Pictured above are my own two pets that I adopted from rescues this year. On the left is my Blue Heeler, Moss, adopted from the Arizona Cattle Dog Rescue. On the right is my Flame Point Siamese, Toby, adopted from All About Animals AZ. They have been a wonderful addition to our family.

A few days ago, I asked followers to send in their own photos of pets that they’ve adopted from rescues. You can see the results below, 11 pictures of beautiful cats and dogs and the sweet, touching stories of how the pets found their forever homes. Please check out the photos and stories below and then vote for the picture and/or story that touches your heart the most. The winner will get to select the animal rescue of their choice to receive a $25 Petsmart giftcard and they will also receive a $5 Amazon giftcard for themselves.

There are thousands of homeless dogs and cats in need of a home and this time of year many families out there are considering bringing a new pet into their home for Christmas. I would encourage everyone who is considering a furry addition to their family to first research the type of pet they are interested in and learn their needs to make sure the pet’s needs fit your lifestyle. So many pets find themselves in shelters and rescues each year because their families have discovered that they can’t properly care for them.

My second request would be that if you do decide on the right type of pet for your family, please look to an animal rescue first. So many people that I’ve talked to are under the impression that animal rescues are filled with animals in cages that bite, chew or bark too much, and that is completely not the case! Yes, it is true, some pets get turned into shelters because of poor behavior that couldn’t be corrected by owners who didn’t have the time. Many of those poor behaviors were a result of animal boredom because the owners didn’t give them the time and attention that they needed.

If you have the time and patience to correct poor animal behavior there are plenty of pets in need of a good home, but I want everyone to know that not all animals in rescues and shelters have poor behavior!!! Some animals find themselves in rescues simply because the owners didn’t want them, they were born in a home with an owner who wasn’t expecting them, the owner passed away…there are numerous reasons why well trained, sweet loving animals find themselves without a home.

Another misconception that I mentioned is that pets in rescues are in cages. Many people imagine city shelters with rows upon rows of barking dogs in cages. An animal rescue couldn’t be further from this picture. Many animal rescues are run out of homes with “foster owners”, so the pets are loved and personally cared for each day until they can find their forever home. I have adopted a dog and a cat this year from animal rescues and both experiences were fantastic. An added plus is that when you bring a dog or cat home from a rescue, they will be fully vaccinated, spayed/neutered, and microchipped, so the adoption fee well makes up for the money that you would have spent on up front vet fees!

Ready to adopt a dog or cat? Do your research. Know that even the best behaved pet can have behavior problems if it isn’t given proper care and attention. Know that you can find the best pet possible in an animal rescue 🙂

Please check out the stories below and then vote 🙂 Be warned they might cause you to shed a tear or two 🙂 Thank you for taking your time to read their stories 🙂 It’s hard to pick just one, so feel free to select up to 3 pets to vote for:-) Voting will remain open until Friday, December 13th, 5:00pm MST.

1.)  SweetiePie

   Dec 2012 I adopted my sweet Papillon from BRAS–Breeder Release Adoption Service.  She was rescued from a puppy mill in April 2012, was adopted by another person who had to give her back because her daughter had allergies, and I adopted her in Dec.   She was given the name, Tia, in April; but when she came to me, she would not react to that name or any name except SweetiePie–so she is now SweetiePie!   The day they came to my home to make sure that it was suitable for SweetiePie–that was the day I got to keep her.  I fell in love with her immediately!

Thank you and Merry Christmas!

I hope all the rescues find their new forever homes this holiday season!

2.) Tyler

http://www.ahimsarescuefoundation.org/

3.)  TC

Here is my little girl.  She was adopted from Arizona Cattle Dog Rescue.  After the death of my Jack Russell Terrier of 16 years I decided I didn’t want anymore pets.  That lasted 2 months and I started researching rescues so I could become a foster and help pets find loving homes.  I chose ACDR and they approved me to be a foster.  My first foster assignment was 2 puppies and I was to pick them up on December 23rd of last year.  This picture was taken on Christmas Eve morning.  The little girl crawled up into my arms and fell asleep.   I didn’t know it at the time, but I would become a foster failure and ended up adopting this little girl now known as TC.  TC originally stood for Too Cute, then that changed to Trouble Comin’, lots of people in the rescue said she was Totally Cool.  Anyway, she is a great girl and keeps me laughing with her funny expressions like the one captured in the picture taken below when she turned a year old.  She helps me with new foster dogs coming in by teaching them the do’s and don’ts, she also gets them into trouble by starting something they aren’t supposed to be doing then walking away so that I only catch the foster dog doing something bad.

4.) Tayla Storm

Adopted December 2008

Over two years now and loving every minute of it !
I knew the minute I saw her that we
were destine to be together.
My only regret is that I did not adopt her sister. 😦
Tayla has brought so much healing and unconditional love.

Link to shelter and story… http://www.tupeloleehumane.org/success.php

5.) Farmer

  This is Farmer. Farmer and his sister Angel came to the rescue where my daughter works a couple of months ago. They were given up to the rescue because their owner was moving out of state and couldn’t take them along. Farmer got really sick over the summer and almost died, but, we finally got him healthy again. Their former owner actually didn’t move and the lady who runs the rescue begged him to take them back  because they were not doing well in that environment(being in a crate all day with the only interaction they received from us on a daily basis). The original owner wouldn’t take them back and Angel got sick a week or so ago and died last week. Farmer wasn’t doing well after losing his sister, they had been together their whole lives and they are between 10-13 years old and I couldn’t stand to see him this way any more. A snap decision to bring him home with me so he wouldn’t be lonely and depressed anymore has brought him some happiness again. He has turned out to be a total cuddle bug and we have caught him playing for the first time since he came to the rescue. Thanks for listening to Farmers story 🙂 Happy Holidays to you.

6.)  Blueberry and Zoney

I got Blueberry (on the left) from New Hope Cattle Dog rescue 9 years ago. A friend of mine works at Best Friends Sanctuary and she had just placed two dogs with New Hope and they had sent her photos of Blueberry’s litter, which she forwarded to me. I looked at the picture of 6 pups and could only see just this one little fatty named Tank. I showed the photo to my husband and he poked his fingers down on Tank, “That one! I love him!” We drove from Ca to Az to get him, and he has become my constant companion, by my side always. In the photo his brother, Zoney (a kelpie) was “thrown away” in the desert. We found him nearly dead and badly injured. He had to have his right leg amputated but other than that he is perfect! Best dogs, both of them, ever.

7.) Simone

  My dog Simone  is part husky and border collie. Originally we were only fostering her because she came into the rescue when she was 6 weeks old with a broken leg. When it came time to take her back we just couldn’t, she already had our hearts.

8.)  Mog

   Not from a rescue, but a sweet stray who was in need of a home 🙂

9.) “Doc” Holliday

It all started when we lost our beloved Dakota of 13yrs. Losing him was a very hard lose! And my husband and I decided we would not get another dog for a while. But a several months after his passing, while out to lunch, I was walking in a parking lot with my husband and noticed a very cool sticker in the back window of a car. The car was running, so I decided to ask the owner where she got the sticker (Cow Dog Up) and while walking over to her window I noticed a door sticker with AZ Cattle Dog Rescue. When I looked in her window I saw 2 cattle dog puppies. My heart melted! The young lady was so sweet and let me hold one of the beautiful puppies. I held it up for my husband to see. He figured this puppy would be home when he got home. But there is a process and these guys were too little to come home at that time. So I went home and looked up their web site and filled out the application and waited to see what happened. Again we were not looking to add to the family of already 3 cattle dogs, 1 cat, 9 chickens and 3 horses. But we believe things happen for a reason. I was contacted the next day and the process began.
We were so lucky to be approved to get one of these adorable puppies; they brought them to the house to meet the older dogs, which were not too happy to see them! Pippen (now Doc) was very mellow and did not push the issue with the older dogs and he also was very comfortable with the horses, were his little sister Peri peed all over me when she saw the horses. So it was decided – Pippen would be ours! He came home with us the middle of November and he has been so impressive. He was potty trained in a day, can sit, stay and come all on command. And is the best cuddlier, he loves to sleep with us! Thank god for faith and adding this wonderful little guy to our lives. P.S. the older dogs are becoming good friends with him.

10.) Titan and Max

My husband and I went to an ’empty the shelter’ event at the Arizona Animal Welfare League. We’d wanted to give a dog a home, but instead my husband saw puppies. As we stood in the cage with all the puppies, I mentally picked one and told myself that everything would work out if my husband picked the one I had in mind. And he did. Titan (the darker one) was going home with us! Then the volunteers mentioned it’d be easier with two (haha!!) so I went and picked Max. They’re still a huge part of our lives two and a half years later. ❤

11.) Honey Boy

This is Honey Boy Red sitting in his favorite chair. He loves to curl up in a ball on it; however, he’d much rather you were sitting in the chair so that he could snuggle on your lap.

Honey Boy was picked up from the streets in November 2012 by Pinal County Animal Control at seven months old and was rescued by the Arizona Cattle Dog Rescue.   He had to remain in foster care a little longer than usual because he had a compromised immune system and ACDR wanted to make sure he was on his way to recovery before adoption.

We had been looking for another dog to be a friend and buddy for our other dog, Charley, who was just a puppy.  Our 10-year-old daughter picked him from the website as the one she had a good feeling about.  She liked the fact that he was a loving and affectionate dog according to his foster mom.  We drove to Mesa to meet him and took Charley with us so that they could meet and see if there was doggy chemistry.  When Charley’s little paws touched the ground, Honey Boy chased her into a corner.  He was not trying to hurt her, but was obviously very curious about this little dog.  Charley went to her back showing her small belly probably thinking he was trying to be dominant.  When she realized that Honey Boy only wanted to befriend her, they began to play.  Honey Boy was not hard on her, but she was tough on him.  He just took it in stride like he knew she was just a little pup that was not quite knowledgeable yet about doggy social manners.   They played, wrestled and just had a grand time getting to know each other.  We loved watching them and knew as far as Charley was concerned, Honey Boy was the right choice.  We got to know him a bit ourselves, and being the sweet dog that he is, we could not resist making the decision to adopt him.  On the way home, our son and daughter fussed over him as he just lay quietly on the floor in our van.  We felt that he was going to miss his foster family very much, but hoped he would love his forever home, too.  When we arrived back at our house, Charley and Honey Boy picked up where they left off and were back to playing and running around the yard together.  Everyday since then, they play and have fun and you can just tell how much they love each other.   In addition to going on walks and playing games with us, they make up their own tag games, play soccer and learn from each other.  When I’m training them, Honey Boy will watch Charley do something and then he tries his own version of it and vice versa.  They both keep us laughing and we enjoy their company.   Adopting this adorable boy will never be regretted.  He is the perfect addition to our family and we love him so much.  Honey Boy was meant to be our boy.