stray Archives

Shelter Takes In Stray Dog, Discovers He’s Allergic To Humans

We all know that some people are allergic to dogs. But have you ever heard of a dog that’s allergic to humans? Well, a seasoned dog rescuer thought she had heard almost everything, but she was surprised to learn that one dog they’d taken into their care was actually allergic to humans! Robin Herman at Lucky Dog Retreat Rescue has saved hundreds of dogs. But among all the hundreds of dogs she has rescued, it was only when she met Adam … Read more

Kind-Hearted Officer Pulls All-Nighter To Protect The Neglected Stray Puppy He Rescued

Rescuing a stray puppy may not be a police officer‘s job, but some kind-hearted officers don’t do it for the job. Some genuinely want to help the little ones who can’t help themselves. Officer Kareem Garibaldi of the Lakeland Police Department in Florida is one of those wonderful people. Officer Garibaldi worked an early morning shift one Saturday in May 2016. As he drove his patrol car, he nearly ran into a small Pit/Boxer mix puppy. The 8-to-10-week old pup … Read more

Thanks To You, Fern Is Off The Streets Now

Part of every sale through the iHeartDogs store is donated to GreaterGood, which helps support various charities like START Rescue. Stories like the one below are made possible with your help! Check out all the animals iHeartDogs fans and shoppers like you have helped save here. After living as a stray on the street, little Fern ended up at the Porterville Shelter in California. Through divine intervention, START Rescue selected her for transport out of this high-risk area to Oregon. Once up northwest, … Read more

Your Support Fed This “White Wolf” Of A Stray

iHeartDogs works closely with GreaterGood by donating part of each sale to their various charity efforts. One of the charities, Rescue Bank, works to donate quality dog food to shelters and rescues who are in need. Many shelters and rescues could not run without the generous donations from organizations like this, so your support makes a huge impact! Those who spotted Winter wandering around Northern Michigan in 2017 took him for a white wolf. At the very least, he looked wolf-like and appeared larger … Read more

UPDATE: Suzy Wandered Into A Home As A Starving Stray. Look At Her Now!

In a whirlwind few days, a starving stray dog went from living a difficult life on the streets of Philadelphia to becoming a beloved internet star with a family. It’s all thanks to a door that blew open during a storm and the man who later closed it. In that time, the dog sought shelter in the home she would later occupy for life. She just didn’t know it yet. The pup’s adventure began with a simple, straightforward tweet from … Read more

Injured Stray Wanders Through Open Door & Finds Her Forever Home

Woman Sleeps Outside In The Freezing Cold To Earn The Trust Of A Stray Senior Dog

How much would you sacrifice to save a stray dog? This amazing woman braved several freezing cold nights to save a stray dog in Manhattan’s Highland Park in New York City. Her name is Denise Lauffer, a 40-year-old woman who built a makeshift shelter for an elderly stray dog she named Charlie, and slept beside him for two nights just to earn the dog’s trust. Charlie has been in the park for 10 years. When Denise moved to the area … Read more

Couple Finds Stray Dog During Road Trip & Refuse To Leave Her Behind

Emily Trost and her boyfriend Nick Mazzone had always dreamed of embarking on a cross-country road trip. So when they graduated from college and Emily left her office job, they knew it was the perfect time to have a 10-week adventure! Emily told iHeartDogs: “We hit the road, his truck loaded with supplies, and our lives soon became much simpler than they ever had been. We slept in a tent every night, made all of our meals on a Coleman stove, washed … Read more

Sickly Stray Wanders Into The Lives Of A Dog Lover & His Vet Tech Girlfriend

When an emaciated, sickly stray found his way to a front porch, he had no idea that it would lead him into the lives of a dog lover and his vet tech girlfriend! “George showed up on our neighbor’s porch a couple months ago,” wrote dinoduckasaurus on a post on Imgur. “My girlfriend is a vet tech so our neighbor asked her to come over and take a look at him.” The sickly pup was trembling, and he was so skinny … Read more

Scared Stray Dog Goes From Aggressive To Affectionate After She’s Rescued From The Streets

When dogs are terrified for their lives, they sometimes come off as aggressive, plus they may have been hurt by humans before. The dog in the video below is small, but feisty. It’s unknown how long she’d been living on the streets, but the skittish pup had been seen by the L.A. river for several weeks before anyone had been able to rescue her. When Hope For Paws arrived on the scene, they put netting on the fence that surrounded the river … Read more

Rescue Saves Pregnant Stray Living Under Shopping Cart – Just Wait Until You See Her Puppies!

Rescue From The Hart (RFTH) is a Van Nuys, California rescue group with an amazing story to tell. When they received a call about pregnant stray dog living under a shopping cart, they were warned that she’d growl when they approached. Undeterred, they set out to catch the poor pup so she could have her puppies in safety. It took some time to earn her trust, but after she warmed up to them it was clear: she was relieved to receive … Read more

3 Ways To Build Trust With A Stray Dog

Whether you’ve come across a long-time stray or a neighborhood pooch that’s escaped the yard, earning the trust of a stray dog can be tricky. The goal is to catch the dog without harming them or scaring them off completely, but we have to make sure we keep ourselves safe, as well. A scared dog can become aggressive when they are trying to defend themselves. Remember, they don’t know you’re there to help. Regardless of how you found the dog, … Read more

Terrified Dog Rescued From Well & Spared From Certain Death

Animal Aid Unlimited, a rescue in India, has some of the best rescue stories out there. In a country where poverty is widespread and strays are rampant, it’s so heartwarming to see an organization that is dedicated to saving as many street dogs as they can. Their most recent rescue was of a pup who’d fallen into a deep well. The sides were so steep that she couldn’t climb up, and after swimming for hours, she was exhausted. When help arrived, … Read more

Stray Dog Who Followed College Dean Is Given A Job & His Own School ID

It’s so easy to fall in love with a dog. In addition to those irresistible puppy dog eyes that stare at you when they’re begging for food, their friendly nature and faithfulness make them perfect companions. So when a dog started following a certain college dean in the Philippines, it was hard for him to just ignore the pup. The dean of the Colegio De San Lorenzo in Quezon City, Philippines saw the dog and joked that since he is always around, … Read more

Brazil Shows Compassion For Managing Stray Population Prior To Olympic Games

On the morning of Saturday, August 6, the 2016 Olympic Summer Games will begin in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. As the whole world watches, Rio will extend its hospitality to more than just the athletes and spectators. After the brutal extermination of stray dogs in Sochi, Russia prior to the 2014 Winter Games, millions will be watching to see how Brazilian officials tend to their own strays during the events. Projecting a humane image is imperative for Rio’s reputation as … Read more

Ways To Say “Mutt” From Around The World

Some of the brightest, cutest, most loving dogs I have ever known were non-purebreds. Who doesn’t love a scruffy little something? Not to mention the fun we all have in trying to guess what breeds make up our best friends – the possibilities are practically endless! Here is a list of just some of the names these dogs are called around the world. Let’s start with some of the more common ones, especially here in the United States… All American … Read more

400 Death-Row Pets To Be Flown To Safety Following The 4th Of July

We all know the Fourth of July can be a scary day for pets in the United States as we celebrate our nation’s birthday. It is also a day of huge intakes for shelters due to animals getting lost. This can end in tragedy for the pets already in the shelters. “Fireworks are legal in many communities in California,” Wings of Rescue logistics master Ric Browde told iHeartDogs. “Their detonation frightens pets, and those pets who are left unattended in … Read more

Former Stray Dog Now Travels The World With His Rescuer

New York native Kaori Tomaru was traveling in Mexico when she met someone that changed her life. A stray dog who was dirty, malnourished, and mistreated introduced himself to his travel bug owner, and from that day on, they’ve been inseparable. Tomaru took the dog, who she named Ralph (aka, the dog trotter), to New York with her. They later moved to Paris. And as it turned out, Ralph loved to see the world as much as his human best friend. … Read more

Former Stray Dog Now Fights Crime With Her Ability To Catch Child Predators

This shelter dog in Manatee County is proving to everyone how amazing shelter dogs can be if they’re given a chance. Her name is Gia, and she’s now one of the only 10 dogs in the world who can detect certain hidden electronics like hard drives, memory cards, and flash drives which may contain child pornography. Dogs like Gia are used by the police to catch pedophiles. Gia, our newest K9 deputy who will work in CAC; trained as computer K9 … Read more

A Raw Glimpse Into The Lives Of Street Dogs

Traer Scott is a Rhode Island-based photographer who has traveled throughout Puerto Rico and Mexico in order to capture the plight of stray dogs on camera. “In making Street Dogs, I traveled extensively with animal rescuers throughout urban and rural areas of both countries in an attempt to document the many facets of animal abandonment and abuse as well along with the efforts being made to bring about change,” she writes on her website. The result was a photo series of dogs, begging, … Read more

This Shelter Dog Cowered For Days–Until One Little Boy Changed Everything

At a Christchurch Bull Breed Rescue in New Zealand, a sweet Pittie named Nala was saved from life off the streets. But from the moment she was rescued, she was terrified, cowering in her kennel in fear. For two days, shelter owner Abbie Van Der Plax sat on the floor near the cage, trying to coax the terrified pup out of her shell. But Nala stayed huddled by herself, trembling and growling. Then Abbie’s 7-year-old son Zach sat down near the cage, and something amazing happened. Barely skipping … Read more

After Two Years Apart, Owner is Worried Her Dog Won’t Recognize Her

Zeus, a terrier mix, disappeared from his home in Florida almost two years ago in August 2014. His owner, Debi Petranck searched everywhere for him – placing ads in papers, hitting the pavement hard in search of her best friend. She received many leads, but they all led to dead-ends. She figured she would never see him again. And she was devastated. Then, last week, she got a call from Dearborn Animal Shelter in Metro Detroit. They had Zeus! Fortunately, Zeus … Read more

“The Man Who Rescues Dogs” Feeds 80 Street Dogs, 3 Times A Day

Michael J. Baines is known as “The Man Who Rescues Dogs.” He is a Switzerland native, and has been living in Thailand for 14 years. As you may know, Thailand is inundated with stray dogs. When a sick and starving dog (who’d just had a litter) approached the restaurant where Baines’ works, he gave her a meal. She came back every day to be fed–and that was just the beginning. “And then it just kept going. I simply could not stand … Read more

Family Volunteers At Turkish Shelter And Make A Miracle Happen

Americans Mary and her daughters, Abby (17,) Anna (15,) and Alaina (11) live in Turkey and are animal lovers. They donated their time to the local animal shelter in Ankara; and what they saw there was shocking. Alaina was brought to tears. They saw “rows and rows of cages” with “20 dogs per cage.” Mary would bring 6 large bags of dog food and would be unable to feed more than 2 – 3 cages at a time. The dogs … Read more

Stray Dog Runs Onto The Field During Soccer Game & Gets Treated Like A Baby!

We’ve seen a couple of videos of dogs who run onto the field and interrupt either a baseball or a soccer game. While some would probably get mad at the dog for interrupting the game, what happened in the video below is the total opposite. A stray dog ran to a field during a championship match between two Brazilian teams. But what we love most about this video is what the announcer said when the dog interrupted the game. We … Read more

Purple Murphy Would Have Died Had It Not Been For A Very Special Blind Dog

Do you remember Poly the Blind Pit Bull? Back in October, 2015 Poly the Blind Pit Bull was found abandoned and terrified on a park bench in Santa Barbara. Her story went viral online and she became a very popular girl! A fundraiser was set up for Poly because she had a heart condition that required surgery – and she also needed expensive diagnostics for her eyes. Due to the success for her fundraiser (partly because of Poly’s Facebook page … Read more

On The Verge Of Euthanasia, This Once Hopeless Pup Gets A Second Chance!

Check out one of Dr. Matt’s Vet Ranch patients! Rem was brought to Texas-based Vet Ranch on the verge of being euthanized. Under a year old, the puppy was blind, emaciated, and covered in mange and staff infection. He cowered and tucked his tail every time the vet reached out to give him a loving touch. But Dr. Matt remained optimistic. Hoping that the blindness was a temporary side effect of ivermectin toxicity, or the overdose of an ingredient that is … Read more

Pennsylvania SPCA Partners With Sato Dream Home To Save Strays In Puerto Rico

The plight of any stray dog is never good. But in Puerto Rico, it is especially grim. With spay/neuter not among the common practices in the area, there are thousands of stray dogs throughout the island. This causes an atmosphere where they are subject to neglect, cruelty and dumping practices, all which ultimately can lead to their death. Exacerbating the issue, the five Municipal Shelters in Puerto Rico share a euthanasia rate of 99%, with the vast majority of animals not … Read more

Monkey Saves Puppy From The Streets Of India

In Rode, India, an unlikely pair have become famous for their adorable parent/child relationship. Both strays, a rhesus macaque and a tiny brown and white puppy have been seen everywhere together. The monkey seems to have a adopted the pooch as his baby, protecting him from the dangers of life on the streets. Without his protector, it’s hard to tell how the pup would’ve survived all alone. Posted by The Logical Indian on Wednesday, January 13, 2016 The paternal primate defends the pup from … Read more

This Homeless Man Saves Stray Dogs & Thanks To Social Media, Their Lives Changed Forever

I really admire people who have close to nothing, but still have the hearts to help those in need. Just like the man in the photos below. A woman named Alicia was driving home in Arkansas when something in the road caught her eye. She saw an elderly man pedaling his bike. And when she passed by him, she noticed that the man’s bike had a makeshift trailer behind it. And in the trailer where a bunch of dogs. Alicia … Read more

Man Meets Stray Dog While Traveling The Country, And Couldn’t Leave Him Behind

I don’t know about you, but when I met my dog, it was love at first sight. All it took was one look, and I knew I was in love. It’s like dogs have this sweet and special ability that allows them to crawl right into our hearts. That is why the guy in the video below couldn’t bear to leave a stray dog he met while he was traveling around the country. Benoit Denizet-Lewis, a writer with the The … Read more

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