Special-Need Animals Stories

Sweet Baby James the puppy in a wheelchair

Foster home helps puppy stand tall

Faces of no-kill: Sweet Baby James could hardly even crawl when he first came to t...
See him now
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RoiLie the dog running in his wheelchair

Big love for little dog with wheels

An injury changed RoiLie’s life, but his huge personality and a whole lot of love ...
See him in his home
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Precious the black and white cat

Paralyzed cat has sweet spirit that can’t be stopped

Life for Precious hasn’t always been easy or kind, but she never fails to find som...
Read about her progress
Best Friends Magazine
Leonsio the blind orange tabby cat lying on a couch with a Hello Kitty pillow behind him

Blind cat sees the good in everything

Leonsio couldn’t see at all and was skinny and matted when he was found outdoors, ...
See how far he's come
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Dolly Parton the cat lying on a couch behind Scott

Three-legged cat is full of surprises

Dolly Parton’s new family was prepared to make their home accessible to her, and t...
She made herself right at home
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Person holding a smiling Java the Chihuahua dog in a lap

Little dog is living large

Java has spina bifida and had difficulty walking when she came to Best Friends, bu...
Read how she's settled in
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Fawkes the Shar-Pei dog wearing a tag on her collar

Wrinkly dog gets comfortable in her own skin

Fawkes was miserable with patchy skin, painful paws and a double dose of eye issue...
Read about her progress
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Spearmint Sally lying on a dog bed in front of a Christmas tree, a person and three other dogs

Once-paralyzed dog finds her footing with family’s help

Spearmint Sally was paralyzed as a puppy, but now she can stand on her own — and h...
Home that was meant to be
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Llama the Siamese kitten with blue eyes and paw up in the air

Big new life for a blue-eyed kitten

Orphaned and injured at one week old, little Llama lived thanks to many people’s h...
See how he's thrived
Best Friends Magazine
AJ the kitten wearing a collar with a bell

It’s a wonderful life for this three-legged kitten

AJ arrived at a Texas shelter with an injured leg, but time was on his side. Today...
See how he's living large
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Elton and Hannah the dogs next to Tom, a Dogtown caregiver

A most joyful doggy duo

Feeling the holiday blues? Meet Hannah and Elton, dogs with a chronic condition ca...
Senior duo get lots of love and care
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Midnight the kitten lying on the floor under a wooden piece of furniture

Blind, deaf kitten shows the meaning of resilience

Midnight had a rough start, but after vets saved his life twice, he’s proven it’s ...
See how he's doing now
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Valentina the black and white kitten being held by gloved hands and you can see wounds on her face

Fearless kitten meets life’s challenges head-on

With a difficult first two months behind her, Valentina shakes off adversity for a...
Read about her care
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Benedict the kitten sitting on a cat tree

Kitten seizes life on two legs

Benedict’s hind legs are paralyzed due to spina bifida, but that doesn’t stop him ...
Meet this foster-win
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Edna the poodle wearing an orange bandanna standing between a person's legs

Blind miniature poodle pup blossoms in foster home

Edna is wobbly, blind and had severe trauma reactions that seemed like seizures, b...
See how she's blossomed
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