Finding Love Through Animal Rescue

About 8 years ago, my family got a dog named Louie. He is a Brittany - we already had one Brittany (a popular hunting dog), so we were contact with hopes that my dad knew someone else looking for one. The family who had him needed to unload him and were going to drop him off at a shelter if they couldn't. My mom happened to get the call, and, surprising to all of us, before she even passed the message on, she confirmed that WE would take him.

He is a great dog - wonderful demeanor, house-trained, not aggressive in the least of ways. He is high energy and a little bit 'chewy' so he just wasn't the right fit for the former owners.

My mom claims she's heard somewhere else (maybe on oprah) that 'the dogs in our life choose us'. I thought maybe she'd made this up, however, I couldn't help but think of it when I read about 'Clementine Eve Bows'. Louie, similarly, just landed in our lap.

All three of our dogs have been rescues: two from the shelter, and one off the street. One of them my husband had before we met, and she's ten years old now. I think this dog is obsessed or infatuated with him. If he let her, she would lick his face for thirty minutes straight. It's hilarious and kinda gross, but you can just see the love radiating out of her. It makes our lives much fuller.

One day my co-worker brought in a puppy she had seen wandering on her way to work. He was so cute and I wanted to take him, but she'd already called the Humane Society so I had to go through them if I wanted to adopt him. I went back and forth and after a couple days, no one had adopted him, so I decided to adopt him. He was a crazy puppy who liked to bite and chew everything, but he was such a good companion. I moved to LA a couple months after I adopted him. I didn't know anyone and he was such a comfort. He eventually outgrew my townhome so he had to live with my parents. My dad really took to him and he was his buddy for the next several years.

All of my dogs have been rescue dogs. In public, I am constantly saying how neurotic they are - but it is their quirks and foibles that make them so lovable. My own Love at First Bark #bhbc review (http://www.streamdoubletrouble.com/2011/10/22/love... details how my guys have saved me with each addition to our family. No matter how little time we were able to spend with them.

Dogs make me happy (or cats if that's how you roll) :)

Aww, this thread is going to be fun. I love reading beloved-pet stories, especially about rescued animals.

I grew up with a shelter cat- when we went to get Watson, he was the cat who would absolutely not stay put in his cage, he wanted to be where people were. All his life, if he found himself alone, he would yowl and yodel (part Maine Coon) til you called out to him, then he came running!

I used to volunteer at a cat shelter, which was, thankfully no-kill. I fell in love with a new cat every couple of weeks, but didn't wind up taking any of them home. Because I knew they could stay at the shelter and be fed and loved until they went to exactly the right home.

We have two dogs and three cats, all but one of our dogs came from the Humane Society of Wisconsin. I couldn't imagine my life without them.

Our family had a dog when I was very, very young, but I haven't had one since. I admit that after reading this book, I've found myself looking at adult dogs on Petfinder, and wishing we didn't have a "no dogs" clause in our rental agreement.

I have 4 cats, 3 of which were rescued. Sometimes they're a pain :) but most of the time they are well worth it. My oldest is turning 9 this year.

We've considered adopting a dog but it hasn't happened for us yet. I didn't grow up in a dog house so we thought that it would be easier for me to learn to train a dog with a puppy. We have also run into the problem that the humane societies in our area as well as many rescue groups ask that you have a yard to be able to adopt. Maybe at our next house.

I would love to rescue a dog, but I'm desperately allergic to most of them. We looked and looked but ended up having to get a hypoallergenic one from a breeder. My sister rescued a dog and he's just a totally awesome dog (aside from the shedding. Oy, the shedding!). If I could find one that wouldn't make me sick I'd absolutely take it in. What a great thing to be able to give a home to an animal that needs one.

My family adopted a dog when we first moved to SC from Washington state and my husband and I currently have a cat that we were supposed to be fostering for 2 months... but I think we all know how that turns out! They've both been great pets (though both are a bit aggressive!) and I'm glad that they found a home with us.

I had a very clear NO PET CLAUSE written into my marriage contract. And then a sweet rescue dog named Mater entered our lives. Nothing will ever be the same... :)

It's so rewarding to watch someone who didn't love animals, fall in love with an animal, I agree! And I think rescuing animals is wonderful. Our sweet labrador, Annie, was a rescue, and she's such an amazing part of our family. Pets are truly a wonderful bonus to our lives, and we need to remember that and give back in return.

I have never rescued an animal although I almost did when my adult son developed eczema. His lovely new wife is a cat whisperer and their family consisted of the two of them and Desdemona and Harlem, their two cats. I did not like cats but came to love these two because they acted more like dogs than cats thanks to the cat whisperer. Anyway they found new homes where they could visit the cats. So I missed my opportunity or motivation to have this experience.

Our family has adopted several dogs over the many years of familyhood!! We also adopted our children, we didn't rescue them (well, maybe in a sense we did)! We have loved our pets as family members and I am in the place to find an addition. My husband passed away this past Christmas Eve and I'm thinking about finding myself a buddy, just a little friend to keep me company and make me smile again. This book couldn't have come at a better time :)

I am a little sensitive about this topic since my youngest child was adopted - so I would never ever refer to our adopted pets as 'rescues'. But all of our pets - cats and dogs - have been adopted from local humane societies. I lived on a farm as a kid, so animals were always wandering up to our house and blending in with the cats already milling around at feeding time. I can't imagine going to a store to choose a pet... mostly, they are supposed to choose you!

Blue the Chihuahua was a "purse dog" in New York City during my single days, and is now the shortest, fiercest farm dog you've ever seen.

And I never would have had him in my life if not for Petfinder and the good people at Fallston Animal Rescue in Fallston, MD. Thanks to all the rescue workers and fosters who make families like ours possible :)

Both our girls are rescues. Husband saw Mandie in Petsmart during an adoption day and refused to leave without her (like stamping his foot toddler style refused). She is most commonly referred to as "the baby." Melodie was supposed to just be a foster pup but she and I just couldn't let go of each other. We have talked about a purebred dog at some point, but every time I look at Mandie with that big lab head on her doxie body, I can't help but wonder who will capture our hearts next.

We adopted our cat. I can't imagine us ever buying a pet at the pet store or from a breeder--only from a shelter or a friend whose animals were having pups or kittens.

Both of my cats are rescues (one from a shelter, one from an aunt's backyard), and my husband had never ever had a pet before, either. I think we both feel guilty that the cats get a lot less attention now that we have two small children, but we can't imagine our home without them. This sounds like a book that would make me want to adopt another animal, and feel very sad that I can't right now!

I am not much of an animal person, and we have no pets here. However, I really enjoyed this book! Although I cannot fathom permitting a fecally incontinent dog to sleep in my bed, I do admire anyone who has that much passion and commitment towards a cause. I would never take in and care for a Clementine, but I sure did enjoy reading about her!

We have two 7 month old puppies that we rescued through the Labrador and Friends Rescue. Both of their moms were abandoned just before they were born. We had recently lost our two dogs we had for 7 and 8 years. They got out of our yard and were found on the freeway. I cried for weeks later before we adopted the two puppies we have now. They healed our hearts and filled the empty places in our hearts where our other dogs were. They could never replace the first two doggies, but they comforted us in our time of need.

Thank you for all the kind words, and I LOVE reading about all of your animals and rescues! It's wonderful hearing about how your pets have changed your lives!

I grew up with a rescue dog--Ginger, who died three days before I got married. (possibly the best dog ever) We had Maggie, a St. Bernard (or maybe the best dog ever; except the fur, and her habit of pulling me down ice slickened hills.) I found in a shelter in Wisconsin. She was such a mess I thought she was much older. We had a roaming soul of a dog named Mikey at one point.We had Jake and Chanel--rescues of a sort.

Throw me at petfinder and I will find a dog I want to give a home. Keep me out of animal shelters--I am hopeless at hardening my heart to dogs. Even cats and rabbits at shelters have found their way into our lives.

My father had a firm stance against purebred dogs and I can't get rid of that (even though Jake, Chanel and my mother's dog were/are all documented purebred. Maggie was possibly purebred but I will just assume she wasn't.

Our dogs were both strays - one wandered up to our house, on death's door from being on his own. The other showed up at a house miles away, but we agreed to take her. Otherwise, she was headed for a shelter, and it wasn't a "no-kill" shelter, either. She exudes joy and life - I can't help thinking that if we hadn't taken her, she wouldn't be alive. Yes, they both impact my life greatly in a joyous way (I go into more detail in my review on my blog.)

Most of our dogs and cats growing up were "rescues" - from a friend who couldn't keep them anymore, from a litter of puppies on a farm that needed a home, from a cat who had kittens in our roof - they were all rescues somewhat unconventionally. But they ALL needed love and attention, which we could provide. The presence of an animal that is so loyal and loving makes all the difference in the world.

Growing up, we always had pure-bred Boston Terriers, and they were worth every penny. Eventually, my mom started breeding one of ours, and we were able to recoup some of our initial investment in the mama dog.

In college, I was surprised when my mom adopted a shelter dog to be her Boston's friend. I'm all about animal rescue myself, though. Newly married and poor, my husband and I couldn't afford a pure-bred dog, nor did we want one. We found our sweet little doggy at petfinder.com and I was able to pick her up at an adoption event at a local petstore. She's been a great dog, and I'm sad to think that I'm her THIRD home. How could she have been given up twice before?!