Shelter Professionals

Max is a shih tzu puppy who was being held in the arms of his owner, a young boy, when the pup’s front leg was shattered by a bullet from a drive-by shooting. Although Max might have prevented the boy from being killed, Max’s severe injury required expensive treatment, so the boy’s family surrendered him. Max was rushed to the emergency room, where X-rays showed that the bullet passed through his leg and extensive damage had been done by bullet fragments. In addition to the expense of his initial surgery and rehabilitative therapy, Max will require continued medical care and further surgery over the next 12 months. Currently, the outlook for Max is positive, and the veterinary staff are confident that he will fully recover. During his time at the humane society, the staff fell in love with the pup that they describe as “playful and in wonderful spirits.” Several families applied to adopt Max, and he has been placed in a new home.

Update: Max was adopted and now lives happily with a new family in Virginia. His new family includes two other dogs, a 9-year-old mixed breed and an 8-year-old Rhodesian Ridgeback, and a cat. All the animals get along well together. Max has made a full recovery and enjoys playing in his big yard and going on frequent walks.

Missy, a sweet, friendly cairn terrier, was dealt a terrible fate: forced to deliver litter after litter of offspring in a “puppy mill” in Pennsylvania. Rescued by Cairn Rescue USA after years of continuous commercial breeding, Missy was in dreadful shape. Her many health issues included a skin infection and thickly matted fur, a bladder infection, several “rotten” teeth that had to be removed, and a large hernia that required lengthy surgery. Missy’s coat was so matted, she had to be shaved down to her bare skin. She needed surgery and specialized treatment to even have a chance of becoming healthy enough to be adopted into a loving home. Despite all of her health issues and her life of neglect at the puppy mill, Missy has been a joy for everyone who has met her. She recovered from her surgery quickly, and she has begun enjoying her long-overdue life of “freedom.”

The staff report: “Missy is adapting to a new life outside of a cage. Initially, walking on a leash and being petted were foreign to her. Currently, she walks well on a leash, loves to be held and cuddled, and soaks up human companionship.”

Cricket, an Arabian-quarter horse cross, was just “skin and bones” and barely alive. A concerned citizen reported his emaciated condition to the Nebraska Humane Society, which investigated and found Cricket to be severely malnourished and dehydrated -- likely within just a couple of days of dying. He had not even been receiving routine medical care. Found with his head hanging low, showing little interest in his surroundings, this once-lively, gentle creature was hundreds of pounds underweight.

Cricket was taken in for treatment, and animal cruelty charges were successfully brought against his owner. After receiving medical treatment and care to overcome years of neglect, Cricket made a remarkable recovery -- gaining more than 200 pounds -- and was adopted into a loving family.

Charlotte the Chihuahua was found by a mother and daughter on their front porch in the middle of the night -- apparently abandoned there. The head of this little dog was swollen to nearly twice its normal size. Shocked by the condition this poor creature was in, they took her to the 24 hour receiving desk at their local animal shelter. There, the cause of Charlotte’s dreadful state was quickly discovered: A plastic zip tie had been fastened around her neck. The inhumane, makeshift “collar” was embedded in her skin, cutting off circulation and causing the grotesque and excruciating swelling in her head. After receiving immediate medical attention at the Humane Society of Missouri, Charlotte began to improve from her dire condition. But she was far from being healthy. The victim of extreme cruelty and neglect, she was also suffering from several serious afflictions, including heartworm, anemia and a heart murmur.

With ongoing treatment, Charlotte is making a remarkable recovery in foster care at the home of a shelter staff member.

The shelter reports: “She is a fighter with a big personality. She loves her foster parents -- and hides from the vet!” Her future looks brighter for better health and eventual adoption into a forever home.

Glen Jenkins, president of the Ken-Tenn Humane Society, responded to a call from a woman who had discovered a wounded dog in her yard. In the bushes in front of her house, Glen found an eight-month-old puppy, with bullet wounds to both hind legs. A veterinarian diagnosed a fractured left leg and a shattered right leg. The veterinarian said that there was a high probability that Annie, as they came to call her, would lose her right leg. After surgery and a lot of careful nursing, however, Annie regained full use of both legs. Throughout the entire ordeal, she never once lashed out at the humans whom she had no reason to trust.

Because of the violence she suffered, Annie “missed out on a large portion of enjoying life as a puppy,” Glen said. But, now that she has found a caring and permanent home, she will get that chance.

As with most hoarding cases, the problem before the Delaware Humane Association seemed daunting and very likely hopeless. More than 50 Pekingese dogs and puppies living with an elderly man now needed care and rehabilitation following years of neglect. The majority of the older dogs were so poorly socialized, they verged on being feral, and several of the females were pregnant. None of the animals appeared to have ever been groomed, walked on a leash, house trained or provided with basic veterinary care.

But thanks to the dedication of the Delaware Humane Association staff, the story has a happy ending, with all the animals they cared for making full recoveries and placed in loving homes.

While it’s generally true that “one man’s trash is another’s treasure,” the only person who would ever consider the injured Shih-tzu named Aurora to be “trash” was the person who stuffed her in the trash bag. Discovered by a dog on a walk with his owner, Aurora was rushed to the Associated Humane Societies Animal Care Center. The examination revealed that the sweet tempered dog had liver problems, pneumonia, and a severely crushed foot under her matted fur. Throughout the care and treatment she received from the Associated Humane Societies -- supported in part by the Second Chance Fund -- Aurora remained gentle, quiet, and affectionate and is now living in a home with a family who treasures her.