4 animal stories to inspire
Every single day, Best Friends Network Partners make a difference for animals in so many ways. With shelter and rescue group partners in all 50 states, there’s a lot of good news to share. Here are a few highlights from around the country.
A sight for sore eyes
Poor Big Red: The 10-year-old community cat didn’t look so hot when he was trapped by Kris Neal of One More Chance Rescue in St. George, Utah. Kris worried that she’d have to have him euthanized, until a vet at the Humane Society of Utah diagnosed Big Red with entropion, a painful condition that causes the eyelids to turn inward. Luckily, entropion can be corrected with surgery, so Big Red was soon feeling better. Though Kris planned to release him, Big Red had other ideas and now he lives in Kris’s workshop, where he’s learning that people aren’t so bad after all.
An oldie but a goodie
Brimley was a rather grumpy dog when he arrived at Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons, New York, in 2018. It turned out that his crankiness was caused by diabetes, and once he was treated, Brimley’s happy personality came out. Today, Brimley’s only “issue” is that he won’t go for a walk without a toy in his mouth. Brimley’s new adopters are happy to oblige, buying him as many toys as he wants.
A forever home for Q
A Baltimore couple who purchased a house to renovate found out that there was something extra in the deal: a senior dog named Q. A note on the door requested that someone give Q a new home, so the couple posted a plea for help on a local realtor’s website. A volunteer at Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter spotted the post and picked up the abandoned dog, who was given a warm bed and lots of love at the shelter. Pretty soon, Q also got a new house to live in, with a family who will never leave him behind.
Back on the farm
Although Agave, a stray cat brought to Kansas City Pet Project, had a microchip, the staff hit a dead end when trying to track down his people. That is, until the director of feline operations, Heather Kennedy, did some detective work and discovered that Agave (aka Patch) had been AWOL for three weeks from the alpaca rescue farm where he lived. Heather drove Patch to the farm (which was an hour away), where he was reunited with his people, several alpacas, a goat named Polly and his best friend, a Great Pyrenees dog.
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This article originally appeared in Best Friends magazine. You can subscribe to the magazine by becoming a Best Friends member.