Nobody likes to see an animal suffering or scared, but there are millions of them on the streets that are scared, lonely, hungry, and cold every single day. There are rescues that help these animals, but they can’t help them all.
Sometimes, rescuing these animals isn’t easy, and it takes a lot of persuasion and hard work just to gain their trust.
That’s what happened with a German shepherd named Rain. Neighbors had seen Rain running around on the streets for several days and could tell that she was scared and hungry. Several people had tried to approach her, and although she showed no signs of aggression, she wouldn’t let any humans get close to her.
A recue called Hope For Paws stepped in to help.
Eldad Hagar and Loreta Frankonyte, two volunteers from the rescue, showed up and tried to gain the dog’s trust with some hamburger meat. It’s not enough to get the dog to come to them.
As Loreta gets closer to her, the dog starts to cry, and it’s heartbreaking. You can tell that she wants help, but she is just too scared to accept it. It’s clear that someone has mistreated this poor dog to cause her to be so scared of humans.
The dog continues to move back and cry, but Loreta won’t give up on her.
Eventually, she is able to put the snare over the dog’s head, so she can pull her from the hiding spot. A woman named Carey Linnell hold open a cage door, hoping the dog will go inside. Carey is also the woman who called the rescue to help the dog and who had tried helping herself.
Amazingly, the dog seems to feel comfortable with Carey and runs up to her instead. It’s like she is telling Carey thank you for saving her. She eventually made it back to the shelter, where she got a bath, medical care, and a good meal. According to the Hope for Paws website:
“Hope for Paws is a 501 C-3 non-profit animal rescue organization (E.I.N: 26-2869386). We rescue dogs and all other animals who are suffering on the streets and in the shelters. Our goal is to educate people on the importance of companion animals in our society.”
It has helped rescued hundreds of pets over the years, and it works to find them good homes where they will be cared for and loved forever.
While Rain was very shy at first, once she learned that she humans were going to care for her, she started to come out of her shell.
Amazingly, two weeks after she was rescued, she was adopted and renamed Sassy Pants Dunbar. It turns out, she had a sassy side that was just waiting to come out. She is doing well in her new home and is finally safe and happy.
She’s one of the lucky ones.
According to the ASPCA:
“Approximately 6.5 million companion animals enter U.S. animal shelters nationwide every year. Of those, approximately 3.3 million are dogs and 3.2 million are cats. We estimate that the number of dogs and cats entering U.S. shelters annually has declined from approximately 7.2 million in 2011. The biggest decline was in dogs (from 3.9 million to 3.3 million).”
Sadly, many of those pets never leave shelters or find homes.
While there are many shelter and rescues that are “no-kill shelters,” there are some that do have to put down the animals when they run out of room for them or cannot find homes for them. The ASPCA also noted:
“Each year, approximately 1.5 million shelter animals are euthanized (670,000 dogs and 860,000 cats). The number of dogs and cats euthanized in U.S. shelters annually has declined from approximately 2.6 million in 2011. This decline can be partially explained by an increase in the percentage of animals adopted and an increase in the number of stray animals successfully returned to their owners.”
Rain will never have to worry about being out on the streets again. Hopefully, the rescue can help other cats and dog find new homes, as well.
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