Erica Mahnken and her fiancé, Michael Favor of No More Pain Rescue didn’t ask any questions when they received an anonymous phone call about a dog abandoned in a former “crack house.”
They arrived at the location and found a young, malnourished Pit Bull mix. She was covered in suspicious lesions and had been left without food, water or electricity for at least 2 days in the frigid New York winter weather.
The couple and their friend, Lara Ribeiro started the small rescue group a year ago, and at the time of the dog’s arrival in mid-January, they didn’t have anywhere to keep her. So they contacted the firefighters at the “Fort Pitt” FDNY station on the Lower East Side.
The dog-loving station had once housed a Rottweiler, so the friends hoped they would also take a chance on their latest rescue. The guys agreed to foster the sweet 1-year-old pup and she moved into the firehouse on January 9.
On January 12 Mahnken got a call from the station. The crew wanted to know if they could permanently adopt the abandoned rescue dog! It took these tough FDNY heroes just 3 days to fall in love with her! Of course, Mahnken happily approved the adoption. She told CBS News:
“My heart wants to explode. Everyone’s so quick to judge a dog, especially a dog you don’t know where it came from or what kind of person they are… It is very satisfying.”
In honor of their profession, the firefighters named her “Ash” (short for Ashley). After just one month in her new home, Ash has already settled in to quite the routine. She accompanies the “Fort Pitt” crew on calls and even has her own designated spot inside the truck. When she’s not helping her new family save lives, Ashley follows the team around the station, tail wagging.
Ashley was about 25 pounds underweight when she was first pulled from that cold, abandoned house on Long Island. The FDNY crew now report that she is up to 50 pounds and according to her vet, almost at her perfect, healthy weight!
To show their affection for the latest addition to the firehouse, the guys created her very own Instagram account – her handle is ProbyAsh. She has more than 5,000 followers already and her “co-workers” post updates of her joyful antics almost daily.
Ashley is one lucky girl to have friends like Mahnken, Favor and Ribeiro in her corner – not to mention the entire FDNY!
H/T to CBS News
Featured Images via Instagram/ProbyAsh
