About 18 months ago, I adopted Riley, a 5-pound Maltese, from a rescue shelter in South Florida. He was four years old, but had no birthday and no real information about where he came from. All I know is that he was neglected. I was going through a really hard time when I adopted him, and I have to say that Riley was truly a gift. He was very scared when I first brought him home. He wouldn't look anyone in the eye and would be constantly shaking. Now, he is a completely different dog. He is energetic, lively, playful, and happy. He has become my baby and my best friend. I do not know what I would do without him.

In September 2012 my boyfriend and I were on our way through a tiny town and just happened to stop at a gas station. As we pull in I notice cars going around a black dog eating trash off the ground. No one even bothered to stop and help her. :-( my boyfriend and I got out and approached her. She was very scared and had the most pitiful eyes. He said to me "Well, what do you want to do?", even though he already knew. She was skinny, scared, tail tucked, head down, hairless along her back and back legs, infested with fleas, and smelled so bad. She was afraid of us and our leash (which I keep a spare in my glovebox) so we bought a lunchable at the gas station and threw her pieces to get her close to us. Long story short, we got her in the car. We took her in to the vet and got her all fixed up! We got her vaccinated, heartworm test, fecal test, DNA test (she's a German Shepherd/ Finnish Spitz mix), allergy test (she's allergic to dust mites and mugwort), every test we could think of! Poor girl had a rough day but she did very well. She has food allergies and is on a special food, is on immunotherapy injections for her allergies, she has arthritis in her knees so she takes joint supplements and medication. She has a full thick haircoat and is a beautiful girl! It has been 7 months and she loves life! She goes camping with us and loves to play in creeks and go places. She is the best, sweetest dog! So loving and just seems so thankful. When she gets her picture taken she smiles and every time she smiles it makes me so happy! We just got back from camping this past weekend, she went to the beach for the first time and got to play in the water. Love this girl so much!!! So glad we made the decision to stop at that gas station that day.

I was cruising on my sailboat in Mexico when I first saw her sitting in the street In La Cruz. She was gazing at us in a restaurant, hoping someone would toss her some scraps. I couldn't resist that sad little girl and went out to her several times. She was afraid at first but got over that quickly. She started waiting for me to come ashore every day in my dinghy. I bought dog food for her. She had mange, fleas, ticks, infected eyes, huge bald spots on her skin that were so sunburned, they were raw. I slathered 50 spf on her every day while she was eating. A friend helped me give her mange & flea baths.

I bought a small kennel, and the same friend helped me get her in it. She got her shots, and I brought her on board "temporarily" so I could try and find her a home. No luck. My friends laughed at me, because she was obviously meant to be mine.

She stopped eating and got sick. Back to the vet to learn she had ehrlichia. Antibiotics and prednisone took care of that. Then soon after, I noticed her fat tummy with very prominent little pink nipples that I hadn't noticed before. Ultimately we had eight adorable puppies on board my boat for 12 weeks...they all got homes except two runts who didn't make it. I cried over those babies.

I brought her back to the States. I was still traveling a lot, so my go-to doggy co-parents kept her. We shared, but finally they said they were too miserable whenever I took her away. We worked out a deal. They are brother and sister to me now, and I go hang out with Eloise and them and one more rescue I brought back later on whenever I'm in Washington. (I spend a lot of time there these days.) Eloise is happy and loved and has the best life in the world. Spoiled rotten, and that's just great!

Maybe I'll send you Chica's story later (rescue #2).

My children rescued a CAT That came to our home for food they begin feeding her and named her Bella. After a few weeks we found out she was expecting a litter. As the weeks went passed she had her l itter of cats she had 5 beautiful kittens. Two days after she had her kittens my dos whom i had for 1 yr had puppies and i did not know she was pregnant to make a long stories short my dog neglect feeding the puppies so my cat Bell took over. She has been a mother to 8, 5 KITTENS AND 3 PUPPIES. It is a beautiful thing to see her being a mother to them all.

About a year or so ago I began thinking of finding another dog to add to my furred/feathered family. I looked around online for several days before I came across Billy's picture. His little face seemed so confused and frightened, and my heart went out to him. Billy had been sold like so much farm equipment with the property when his first owners left. His second owners ignored him completely and eventually they too put the farm on the market, left the state, and abandoned Billy along with a flock of chickens.

When the shelter brought him in he was filthy, starving and desperate for company; so desperate that rather than eat the chickens he was left with, he slept near them for company. The shelter said he was a boarder collie mix, about five, but he had never had a bath, been inside or even been through a door, never ridden in a car or worn a collar or leash. Bill had a scar about two inches wide and ten inches long from his spine around towards his belly, possibly a burn. The vet at the shelter doubted they had even taken him to the vet for the wound. When I first laid eyes on him he just looked silently into my eyes and put his paw on my knee. I knew this was my dog.

I expected to have my work cut out to house break him, but it took less than a day; he is a bright boy. I bathed him and discovered that he was shiny black and not fuzzy brown; but mostly what he needed to be held and talked to. Many hugs later he is a gentle charmer, a beautiful dog, who loves to travel, loves people and all other animals. He looks at the world with a wise little face and smiles. I made a very good decision to let you into my life, Billy.

Lilly was only 6 weeks old when she lost the use of her hind legs suddenly. The vet still to this day doesn't know why she suddenly lost the ability to use them, however they suspect a brown recluse bite. We took her to the vet immediately, they started her on antibiotics, vitamins, and fluids. She was at the vet for over a week and I visited her every day after work. She was so happy to see me, she would pull up on my shoulder and perch there like a bird and just purr so loud with joy to be held rubbing her little tiny head against mine. Her desire to be loved was so strong it made me strong for her. She had to be cleaned after going to the bathroom because she couldn't hold herself up to go and she was not so fond of this but she would let me do it anyway. After about 2 weeks of treatments the vet didn't have any other ideas of how to help her and recommended euthanasia but I just couldn't give up on this tiny sweet loving baby. So I brought her home and we did kitty rehab every day. Her back right leg did have to eventually partially amputated because it began rotting at the joint from what they believe was poison from a spider bite. The healing process was long and difficult for her but she eventually regained the ability to use her hind legs and learned how to maneuver with her nub. Now she runs jumps and plays with the other cats like nothing ever happened to her. She is a remarkable example of what love and persistence can do for an animal that has the will power to keep going if they have the love of a human behind them. NEVER GIVE UP on an animal that has will power and love to give.

On May 11, 2012, my husband and I drove 12 hours round-trip to pick up a young Havanese who had been dropped off at a veterinarian two months earlier. Reportedly a stray, the vet was sure someone would claim the little guy but no one did. Lido Monster, named Mop at the time, only wanted to be loved, learn to play and trust. He has a genetic knee issue and his spine was broken sometime in the first 4 months of his life. None of this has dampened his spirit. He quickly adapted to his home by the Pacific Ocean, car rides and beach runs. He loves obedience and agility training. Next Thursday, we will earn our certification as a Therapy Team and begin our work in pediatric oncology wards. Monster, yes, that is his name, is our blessing from God.

On a cold winter day while taking my daughter to school, I found my little 3 month old care "Bear". After making several calls and contacting animal control office(s), it was apparent that this little guy was abandoned. Bear is now over 6 months of age and thriving. I have to report that our other dog, a 13 pound min pin, was not too happy at first to share his attention, but he has warmed up to the idea of having a brother. I and my family absolutely adore Bear, he is great at agility, he will go down slides, jump over makeshift fences and even play tug of war with "Sucre", our chocolate/tan min pin. My daughter calls Bear and Sucre her brothers, as she is an only child. I cannot imagine our lives without these two animal souls, they have brought joy, laughter and love to our home/family. I don't feel that I rescued my little care bear, I feel like he rescued me, because he has taught me patience and what is truly important in life.

A friend of mine noted that my poodle's name, Eddie LaHay, sounds like a fighter's name. How appropriate, because Eddie is a fighter.

Eddie spent the first 8 years of his life in an Iowa puppy mill. He was rescued by a wonderful animal sanctuary in Nebraska and that's where I found him. He was frightened of everything. At the hands of a breeder he learned that no one can be trusted. Slowly but surely he's come to trust me, but he is still frightened of absolutely everyone else. His life in a mill robbed him of his life as a normal dog.

No doubt Eddie fathered dozens, if not hundreds, of adorable puppies. But what a price Eddie paid. And the mothers of those puppies likely fared ever worse. Horror stories abound; sick and injured dogs kept in small cages their entire life solely for the purpose of breeding. The kennel Eddie came from was licensed and inspected by the USDA. The commercial dog-breeding industry is terribly broken.

It is likely that if those who bought Eddie's puppies had known what they were supporting, they wouldn't have done so. The problem is, most people who shop for puppies don't take the time to educate themselves. Many simply ask the breeder, "Are you running a puppy mill?" and trust their response. Educating the public is an important piece to getting control of America's puppy mills, but it isn't a panacea. We also need to increase the standards that licensed breeders are held to and they need to be enforced! Currently the USDA does very little when a breeder violates the inadequate USDA rules.

Tell everyone you know! Puppy mills are a very big problem. Please do your research and make an informed decision when you add a pet to your family. Never buy a puppy without meeting the mother and seeing where she lives. The dogs need you to do this.

Tiger was found on my daughters doorstep in 2005 while she was in college in Philadelphia. We all love animals but never had cats...but she took him in took him to the vet, had him neutered and decided to keep him after her efforts to find his home failed. The following year she moved in with a new roommate who said it was fine that Tiger lived with them. Well after a month the roommate decided she didn't like cats and wanted my daughter to take him to the shelter. My daughter was really upset and refused...I told her to bring him to us and well figure something out...she drove that night 5 hours and hes been with us ever since. Hes the sweetest cat there could be and thinks hes a little boy...I call him my little prince...hes so mellow and loves people and other animals. He was recently featured on freekibble.com...loves his picture taken...hes such a ham....We are so grateful he turned up on the doorstep..all those years ago..hes make our house a very happy home.