Louise was adopted as an eight-week-old puppy, and even at that young age she wanted dominance over her house.

“She put us to the test when she was little,” Wilson told PEOPLE. “We really had to establish that we were the boss, because she was trying to rule the roost. These ears – at first they crossed they were so defiant.”

Every puppy is a handful, but at one point things got so bad that Wilson’s wife, actress Dagmara Domińczyk, wanted to return her to Ruff Rehab in New Jersey.

“She tested our will, certainly. There were times early on when my wife was like, ‘I’ve got to give her back!’ I was like, ‘We’re not giving her back!’”

Things changed when their second dog died of cancer. Louise seemed to sense that her role in the family had changed, and she turned into an affectionate little kissy-face. She has opened her family’s eyes on the challenges and triumphs of animal adoption.

“When you rescue a dog, you just don’t know what you’re going to get,” Wilson explained. “Every dog is different, just like every kid is different, and you hope for the best. It taught us a lot of understanding, and how to deal with an animal like that. We really believe in rescuing, and she’s brought us so much joy and love.”

The post Patrick Wilson’s Family Adopted the Dog from Hell, But Now She’s Their Angel appeared first on ILoveDogsAndPuppies.

His story comes from The Animal Rescue Site, which in addition to featuring fan-submitted rescue stories, offers a wide selection of clothing, décor, pet supplies and other gifts.  For each purchase made, a food donation is given to shelter pets in need.  Now is the perfect time to shop!

This story has been edited only for clarity.

Meet Capt. Jack. As a puppy – beyond adorable. I knew he was our next dog. As most rescue stories start, it wasn’t a happy one. He was dumped on a cold country road at night in Dec., six-eight weeks old. The country vet, whose wife happened to be hubby’s high school classmate, took him in. She posted pictures, hoping to find his forever home. Hubby saw the pics and I cajoled that we could foster. He agreed to foster, but I knew we were his forever home and the “fostering” was a ruse. We went to meet Capt. With our other rescue pup, Chloe, whose start was just as rough.

Chloe and Capt. were BFFs instantly. Loading Capt. in the car, my husband realized this was forever, not foster. The vet’s wife, thrilled he was ours, she saw red flags with him and was she right! We had challenges galore. Capt. was very different from our five previous rescues. He was scared of men, the dark, strangers, and the vet. He has fear aggression. He’s curious about everything and afraid of it all. He lunges at people and tries to nip. He bullies around the house and terrorizes our two cats. Mortal enemies are critters, he chases and on occasion catches.

He’s expensive with double knee surgeries. He ripped his toenails so badly, needed a vet visit to stop the bleeding, snip and wrap foot. He’s on Prozac. He’s doped for vet appointments. He has incredibly stinky gas. He can’t handle temperature extremes.  He lays on air conditioning and in front of furnace wall vents. He survived the great “Christmas Tree Massacre of 2012.”  He pulled glass bulbs off the tree and chewed them, and littered the room with glass shards.

He hates delivery people.  His battle with the neighbor’s cat ended in defeat and left Capt. a bloody mess.  He’s cute but not cuddly, a terrible combo. People always want to pet him. He’s not the brightest bulb on the tree, but he sure is the cutest. Cute can get you far.

On top of all that and his many other quirks, we love him fiercely. Our vet has said time and again, Capt. Jack is lucky to have us. Most other people would have given up and likely euthanized him. Capt. Jack, long may he reign!

The post Puppy Abandoned on a Country Road in Winter Is the Cutest Little Monster His Family Could Love appeared first on ILoveDogsAndPuppies.

Amanda Herring and Greg Selz met when they were in middle school, but neither could have anticipated that they would be a happily married family years later.

“We were friends, never dated,” Amanda told The Dodo. “I would have said you were crazy if you told me I’d be married living with Greg Selz 14 years later, and we’d have an old dog.”

They went their separate ways after school, but their paths crossed in 2010, and they spent the next two years in a long-distance relationship.  Finally last year they found a place close to where they’d grown up in Washington DC.

“Our first priority was to find an apartment where we could have a dog,” Amanda said.

She found an older chow on the website for the Fairfax County Animal Shelter, but when they went to visit, she had already been adopted.  However, her older sister Brendinie was still there and in need of a home.  She was in need of a bath, and wasn’t interested in visitors.  It would likely take a long time before anyone decided to adopt her.

“She would need a lot of time to get adjusted, wouldn’t do well with kids, and was already probably nine years old.  Our hearts melted.”

Amanda and Greg adopted her and changed her name to Bubbe, which means grandmother in Yiddish.  They knew that the adjustment period would be a challenge, and for the first few days Bubbe wouldn’t eat and she snarled at them when they entered a room.  But the barrier broke down a bit when she took some baby food off of a spoon.

Their relationship grew as they worked on teaching her basic commands:  “She wanted to make us happy, and she was trying so hard,” Amanda explained.

Now that Bubbe understands she’s home, she’s a lot more comfortable.  She wags her tail when she sees mom and dad, and though she still is aloof towards strangers, she loves snuggling and has bonded with Greg’s mom’s dog.

When the couple got engaged and started working on wedding arrangements, they knew they wanted Bubbe to partake in their special day.  But they understood her wariness of new people, and didn’t want to overwhelm her.

“She was right next to me all morning while I did my makeup, got dressed and got my hair done,” Amanda said.  “We took her out for a walk during dinner.”

She was also in a few photos, which are certainly mantle-worthy.  Having Bubbe isn’t effortless, because she isn’t in the greatest of health and needs vet visits and numerous walks per day, so the couple cannot come and go as they’d like, but they aren’t bothered.

“It sounds like a chore, but it’s actually what makes our lives more meaningful,” Amanda said.  “Before Bubbe, it was just the two of us,” she says. “She’s made the two of us into a family.”

The post Couple Adopts a Cantakerous Senior Dog and Now She’s Their Princess appeared first on ILoveDogsAndPuppies.

Wallace was found as a stray by a wonderful Chicago police officer named Tammy. Tammy is also the police officer that found Halo (more about Halo another time). She is pretty amazing and went above and beyond to save both dogs.

Wallace was found as a stray by a wonderful Chicago police officer named Tammy. Tammy is also the police officer that found Halo (more about Halo another time). She is pretty amazing and went above and beyond to save both dogs.

Wallace’s medical team estimates he is 12-13 years old. He has large growths on several locations over his body. This includes a perianal tumor which is likely the result of high testosterone levels from not being neutered. He has muscle atrophy consistent with aging. He is thin. His eye was infected from a large upper eyelid growth that is scratching his eye, which is covered in thick, goopy discharge. He had open wounds on one of his rear legs with draining tracts. His spleen was enlarged via palpation during his physical exam. His ears are filthy and inflamed. He has diarrhea.

In order to be sure we knew exactly what we were dealing with, we authorized a myriad of tests:

-Fine needle aspirate of the 4 major growths: one under his neck, one on the back of his leg, one on the side of his leg and one on his side. 
-Culture of the draining fluid from the open wounds on his other rear leg
-X-rays of his chest and abdomen
-Full blood panel
-Eye staining
-Ear cytology
-Fecal test
-Urinalysis

We have received the results from many of the tests:
-His vet was concerned he might have blastomycosis and wanted to send off a blood test to help aid his diagnosis. Blastomycosis is a systemic fungal infection. The most common sites of clinically apparent infection in dogs include the lungs, lymph nodes, eyes, skin, and bone. Fortunately the test for blastomycosis was negative.
-Bloodwork was mostly normal, with an increase in white blood cells consistent with infection.
-Heartworm test: positive
-X-rays showed his spleen was enlarged, but there were no obvious masses anywhere else in his body. His heart shows no sign of physiological changes from heartworm disease.
-Fine needle aspirates showed several of the growths were inflamed lymph nodes. He has no signs of lymphoma or other cancer, which leads us to believe the inflammation of his spleen and lymph nodes are due to the overall infection his system is fighting.
-Antibiotics for open wounds started. After 3 days there was no improvement so a stronger antibiotic was started.
-Eye stain was negative for corneal ulcers so drops were started with plans to remove the growth.
-Urinalysis was clear minus some white blood cells. He is drinking and urinating a significant amount.
-Ear cytology showed a significant yeast infection in his ears and they were cleaned and treated.
-His fecal was negative so he was started on probiotics to help restore the natural flora in his gut.

Friday Wallace underwent surgery to be neutered and have the eye growth removed. He recovered easily. Now that Wallace is neutered, the perianal tumor should diminish in size. He has been on strong antibiotics now for 4 days and there is significant improvement in the wounds on his legs, his increased drinking/urinating, and his eye is no longer infected. His ears are clean and less inflamed. Overall, Wallace is doing very well. He will remain hospitalized until we can recheck his bloodwork later this week to ensure his infections have cleared up. We will also come up with a game plan to treat his heartworm disease once the other issues have been resolved.

On October 4^th they shared an update with supporters:

Amazing news… the Chicago police officer who found Wallace on the side of the road has adopted him!

When 12-13 year old Wallace came into TAF’s care he was an absolute mess and needed to be hospitalized for 2 weeks. In that time he underwent a multitude of tests, treatments and even surgery to keep him comfortable for the twilight time that Wallace has left with his mom. 

When Tammy arrived to pick up her buddy Wallace, he walked over and buried his face in her arms. It was obvious that he remembered the kindness she showed him when he was not feeling well and all alone. He wouldn’t leave her side, and as they walked out the door, we swore there was a spring in his step!

Officer Tammy… thank you so much for all that you do to help the homeless dogs in the city of Chicago!

The post Tumor-Ridden Senior Dog Is Adopted by the Heroic Police Officer Who Saved Him appeared first on ILoveDogsAndPuppies.

Drew tried to surrender her emaciated dog to animal services claiming he was a stray. But the microchip Richter had under his skin told the truth about who his owner really was. Drew said that work kept her too busy and she didn’t have time to take proper care of the dog. She took him to animal control instead of the Humane Society because she claimed she couldn’t afford to pay the $30 surrender fee.

Richter is expected to recover and is in the care of the Humane Society of Sarasota County. Share away, people.

The post Woman Adopts Dog From A Shelter Then Forgets To Feed Because She’s ‘Busy’ appeared first on ILoveDogsAndPuppies.

With nothing else to go on, it was easy to assume that this dog had dug into the grave to be closer to her deceased owner. What was really going on was that she was seeking out a den to stay warm.

Snow had recently fallen in Serbia, and it was crucial that she find a cozy home, because she had puppies to keep safe. It was very fortunate that local animal rescuer Vensa Mihajloski came across them, or they might not have survived.

She and a team of rescuers brought food to earn mama’s trust and give her some comfort. Vigilance and offspring-rearing is tiring work, and she was grateful to be rescued and have a safe, warm place to stay where she wouldn’t have to expend energy searching for food or water.

With Vensa and the team’s help, the adorable puppies were able to grow into strong, healthy dogs. Today they are all living in a lovely home, and mama can now rest easy for the remainder of her life.

The post The Real Story Behind the Photo of the Dog Who Dug a Hole in Her Owner’s Grave appeared first on ILoveDogsAndPuppies.

Alfie’s former owner kept him chained up outside.  All day, every day, for years, with nothing but concrete to lie on.  And then, because he barked and cried to come in, his muzzle was taped shut.  Neighbors had enough of being ignored by the SPCA, and at this last straw, jumped the fence to save him from the abuse.

It seems that for making simple mistakes that every puppy makes while learning, Alfie, who was nameless at the time, was forced to live outside by his impatient and unloving owner.  For scratching at the door to be let in, he was chained so he couldn’t come near it.  For crying out to be loved and pay attention to by his family, he had his mouth tightly taped closed.

It was obvious what kind of toll the years of being shackled was taking on him; he lunged and snapped and barked incessantly.  Next door neighbors watched Alfie endure this abuse and neglect, which tormented them as much as it did him.  They called the SPCA repeatedly, but as keeping a dog tethered wasn’t illegal, there was nothing they could do.

So the neighbors took matters into their own hands.  One day they hopped the fence and cut Alfie free.  It is unclear just what happened to him at this point, but as Animal Advocates Society posted his story, likely it is they who took him in.

To keep such an intelligent and social creature so isolated, unstimulated, and uncomfortable is immoral, and Alfie was very sensitive after the years of mental anguish.  But over time, he healed.

He was blessed with a new family, one who was every bit as loving as his previous one was heartless.  He rejoiced in being free to run, play, and snuggle.

Alfie was cherished by his human family members, and befriended by a dog buddy who looked a lot like him.  Though he is no longer alive, he spent every single day of the rest of his life being happy and free.

The post The Town Refused to Help, So Neighbors Saved This Chained, Taped-Up Dog Themselves appeared first on ILoveDogsAndPuppies.

Flori, a team member of Charlie’s Angels, a rescue group out of Costa Rica, was driving across a river when she saw the driver ahead of her throw what at first glance appeared to be a white garbage bag.  But then she saw that it was a dog – a dog who, despite her horrific treatment, ran along behind the car, trying to reach her rotten family.

The rescuer noticed that the dog’s fur was so badly matted that she could barely move.  The fur on her tail had become enmeshed with the fur on her hind legs.  Flori believed she had likely been chained up her whole life.

She stopped her car and scooped up the little dog.  The poor girl was in much worse shape that Flori could have known.  A vet visit determined that she had spiked a fever, was very anemic, and quite malnourished.

Donations made it possible for her to recover from her lifetime of misery.  She now lives in a happy home, and has a five-year-old boy who loves her like mad.

If you would like to help Charlie’s Angels continue saving the street dogs of Costa Rica,

The post Dog Thrown into Raging River Makes a Lucky Landing appeared first on ILoveDogsAndPuppies.

The car was pulled into the parking lot at Scotty’s Tire and Automotive, and the car sat ther for about two hours.  No one noticed anything special about it, but when the technician got in to take the car for a test drive, they heard the noise too.  They just figure out what was causing the irregular noise.

They pulled the vehicle into the lot and onto a lift.  The put the car up into the air, and saw a tail come dangling out from under it.  There was a dog stuck under there, and everyone feared the worst from the get go.

After the two auto techs took a closer look at the dog, they realized that the dog was still alive!  They quickly did everything that they could to get the dog out of there, still fearing a medical disaster once they got him out.  However, that was not the case.

When he was safely out from under the vehicle, they looked him over, and actually, there didn’t seem to be a whole lot wrong with him medically.  He was looked at by a vet, and it was also found that the dog was a stray with no listed human.  The woman that brought the car into the shop that day and had a dog that needed to be rescued from under it, ended up adopting that very dog.

The mechanics are just happy to know that the dog has a good life ahead of him with his new human.

The post Woman Adopts Dog Found Hiding Under her Car appeared first on ILoveDogsAndPuppies.

This plea comes from his mom:

My name is Danielle and I created this GoFundMe page on behalf of my second furry kid, Vlad. We adopted him when he was two years old from Hillside S.P.C.A in Schuylkill County, nearly a two-hour drive from our home. He was known as “Chance” while he was there. We adopted him to keep our wild first furry kid (Zoey) in check – she is an alpha dominant female, the funny thing is Vlad wound up being our alpha dominant male. They had a rough patch the first couple of weeks, but have become inseparable.

When Vlad was five years old, my husband and I decided to have our first human kid. We initially expected Zoey to become our son’s protector, being the female, but to our surprise Vlad filled that role as if our son was his own. When we brought our son home from the hospital Vlad honestly tried to carry him off and claim him as his own. Vlad barely slept for three days straight those first few nights. If our son made a peep, Vlad was right there to check on him. Vlad would not let anyone near our son, not even my parents. To this day, Vlad watches over our oldest son who is now six years old. He is now a “big brother” to our second human son who is 20 months old. Vlad is known as “Bubba” to our sons, which is also each of their first words.

Near the end of December 2015, we noticed a change in Vlad’s eating behavior. He started to slow down eating and Zoey was actually beating him out of the kitchen. This was unlike him because he will gobble food up like it is going out of style. We took him to the vet thinking maybe there was something wrong with his teeth. Our vet had noticed a growth about the size of a nickel hanging down from his upper right side of his mouth. We never noticed it ourselves because Vlad would not let us get that close. The vet said it looked suspicious. He suggested we do a dental cleaning and he would remove the growth to be biopsied. Vlad’s blood work came back great the evening before his dental cleaning, so I thought we were in the clear of it being anything serious.

A week after his dental cleaning the biopsy was found as “probable cancer” because of the amount of cells that were seen. I was devastated and heartbroken to say the least as I’m sure many of you would have been, too.

We took Vlad to an oncologist at VSEC in Levittown. She said the cancerous cells were low meaning it is a low grade cancer and does not appear to be an aggressive kind. She took chest x-rays and, thankfully, his lungs were clear. However, he has restricted airflow in his right nasal passage and she is concerned there is a blockage in his nose or quite possibly a tumor growing inside. The only way to check in his nasal passage is via a CT scan.

I swore to Vlad that I would fight as much as I could financially. This is what led me to creating a GoFundMe page for Vlad. We only need approximately $1,200-$1,500 for the CT scan. Then depending on those results we may or may not do radiation therapy and that is approximately $3,000 – one treatment a week for four weeks. I absolutely would like to have the CT scan done but with our budget we can use help, so I am reaching out to my family and friends as well as others who may be or have been in my position. GoFundMe is the means to help raise money for Vlad, so intend to try my best to do so.

I am hoping to raise at least $1,200 to start so we can get the CT scan done as soon as possible this way we have more answers and can develop a more solid game plan to help Vlad.

The CT scan has been scheduled on 3/14/16 @ 10am with VSEC.

Vlad is an important part of our family, not only to my husband and me, but he is a huge part of our children’s lives. He is the greatest furry family member that we could have ever asked to be in our lives. We saved him from uncertainty in the shelter and he grew into an amazing pup. I’m so proud to have him in our family and I plan to fight for him as long as I’m able to. I owe it to him because he will be turning 11 years old on 3/21/2016 and I feel in my gut that he has many years ahead of him as long as we are able to help him along. I am hoping that many of you can open your hearts and help our Vlad.

If you are able to donate anything to our cause, we would be absolutely grateful. If you can even share our cause on our behalf to your family, friends, and Facebook groups within the furry kid community that would be amazing.

The post Vlad the…. Beloved Babysitter? appeared first on ILoveDogsAndPuppies.

The two-year-old dog was found wandering the streets with both of his eyes so badly damaged, they were propping out of his head.  He had been picked up by someone, and brought to emergency animal medical technicians with the Arizona Humane Society, and he was rushed into surgery.

They were able to save Ashton, but not his eye, leaving him blind.  One of the eyes, according to surgeons, had been damaged in that way for quite some time, and the other was a bit more recent.  No matter what, both had to be removed, which would make finding a forever home a bit more difficult.

Medical staff has been helping Ashton adapt to life as a blind dog, and his new forever family will have to have saint-like patience with him as he adapts, but his new family is confident that they can provide for him a great place to live, and all of the love and understanding that he’ll need to have a happy life.

Even though things did not at all start off well in life for Ashton, he is described as full of pep and life, and a very, very sweet dog.  His new family promises to do whatever they have to make Ashton’s life a really great one from here on out.

The post Dog Found with Both Eyes Damaged Gets Forever Home appeared first on ILoveDogsAndPuppies.

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This dog was heartlessly discarded by a breeder, and when he was found was emaciated and being eaten by mites.  But he was taken in by a family who treated him like a prince, and he recovered.

Because of his traumatic past, some might think he’d have had a hard time adjusting to an attention-hogging baby, but Daizu was like another parent to the boy – his first friend, really.

Even though the baby didn’t always understand what Daizu was doing, he never stopped trying to engage him in play.  As he got older, the boy would play tug-of-war with him, and Daizu was as gentle as ever.

Sadly, Daizu succumbed to a severe respiratory infection in October.  He was eight years old.  Because of the wonderful experiences Daizu had with this boy, it is likely that he will always love and be kind to animals.

The post Dog Offers Crying Baby Brother a Cookie to Cheer Him Up appeared first on ILoveDogsAndPuppies.

Hospitalized in critical condition, Thomas was started on warm IV fluids and warming packs were placed around his body to help stabilize his dangerously low core temperature. It would take weeks of wound care and IV antibiotics for Thomas to finally be given a clean bill of health.

It was then that we focused on Thomas’ emotional recovery. This can sometimes be just as challenging. After spending many hours with TAF’s therapy dogs, Thomas learned that when we raised our hands it wasn’t to hit him and when we approached him he did not need to cower… he learned what it meant to be loved and how to trust those that watched over him.

Now for the happy ending… it is with great joy that we announce that Thomas has found his forever home! Thomas’ new dad is a Chicago police officer and knows all too well the abuse that Thomas has gone through. He knows that he has a very special pup on his hands and will continue to watch over and protect Thomas, just like those before him. Thomas has already bonded with his new dad and they are inseparable… buddies for life!

A big thank you to everybody that helped to sponsor Thomas’ medical care and to his medical team at Heal. Without all of your help, Thomas would not have made it. Thank you so much for saving his life!

The post Dog on the Absolute Brink of Death Makes an Unbelievable Recovery appeared first on ILoveDogsAndPuppies.