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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 a 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.

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.”

Sparky

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Scooter

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 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.

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Tanner

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 , 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.

[ more happy endings... ]