Gunner – Chesapeake Bay Retriever
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 Why anyone would want to discard purebred Chesapeake Bay Retriever puppies is a mystery. But that’s what happened to Gunner and his litter mates.
The 8-week-old puppies were dumped in Nebraska farm country––left to brave the elements, ward off predators and fend for themselves. A female puppy, believed to be Gunner’s sister, was soon caught and quickly adopted. It is believed Gunner and his brother survived on their own for two months... probably because someone was kind enough to feed them.
Perhaps it was also this kind soul who took them to Hearts United for Animals, a national no-kill sanctuary and animal-welfare organization in Auburn, Nebraska. Gunner’s brother was adopted during his stay at HUA. Chesapeake Bay Retriever Relief and Rescue, also a national organization, took in Gunner and soon placed him in a wonderful, loving home.
Today Gunner is a happy boy. He’s a funny, personable and intelligent dog that plays constantly and swims whenever he gets the chance. Gunner loves companionship and follows his owner from room to room. He is as close to perfect as a dog can get––love on four feet!
Each year many unwanted animals are abandoned in rural areas. Some are not as lucky as Gunner. Please help put an end to stories like Gunner’s––spay and neuter your pets.
To adopt a homeless pet or locate a shelter or rescue in your area, visit www.petfinder.com. To learn more about Gunner’s rescuers and other dogs in need, visit Hearts United for Animals at www.hua.org or Chesapeake Bay Retriever Relief and Rescue at www.cbrrescue.org. One Lucky Dog, LLC is not affiliated with these rescue organizations.
Coco – Doberman Pinscher
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 For three years Coco lived in a tiny, wire prison. Her kennel was so small, she was unable to stand. She received no medical care or kindness, only enough food and water to keep her alive. She was probably still inside her cage when it was hosed out, even in sub-zero temperatures. It is believed Coco had her first litter of puppies when she was 6 months old. She was forced to breed repeatedly and produced litter after litter of puppies. It is likely her ears were cropped with scissors and she was de-barked in a cruel and inhumane manner.
One day the breeding facilities where Coco lived were abandoned. The dogs were left in their cages to die. Nobody knows how much time passed before authorities learned of the situation. Coco curled up in the back of her cage and shook with fear as the rescue operations took place around her. She could not be coaxed out and was finally carried to a rescuer’s car.
Coco was placed in a foster home where she was showered with love and affection. For the first time in her life, Coco slept on warm blankets, enjoyed dog treats, and felt grass under her paws.
But despite all the good things in Coco’s new life, there was a problem... She could not stand. She had to be carried outside and propped in the yard. There was concern Coco would never walk–until the day a special spot was discovered on her tummy. When this spot was scratched, Coco kicked her feet with delight. There was a glimmer of hope that her legs might function again.
It took 5 1/2 long weeks for Coco to take her first steps. She staggered at first but curiosity soon had her investigating the whole yard. Before long, she enticed another Doberman to play. A true friendship began and Coco and Rudolph Valentino are now best buddies. When they aren’t romping or napping, they take their job of protecting the neighborhood from all things noisy very seriously.
Coco may always stand crookedly and walk stiffly. As her emotional healing continues, she is learning to trust strangers and has taken obedience classes. Coco attends public events and spends some weekends at pet-adoption fairs as a Doberman rescue representative. She was the guest of honor at an animal-welfare coalition meeting and was featured on the news in a story about puppymills and the importance of spaying and neutering. Coco is happy to report that her foster home is now her forever home.
To adopt a homeless pet or locate a shelter or rescuer in your area, visit www.petfinder.com. Learn how you can help fight puppymills at www.hua.org. Click “Prisoners of Greed.” One Lucky Dog, LLC is not affiliated with these organizations.
Mena – Basset Hound
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 Mena had a nice home and a family who loved her. She was a good dog and always tried to behave. But one day the landlord said she had to go. Mena’s owners didn’t know what to do. They wanted to keep her but were not able to move. Mena didn’t deserve this.
Luckily, Mena was taken to Hearts United for Animals, a no-kill animal sanctuary in Auburn, Nebraska. She was sad and longed for her family but the folks at HUA adored her and she loved them. They gave her good food, medical care, a soft place to sleep and plenty of love and affection during her stay. But it wasn’t the same as having people of her own.
One day a nice, young couple was looking at the dogs on HUA’s Web site and saw Mena. They took one look at her spectacular ears and mournful eyes and knew they must meet this fabulous dog. It was love at first sight...! They took Mena home with them and she quickly became an important part of the family.
Mena now spends her days playing with her two Basset Hound “sisters,” Baylee and Tate. They play for hours until they pass out from exhaustion.
Mena enjoys long walks and is a neighborhood favorite. When she’s not busy charming the folks on her street, she cuddles, fetches and gives slobbery kisses to her stuffed buffalo, Buffy.
 When Mena’s parents get home from work, she showers them with pure, unadulterated affection. She is the sweetest, most loving dog ever. They can’t imagine life without her. They are grateful to the wonderful people at HUA for taking such good care of Mena (as well as all the other dogs).
Not all dogs are as lucky as Mena. Many are abandoned in kill shelters each year because their owners are moving or the landlord won’t allow them to stay. In many cases, the shelters are full and these dogs have only a small chance of getting adopted. Please help control shelter overcrowding–spay and neuter your pets.
To adopt a homeless pet or locate a shelter or rescue in your area, visit www.petfinder.com. To learn more about Hearts United for Animals, visit www.hua.org. One Lucky Dog, LLC is not affiliated with this organization.
Sparky – Italian Greyhound
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 When Sparky’s owner didn’t want him any longer, he was given away to a neighbor. This person had a very kind heart and never turned away a dog in need. Sparky had been at his new home for a few years when it caught fire and burned to the ground.
The owner of the home loved the dogs so much, she ran back inside and saved all 27 of them from this terrible fate. Because of her rescue efforts, she suffered severe burns and spent months in a hospital burn unit. Some of the dogs did not make it… Others were
quickly adopted after the story aired on the local news.
Sparky was around 6 years old when he arrived at the Italian Greyhound Club of America Rescue. He was a few pounds under normal weight and many of his teeth were missing which caused his tongue to hang out. He had very little hair due to a thyroid problem and a condition called alopecia (hair loss) which is common in blue Italian Greyhounds and some other breeds.
One day, someone sent Sparky’s story to a lady who was in the process of adopting another Italian Greyhound. She phoned IGCA Rescue and asked to meet Sparky. (Two, after all, are better than one...!)
It was love at first sight. The tiny, hairless dog with his tongue hanging out nestled into her arms… Both knew it was meant to be.
Sparky is thriving in his new home. With proper diet and thyroid medication, he’s gaining weight and growing velvety hair. He gives “slurpy” kisses and cute little nose nibbles. When he wants an ear rub, he has the endearing habit of lowering his head and pulling his paws from the back of his neck to his nose.
Sparky loves riding in the car and makes a lovely sound in his throat when someone reaches in to pet him. He’s in heaven on walks and proudly prances down the sidewalk swishing his tail. He “boings” five feet in the air out of delight and jumps into his mom’s awaiting arms.
At night, Sparky leaps onto the bed, does a couple of laps around the mattress, then dives under the covers where he stays until morning. During the day, he snuggles under the blanket in his dog bed and enjoys basking in the sun on top of the love seat where he can bark at passers-by outside the window. His mom says, “I swear there’s a tiny human living in that dog suit.”
To adopt a homeless pet for find a shelter or rescue in your area, visit www.petfinder.com. For more information about Italian Greyhound Club of America Rescue, please visit www.italiangreyhound.org. One Lucky Dog, LLC is not affiliated with these organizations.
June Bug – Terrier Mix
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 I spotted her three times that week in a pasture near the highway. When I tried to get near her, she ran away. Nobody had reported a missing dog which fit her description but I knew something wasn’t right. The area was remote and it was at least a mile to the nearest house. Local authorities offered no assistance other than to let me borrow a live trap. I baited it with hot dogs and the stinkiest cat food I could find and set it in a concrete culvert under the highway. By morning, I had her.
She barked and growled ferociously as I drug the trap out of the ditch and over the barbed-wire fence to my car where she spent the rest of day... terrified.
When I returned the trap to the shelter that evening, they took her picture in case someone came forward to claim her. I did not leave her there because nobody wants a wild dog, no matter how cute it is. I knew God had given her to me for a reason and it was not for her to die at the shelter.
For five days, the little dog cowered in the back of a crate in my spare bedroom. She was silent and fearful, displaying no emotions except for complete and utter sadness which seemed to pour from her soul. Her spirit was broken. I began to wonder if I had done the right thing by catching her. Perhaps she was better off living by herself in the wild. I wondered if she would ever be normal or happy.
But on the sixth day, she wagged her tail... once. Her expression looked like that of a normal dog. She investigated the house, hiding behind the curtains and furniture as she went. After sniffing everything in sight, she put both paws on my leg. I petted her, then picked her up. Amazingly, she licked my whole face. I now know the joy a mother feels when her baby takes its first step or says its first word. I did nothing to bring about this monumental change in behavior. I can only attribute it to a miracle from God.
Now, let me take you back in time 7 months to when 159 dogs were rescued from a property in a neighboring state. Thirteen of these dogs were relocated to my county and fostered by the local Humane Society. On the night they arrived here, a young female escaped from a volunteer’s yard. The little dog lived on her own in the wild for 7 months.
She survived a harsh winter where temperatures dipped to 20 degrees below zero and didn’t rise above zero for days. Attempts to locate and capture the dog failed... Until the day I caught her in my trap.
Although it didn’t feel quite right, I lined up a foster home for the dog until I could find the perfect people to adopt her. But on the day I was to deliver her to the foster mom, something came up and I wound up bringing her back home with me. Every step of the way, it seemed as if God was saying, “I gave her to you.” She will be mine forever.
“Bug” is the most appreciative soul I've ever known. Her eyes are filled with gratefulness. She follows me everywhere, usually with an oversized ball or a sock stuffed in her mouth. I know from her constant smile and wildly wagging tail that she is incredibly happy. She has wonderful manners and plays funny, little games. She likes my other dogs... And my cats. She lies next to me on my pillow and licks my face then rolls over and snoozes with her head on my shoulder. She is scared of strangers and hides under the bed until they leave. She runs for miles behind the four-wheeler and loves to herd cows. Her charm, antics and wild and crazy hairdo often lead me to call her my “cartoon dog.”
To learn about the organization that helped June Bug and her 13 friends, visit the Campbell Co. Humane Society at www.campbellcohumanesociety.org. To adopt a homeless pet or find a shelter or rescuing organization in your area, visit www.petfinder.com. One Lucky Dog, LLC is not affiliated with these organizations.
Scooter – Australian Cattle Dog
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 Scooter was a stray that wound up in a shelter and was never claimed by his owners. Luckily, the facility was no-kill and a volunteer with a soft spot for his breed decided to foster him. His ears were infected and encrusted with blood from fly bites and, with more flies at the shelter, there was fear they would get worse. Scooter began recuperating in foster care and before too long someone wanted to adopt him. But on the day he was to go to his new home, he seemed disoriented and showed strange neurological signs such as walking in circles.
After several days and desperate, ongoing attempts to help Scooter, the local vet was unable to make a diagnosis. At one point, Scooter’s condition was so bad, they didn’t expect him to make it through the day. Scooter was dying before their eyes. But he held on long enough to be rushed to an emergency vet in a larger city nearby. There, he was diagnosed with Liver Shunt, a condition where, due to a deformity, blood can’t go through the liver and bypasses it instead. Blood normally detoxified by the liver becomes full of toxins. Scooter responded positively to medication but that wasn’t enough. He needed an expensive and complicated surgery. The foster parents had nearly given up hope when a friend mentioned that his nephew was a veterinary surgeon in a neighboring state. The vet was contacted and he offered to perform the surgery at his cost. The foster mom sent out an e-mail asking for donations for Scooter’s cause. She raised $1,250 in 4 days. Scooter was transported hundreds of miles to the surgeon who performed two surgeries, one of them very risky. After 6 weeks, Scooter returned to his foster home where his recovery continued.
Today, Scooter’s health has improved and he seems to have fewer days when he doesn’t feel well. He lives with wonderful new parents on an acreage where he spends his days fetching balls and running through the meadows and woods. It is believed that Scooter has not had any livestock training, but his breeding is evident when the neighbor’s cows wander by. Scooter rounds them up and moves them in the direction he’s told. After a long day of running and fetching and herding, Scooter sleeps on his own bed on the floor in the bedroom. When he’s ready to get up in the morning, he puts his paws on the side of his parents’ bed and peeks over the edge. If there’s no movement, he lies back down to wait a bit longer. Perhaps Scooter’s biggest accomplishment to date is his RV trip across 13 states. He is a wonderful traveler and responded well to the changes in scenery and new experiences. During the trip, Scooter and his parents stayed on the coast for a few days where he became a total beach bum. He loved running in the sand, wading in the water and splashing in the waves. In fact, Scooter seemed to enjoy his vacation more than the humans enjoyed theirs!
Thanks to the perseverance and determination of his foster parents and the caring group of people who donated their time and money to help him, Scooter is alive and thriving today. By supporting rescuing organizations, you make it possible for them to save more dogs like Scooter. To learn more about the humane organization that helped Scooter, visit the Weston Co. Humane Society at www.petfinder.com/shelters/WY25.html. Be sure to read about Project LOVED, their partnership with the Wyo. State Boot Camp for the training of shelter dogs. To find a shelter or rescue in your area, visit www.petfinder.com. One Lucky Dog, LLC is not affiliated with these organizations.
Tanner – Mixed Breed
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 On a chilly November day, 159 dogs were rescued from a property and transported to a shelter in a nearby town. The dogs had been living outside in colonies of 10 or so in make-shift pens. They were not spayed or neutered and the population grew so large that the owners could not provide proper care for them.
A small humane group in an adjacent state volunteered to foster 13 of the dogs. They did not have a shelter but a volunteer who owns a boarding facility kindly let the dogs to stay there for free. But Christmas was fast approaching and the kennels were needed for the holiday rush. Places had to quickly be found for the dogs.
One volunteer named Jennifer wanted to foster a dog that needed a great deal of help. Every day as she walked past the kennels, she noticed that one dog named Tanner was missing. The young dog was so scared that he wouldn't even come up to get warm at night. Jennifer knew Tanner was the one for her. When she tried to pick him up in order to take him home, he bit at the leash and resisted with all his might. But after only a few hours, Tanner slept quietly on the couch with her son.
Three days later, Tanner escaped from Jennifer’s yard. He stayed in the neighborhood for about a week and a half, until the day Jennifer chased him in an attempt to catch him. Then he disappeared. On a bitter cold and snowy Christmas Day, Tanner was spotted next to the interstate, three miles from where he escaped. The person who saw him happened to be involved in animal rescue and sent out an e-mail describing the dog to everyone she knew in the area. A mutual friend who knew Tanner’s story received the e-mail and contacted Jennifer with the information.
Jennifer baited a live-trap next to the interstate where Tanner was seen. She checked it several times a day and moved it every time she spotted him in a new location. She was also fostering another of these dogs, Scooter (still up for adoption), so she often walked around the area with him in hopes that Tanner might come to a familiar dog. After 40 long days, the elusive Tanner was finally trapped. Without the patience, perseverance, love and dedication of Jennifer, Tanner might not be alive, happy and healthy today.
Jennifer officially adopted Tanner and says he’s come a long way. He is much more sociable and not as leery of people as he once was. He follows Jennifer everywhere she goes and does not need a leash most of the time. Jennifer works in a greenhouse where Tanner enjoys greeting customers and leisurely sniffing the flowers. (Roses are his favorite.) At the end of a long day, after a good meal and hours of playing chase in the yard with his dog friends, Tanner falls asleep at the foot of Jennifer’s bed.
Without the caring and dedication of the organizations and volunteers who helped these dogs, Tanner’s story may have not have had a happy ending. We encourage you to support rescue organizations and we urge you to spay and neuter your pets. To adopt a homeless pet or find a shelter or rescue group in your area, visit www.petfinder.com. To learn about the organization that helped Tanner, visit the Campbell Co. Humane Society at www.campbellcohumanesociety.org. One Lucky Dog, LLC is not affiliated with these organizations.
Maggie & Tootsie – Australian Shepherds
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 Maggie (left)—On a frigid day in February, a couple of boys sat outside a rodeo with two Australian Shepherd puppies—the last in a litter that had been sold. The little dogs rode in a freezing horse trailer to the arena. The boys were told to get rid of them before the night was over. One of the puppies was sick. A nice couple took her home, a family took the other. If they had not, the impression was that the puppies would be killed.
Maggie’s new parents immediately took the very ill puppy to the vet for treatment. During this visit, they explained to the vet that loud noises, even laughter, made the little dog drop to the ground and quiver. The instant she was placed into a car, she foamed at the mouth and vomited. The vet was certain that this puppy had been badly abused. It would take patience and consistence if she was ever to overcome her fears.
Maggie’s parents were up for the challenge. They began working with her in phases, a process that took months. At first Maggie’s mom took her and the other dogs out to the garage. She spoke in a happy voice. But as soon as Maggie was put in the car, she foamed at the mouth and vomited. After a few weeks when this subsided, she began starting the car and pulling it outside the garage. Maggie got sick each time. The work with Maggie continued until she jumped into the car on her own and tolerated short outings to the lake. But as the other dogs played along the shoreline, Maggie clung to her mom’s leg and shivered. At some point along the way, Maggie finally overcame her fears. She stopped getting sick and began romping with her friends. Despite her rough start, and because of the love and care given by her parents, Maggie has had a happy, normal dog life for 9 years.
Tootsie is the product of a backyard breeder and was only a year old when she wound up in a high-kill shelter. She had little chance of being adopted because she could not use one of her legs and was unable to stand in her kennel. When she was taken outside, she was able to walk on three legs. A caring rescuer took Tootsie to the vet where surgery was performed to remove a piece of bone floating under the kneecap. During the healing process, Tootsie began using her leg and was able to be put up for adoption.
The same couple who saved Maggie read Tootsie’s story on the rescuer’s Web site and fell for the little, red Australian Shepherd. They began the adoption process as Tootsie’s healing continued. Soon she was home and, within a week of her arrival, Tootsie’s new mom had knee surgery too.
Tootsie’s parents report that “Toots” is a special, sweet, little girl. She loves to fetch but her favorite game is tug with a rope toy. She is quite the guard dog and raises her voice if she thinks anything’s amiss. Tootise’s birthday is February 14, and she truly is a funny, little Valentine.
To adopt a pet or locate a rescue or shelter in your area, visit www.petfinder.com. To learn more about Tootsie’s rescuer, visit Rainbow Rescues at www.rainbowrescues.petfinder.com. One Lucky Dog, LLC is not affiliated with these organizations.
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