helping to spread the word.
April 14, 2016
I happy that I’m able to do it. I hope more people will share their story with me so that I may spread the word of adoptions/resuces.
April 14, 2016
I love Tera’s story! It’s so true, there’s a breed specific rescue for nearly every breed of dog out there!
Love & biscuits,
Dogs Luv Us and We Luv Them
April 13, 2016
What a wonderful story! Thank you so much for sharing!
April 13, 2016
I don’t know what else to say except awwww. Thanks for being awesome!
April 13, 2016
What a great feature! I know my life is better because of the animals I’ve rescued so it’s great to read these stories.
April 14, 2016
Thank you. I love these stories and sharing them.
April 13, 2016
Rescue breed is the perfect breed to me! Terabyte is ADORABLE and I know has a lot of love to give!
April 13, 2016
I’m so glad that Terabyte’s mom opened her heart and home to Terabyte. What an awesome employer that offers pet insurance!
April 13, 2016
I just love hearing rescue stories. How nice of her to tell you how Terabyte adjusted to a new forever home. Thank you so much for promoting shelter and rescue adoptions. There are so many pets that need homes. We all need to keep pushing and getting the word out. Thank you for this post.
April 13, 2016
We love hearing happy endings of rescues.
April 13, 2016
I love this! Terabyte is a cute dog with a cute name. I wish everyone would adopt from a shelter, like Erin did.
April 13, 2016
Great rescue story! Terabyte looks like such a sweetheart and we are so glad that they found eachother. Great points about breed specific rescues. We absolutely love Golden Retrievers and adopted Charlie at 6 months from a NYS Golden Retriever rescue group. If you are looking for a particular breed you really can find one to adopt – especially if you are willing to wait until one is looking for a home!
April 14, 2016
Yes, there are many breed specific rescues out there! How wonderful that you found and adopted Charlie.
April 13, 2016
Thank you for sharing a happy ending! And thank you to Erin for giving Terabyte the happy ending every dog deserves! People like you make the world a better place!
April 14, 2016
I’m so happy that Erin was able to share Terabyte’s story with us
April 13, 2016
Lovely story! And how great that you were able to watch her grow up through the puppy cam.
April 13, 2016
This is such a fantastic idea! You’re right, the question of “where are they now?” is always on my mind after reading/hearing of successful adoption stories.
On a different note, I want to work for a place that offers free pet insurance!! How cool is that?!
April 14, 2016
We always read or hear about pets needing forever homes, but we also need to hear the success stories of the pets that are adopted out.
April 13, 2016
Love rescue stories, they always make me smile
April 13, 2016
Love a great rescue story with a happy ending!
April 13, 2016
How neat to get the follow up story! So glad you found out about Terabyte (love the name, too).
April 13, 2016
Every rescue is a success story! I love that line! Totally pawesome post and we do agree, rescue is the best way to go – you can find perfectly perfect animals in rescues and shelters! Thanks for helping spread the word and Erin for sharing Terabyte’s story with us!