APAWS: The Journey from Rescue to Forever Home

Lola

2010-09-22T09:05:00.000-07:00

My husband and I had adopted a black lab from another shelter in the area a little over a year ago. We were happy with our one dog and one cat. We had no desire to add another animal to our family.
Because of our two animals, we would frequent Pet Smart on a regular basis to pick up food. We would always end up going on Saturdays to the store on Seigen. Naturally, we would go walk by all the dogs APAWS had for adoption just for some entertainment.
Well, one Saturday I saw a little golden retriever puppy with no adoption sheet on her crate and a sign that said not to put your fingers in the crate. This caught my attention and I took one glimpse at her and felt an instant connection. I made myself keep walking, purchased what I needed and walked out of the store with my husband.

The whole day I kept thinking about her and the day turned into the whole rest of the week. I decided I HAD to go see her again the next Saturday and sure enough my husband, and I left the store with her in tow.

She must have felt the instant connection as well, because her foster mom warned us that she is very timid around strangers. She growls, barks, even fear bites. And she had done this to everyone who tried to pet her. From the moment we were introduced to her at Petsmart, she showed no signs of timidness. She licked me and let me pet her all over. My husband even picked her up, and she licked his face. She was meant to be ours.

She instantly adapted to her new family. It’s like she had lived with us her whole life. Here are some random pictures of Lola with her siblings. - Submitted by Beth Inzenga

A Poem for Cole

2010-09-13T06:14:00.000-07:00

My name is Cole

My first human only wanted me for money and image

Not for the love I wanted to give

When my human grew tired he threw me away

In a busy parking lot I laid

Skinny and thirsty, too week to move

I watched as people passed by

Pretending they didn't see

pretending that there was no dog laying nearly dead by a tree

Then a woman stopped to look at me

but then she ran back to her car and drove away

And so I laid there alone thinking this was the end

Sad and tried under that tree

Thinking that no one would ever see all the love I could give

But what I didn't know was

That the woman hadn't gone far

In fact she had gone just across the street in her car

To a pet store

She ran to were the adoptions were being held

And told them that there was a dead dog

Under a tree in the parking lot next door

The rescuers looked at each other in disbelief

and quickly left to go see

Surely there wasn't a dog laying dead under a tree

A short time later I heard someone call to me

felt water being placed in the hole I had dug under the tree

I tried to get up to greet these new people

but my body just couldn't move anymore

only my tail which was wagging in glee

Then one of the rescuers picked me up and put me in the back of a car

they took me back to the pet store

Put me in a buggie then took me to the back

Once I was on the ground they fed me and gave me water

And the girl who had lifted me into the the car

told me I would never have to go back

to that hole I dug under that tree

or to the Human who had abandoned me

They told me that my breed did not matter

That they would watch over me

Later that day I went to live with a man

The kind people who had helped me called him a foster

But I stayed until he couldn't keep me any longer

I went back to the pet store over a year later

and from there to a place I had never seen before

They called it a kennel

The people were nice but I had to stay in a pen

And watch as other dogs got to leave again and again

But then I saw A face that I knew

It was the girl who had lifted me into the car

She came and they let me out of my pen

She promised me that I was going home soon

But then she left and I was back in the pen once again

A few weeks later another woman came

She loaded me into a car and took me away

I was scared and sat shaking in the front seat of her car

Sure they were putting me back under that tree

She drove and she drove not once did we stop

Passing parks and kids and owner walking their dogs

Then we pulled in to a drive of a old house

I thought I as being abandoned yet again

But there on the porch I saw the girl

The one who had lifted me into that first car

And the one who had visited me at that kennel

She took my leash and brought me inside

We went through the house

And through the back door out into a yard

She told me to greet my brothers and sister

Because this was my home at least for a while

But now just a few months later

I get to sleep on the couch

And play in that yard

I go to the dog park

and walk around the neighbor hood

And the girl who helped me by not fearing my breed

Says that this is my home

that I am a foster no more

No longer will I roam

forgotten and alone

for now I have a Home

A human that loves me because of the love I can give

And people who love me because of the same love

I am a lucky one

A Pit Bull who was saved from the brink of death

But many more aren't and still need your help

My human still fosters and I still inspire

A breed that some believe should be destroyed

I am living proof that all it takes is a kind hand to turn any dog in the right direction

Whether we are small or fluffy

Large or sick

Skinny or mistreated

Loving humans can make our lives better

So we can make other peoples lives better

By just being good dogs.
-Submitted by Meaghan Shinomori

Bacchus and Kylie

2010-08-24T17:41:00.000-07:00

This story is about Bacchus and Kylie. We were foster parents because we had a crazy Jack Russel puppy who tore everything up. We thought by fostering that we could give her a playmate. The second time we went back to Petsmart to pick up a dog to foster they had a litter of Lab/Sheppard puppies. At the time, they thought they were 21 weeks old. We really wanted to take them all, but it just wasn't possible. So, we took the two white siblings, a boy and girl, home. We didn't intend on keeping them, but as you can see form the first pictures they just sucked us in. I have hundreds of pictures of the two of them. They are best friends and like our children. We found out right away they were actually somewhere around 9 weeks old. They went from 20 pounds to around 60 pounds and we love them even more! They now are the proud owners of a 1200 square foot ranch home, with a fenced in backyard, storm door with doggie door, indoor and outdoor automatic water fountains, and a king size bed, along with two huge tubs of toys which they enjoy tremendously. They sleep in bed with us every night and greet every visitor at the door. They are excellent dogs. We chose to go to Dick Russell in Baton Rouge for training and he did wonders. They both listen very well, even though they have their quirks. Kylie is very sweet, she doesn't like yelling, and she likes to sleep in bed all day long. Bacchus is the man of the house when my husband is not home, but he is also a huge baby. He likes to sit in your lap and just wants everyone's attention.

We love them very much and don't know what life would be without them! --Submitted by Mallory Meaux

Junior (AKA Rascal)

2010-08-18T06:45:00.000-07:00

Our family aldready had 2 cats, but we promised our daughter that she could have a dog when she turned 4 years old in June of 2009. Late that June my daughter and I went to Petsmart to look for her very first puppy. We had been going every Saturday for about 3 or 4 weeks but had not found the right dog for her. It seemed this day was going to be the same, and we were getting ready to return home when a woman came in to surrender a puppy she'd found but could not care for on her own. Immediately my daughter and I both knew that this was the puppy for our family. The kind lady who surrended this puppy had given him the name of "Junior," but my daughter had her heart set on calling her puppy "Rascal," and so his name was changed.

We called my husband who came out to meet the newest member of our family and help us pick out supplies while Rascal got checked out by a vet and vaccinated. Rascal settled in well to our home and has been a delight to us ever since.
In January, we decided to adopt a friend for Rascal from another rescue organization. Rascal's input was very important in this decision, and he went with us to meet his prospective new sister. They were fast friends and began playing right away. Later that day, Rascal's new sister "Roxie" came home with us. Today they are the constant companions of our now 5 year old daughter and best friends to eachother. Whether going for a walk, playing fetch, or snuggling on the couch, Rascal and Roxie always bring us joy. We could not imagine our family without our rescue dogs and are so glad we chose to adopt such sweet animals. Please enjoy the pictures I have attached of Rascal and his friends.

-Submitted by Staci McElwain

George

2010-08-15T08:34:00.000-07:00

I adopted George from APAWS a little over a year ago. He had been brought to APAWS after they spotted him for adoption on Craigslist. He had only been with APAWS 1 day, so they didn't know that much about him, aside from the fact that his owner no longer wanted him because he wouldn't bond with her.

Since I have cats and they only had him a day and didn't know how he was around cats, I was told to foster him for a week and let them know.

I got him home and he was totally fine with the cats. He followed me around the house all day and when I got in bed that night, he jumped in with me and slept curled up at my side, burrowed under the covers.

I knew the next morning he was home and left a message on APAWS voice mail that I wanted him forever.

I never thought I'd own a small dog, but what he lacks in size, he makes up for in personality. He doesn't have problems bonding at all and LOVES people. If someone comes over, he alternates between sitting in my lap or theirs.

At adoption day, I'll admit, I passed him up several times because I was looking at larger dogs then I spotted this tiny, adorable dog towards the very end that I hadn't noticed before.

He's a great dog and seems to sense my emotions, and if I am upset, he never leaves my side. I've gotten to where if I go on vacation, it's hard to sleep in a bed by myself because I'm so used to him sleeping right next to me at night. - Submitted by Jessica

Bindi

2010-08-13T07:01:00.000-07:00

I began volunteering with APAWS because the animal overpopulation problem in Baton Rouge is horrifying. I wasn't sure what I could do, but I wanted to do something. I found APAWS and was very impressed with the quality of people in the organization and the special care all of the animals received. I began fostering a kitten, I was warned that most fosters end up adopting their first foster animal. I didn't adopt that kitten, she went on to a loving home and is very happy. I fostered other cats and assisted with their placements. I became more involved with the group and was accepted to the board of directors.

In February 2007 I received a call in the middle of the day from our president, Diane. I knew she was at the Hammond Animal Control picking up a pregnant beagle. As soon as I answered she asked if I had space for a teeny, tiny kitten - maybe a corner in my bathroom? I immediately asked what was wrong with the kitten. Diane, much like the rest of our group, is very soft-hearted towards special needs animals. She said the kitten had a broken leg and shredded ear, if she didn't take her right then she was next to be euthanized. I immediately said bring her to me. I brought her to the vet the next morning. Her leg was indeed broken and her ear was shredded. The vet splinted her leg and surgically reshaped her shredded ear into a mini ear. This kitten I had yet to name came home and began lugging around a splint bigger than her. The vet felt she had been caught in a car engine and that was the cause of her injuries. Her estimated age was 6 - 7 weeks. I was quickly falling in love with this special girl, but remained firm that I would get her healed and put her up for adoption. I wanted to find the perfect name for her before her next vet appointment the following week. Steve Irwin had recently passed away and I named her after his daughter, Bindi. It seemed fitting for this courageous girl to be named after Steve's daughter.

The next week I brought Bindi in for her splint check. The vet wanted to check her leg each week and redo the splint until her leg healed. I was not expecting the call I got that day from the vet. Bindi's leg had rebroken in the cast. The bone had pushed through her skin and was filled with infection. She was starting i/v antibiotics immedately and Bindi's leg had to be amputated once she had been on antibiotics for 24 hours. The bone infection was very bad and she would have died within a couple days if it wasn't found. I was very emotional; I couldn't imagine the pain she was in when her leg rebroke and pushed through her skin. I was mad at myself for not knowing something was wrong. I did not have any experience with animals missing limbs and wasn't sure what kind of quality of life she would have. The vet explained that amputation was teh only way to save her life and animals easily adapted to losing a limb. Bindi's surgery was scheduled for the next day.

She made it through the surgery without any complications. She came home and to my surprise she seemed happier than I had ever seen her. She found it much easier to run and play without that huge splint. She never missed her leg. She didn't have any problems running on three legs. In the next few days I realized I was completely bonded to Bindi and had to adopt her. I guess it is fitting I didn't adopt my first healthy foster, I adopted my first special needs foster.

Bindi quickly established herself as queen of the household. She made it quite clear she didn't want any other kittens around and pushed away any other cat who came to cuddle with me. As she grew her front legs became very strong and she began giving hugs. She also learned how to scale all the furniture in my home using her front legs. After a while she realized if she put her one back leg in the center of her body she could jump several feet in the air. She began beating up the adults in the house by holding them with her front legs and kicking them with her one back leg. It is quite a sight to see a small female with three legs fight a full grown male and win! She can do anything other cats can do and has quite a bit of grace doing it. She is very independent. Whenever the ear on the side with the missing leg itches, her stump starts shaking. For several months I tried to scratch it for her, but she didn't like needing help. She would give me a dirty look and run away. She learned that she can scratch that ear by rubbing on the edge of wooden furniture.

When she became old enough to spay, I was warned that the spay surgery was usually quite hard on cats with a missing back limb. I took a couple days off from work following her surgery to make sure I was home in case there was an emergency and to make sure she didn't miss a dose of her pain meds. I expected her to be lethargic and stay in one spot while I watched her. I was wrong. As soon as we got home she couldn't wait to jump out of the carrier. She proceeded to run around the house and play with the other cats. She was jumping on furniture and fought me when I tried to give her the pain meds. I quickly realized she didn't need the pain meds and was happier when I stopped interrupting her playtime to give her the nasty liquid.

One of my favorite memories is our first visit to my vet. While she was in the APAWS group, she saw the vet who works with APAWS. I adopted her after she was fully healed and spayed. When it was time for her annual exam, I brought her to my vet. By this time I was used to her having three legs and forgot to mention it to the vet or vet techs. The vet was beginning her exam when the tech said, "Wait! I can't get her other back leg." I had to laugh and told her she had her one and only back leg. The tech started laughing and couldn't believe she didn't realize this was a tripod kitty.

There are times I wonder why I am still in rescue. It is emotionally draining, time consuming and frequently leads to tears. Then I look at Bindi. Very few groups would have spent well over a thousand dollars to save a kitten barely two months old. She could have easily died in that animal control facility never knowing what it is like to have a safe home with a loving family. No one would know that she is a nosy kitty frequently found holding the blinds aside so she can watch the neighborhood. She never would have learned how to give hugs. I look at her and realize that this is a very special group and that every animal deserves a chance. It doesn't matter how bad off they seem, if they still have fight left in them, we should give them that chance to fight. It kills me to think of how many animals like Bindi die every day. She makes me realize that we have to keep fighting. -Submitted by Alisa Polk

Hendrix

2010-08-13T06:49:00.000-07:00

When I first met my fiance, he wanted a cat...that's how I knew we were meant to be. He was looking on craigslist and stuff like that, and I told him he needed to go to APAWS! I work with APAWS through the vet I work for and happened to know of some wonderful kitties they had. I called up Emily and told her about Brian and said what he really wanted was a cat with long hair or that had marking similar to a Bengal. That Saturday while Brian was at work I went to adoption day to scope out potential cats and met Hendrix. Hendrix is the absolute opposite of what Brian wanted as far as looks go. He has short hair and he is orange and white. I had to ask the volunteers about his story because he was in his Luv-a-pet cage belly up asleep without a care in the world! They told he was in a house where everyone got arrested, and the cop didn't want to leave him so he put him in his unit, but he had one problem...his wife is allergic to cats. Hendrix had to spend the night in a jail cell until APAWS came to the rescue! Brian agreed to meet him during the home check, but he seemed more interested in the other long haired felines that Emily was bringing for him to meet.

I picked up Hendrix from Petsmart and brought him over and Emily met me there with a few other cats. When we opened the carriers all the other cats were very nervous (as most are at first in a new place) but not Hendrix! He plopped down in the middle of the floor like he owned the place! After getting to know everyone Brian decided Hendrix was the one! He lives a happy, spoiled life now with two other cats and two dogs. He is such a loving cat to both people and other animals. I recently bottle fed a litter of five kittens and he helped me make them use the potty and he gave them baths. He also helped teach them to use the litter box and scratching post! Since we got him we have added four more animals to our household and he loves them all. He loves to wrestle with our papillon puppy Izzy and to cuddle with our calico, Lundi, and one our silver tabby Mariska. Mariska is one of the kittens he helped raise! We thank APAWS for all they do for stray and abused animals and I personally want to thank them for how they have helped me with strays I find or ones that get dumped at my work. APAWS is a wonderful group and I hope more people learn about the wonderful things they do and choose to adopt or volunteer! - Submitted by Kacie Maxwell

Pouncival

2010-08-11T05:33:00.000-07:00

It’s been almost two years since my husband and I adopted our cat, Pouncival, from APAWS. They’ve been a wonderful, rewarding two years full of love, catnip, and a lot of snuggling.

When we met our funny orange fluffball, his name was Randy. Josh and I were in PetSmart looking around at pet supplies because we had been talking about adding a four-legged family member to our home. We debated between cats and dogs, and had finally agreed that a cat would be happier with our busy lifestyle and small apartment space. We didn’t know much about cats, since we’d both had dogs growing up. We were just there to look and get some information.

Of all the cats in the PetSmart Adoption Center, only one was paying any attention to us. He was a big orange tabby with a lovable face, a white belly and four white paws. Since he was interested in us, we moved closer. To our surprise (and amusement!), Randy started pawing at the glass with a vengeance as if to say “Take me with you! Get me out of here! I want to go with you!”

Josh said, “That’s our cat.”

Now, normally my husband is slow to make a decision. He likes to mull over ideas, then debate them, then think some more… and about six months later I’ll get an answer from him. I asked, “Are you sure? You don’t want to look around?”

“Nope. I don’t need to look. That’s our cat.”

We filled out our application online that night. It took me forever. I gave every question a lot of thought. I think I was pretty honest that I didn’t really know much about cats yet, but was very willing to learn.

It turns out, that orange tabby was meant for us. Emily brought him to our apartment and Alisa (his foster mom) came along. Randy was immediately curious about his new surroundings. Emily and Alisa stayed for probably two hours, talking to us about taking care of a cat and offering their support if we ever had any questions.

As soon as they left, our new little boy seemed to realize we were his family. He started purring and cuddling to his heart’s content. I laid on the bed reading the pamphlets they left for us, and Randy laid down right on top of everything, as if to say “You’re my person now, you need to pay attention to me.”

We thought about his name for a long time, and finally agreed to rename him after a character in the Cats musical- Pouncival. He is so playful, talkative, and outgoing, it just seemed to fit.

It only took a few days for me to realize exactly how much joy Pouncival was bringing to our lives. We spoiled him with the biggest kitty-Christmas we could afford that year. We snapped pictures of him every day- he was always doing something crazy. He seemed just as in love with us, too. He greeted us at the window when we got home from work, and would “meow” about his day. He wouldn’t leave our sides, no matter what we were doing. He needed to be a part of everything.

Pounce means so much to me, I just couldn’t forget about the people who took him in as a “shoebox kitten” when he was abandoned outside of PetSmart. I was so grateful that he was found by a no-kill rescue, and that someone had opened their heart and their home to him until we were ready to find him.

I know fostering him wasn’t easy for Alisa. He is fascinated by water and will head-butt or take apart any contraption with water inside. I’m sure she mopped her floor more often than she intended to. He likes to tear apart toilet paper rolls and leave bits of paper everywhere. I also know as an adolescent, Pounce was starting to think he could bully other cats in his foster home. He’s just so needy and outgoing… he’s a handful!

But he’s perfect for us. He’s our cat, and as far as I’m concerned he’s ALWAYS been our cat. APAWS took care of our cat, and raised him for us. I wanted to give something back to this amazing group. So, I started volunteering.

It has been the best experience of my life! Sure, it’s emotional. There are good days and sad days, and days where an animal you really connected with gets adopted… and maybe your eyes get misty and you know you’ll miss them. But they just found their home! It’s nothing if not incredibly happy.

I have been really humbled by the selflessness of some of the APAWS foster parents. They do something amazing. They take in the homeless, the unwanted, the sick and weak animals of this area… they nurse these little guys back to health, give them tons of love, and then they seek out the perfect home for every single one.

I am so happy to be part of this organization. Not only did we find Pouncival, but we adopted a second cat from APAWS last year. We thought Pounce needed a little sister, so Etcetera joined our family, too. These two cats are as much a part of our family as any human, and we love them so much.

I would love to just say “THANK YOU” to all the volunteers, foster parents, and supporters of APAWS, on behalf of Josh, Jeanette, Pouncival and Etcetera Benedetto-- and every other cat, dog, and even the occasional guinea pig looking for their perfect home.