Grand Prize Winner
Mark Morell
Garden City Animal Shelter
Garden City, Kansas
The Garden City Animal Shelter was close to closing for the day, and since it looked like no one would be coming in to look at the dogs and cats, I decided that I would leave. As I exited the shelter, a van pulled up and a 12-year-old boy with red hair and freckles jumped out and came running up to the door and asked, "Is Sarah still here?" His voice sounded apprehensive, and when I told him that she was still available, his face lit up with a smile, and he yelled to his mother and grandparents in the van, "She's here, she's here! Come on!"
When we all entered the shelter, the boy told me that he saw Sarah, a Shepherd mix, and that he wanted to see her again. I told him that I would get her from her kennel and put a leash on her so he could take her out for a walk.
Sarah was a 2- to 3-year-old Shepherd mix who came to the shelter as a stray. She was fearful at first as it appeared that she had been abused, but she gradually began to regain her confidence. She was a gentle dog, and she learned to sit and heal very quickly, but she never did totally trust anyone who worked with her or looked at her for adoption. I was concerned that we might have trouble finding her a home.
The boy and his mother and grandparents stepped outside the front door, and I brought Sarah to where they were. I handed the boy the leash, and he and Sarah walked down the sidewalk to a grassy area, and they were both looking at each other all the way with smiles. When he reached the grassy area, he knelt down in front of Sarah, and she sat down at the same time. He started stroking her neck and she gently licked his face. They looked at each other with love and happiness, and you could see a total acceptance of each other.
I was standing beside his mother and grandmother, and the grandmother said softly, "He said he just wants a friend." I looked at the mother, and with tears in her eyes she said, "What do we have to do to take Sarah home with us today?"
I have seen hundreds of adoptions and pets being reunited with their owners, but I have never witnessed such total love and acceptance by a boy and a dog. If there was ever a match made in heaven, it was between this boy who just wanted a friend in life, and a dog who had never known love.
Runner-Up
Dede Olson
Winona Area Humane Society
Winona, Minnesota
One day last year we got a call at the Winona Area Humane Society to assist the police with the capture of a dog. The animal was spotted running down Highway 61 with a jaw trap on his leg. The dog was frantic and scared.
With the assistance of the humane society and the police, the dog was caught. The police named him Trapper. He was taken to the vet where he needed lots of TLC, surgery, and a chance to recoup in a foster home. What a sweetie he turned out to be. A very happy and grateful fellow.
He has since found a great family to adopt him. I am sure if Trapper could talk he would have a tale to tell. It is this horrible example that should be used to tell people why animal traps are inhumane, and should be outlawed. It was a happy ending for Trapper, but not so for many other critters who have lost their lives because of the continued use of these traps.
Runner-Up
Hope Valenti
Somerset Regional Animal Shelter
Bridgewater, New Jersey
Oh no. Who turned out the lights? What hit me? A car or truck? Ouch, I can't move, my jaw hurts. Everything hurts. I can't meow. What should I do? Get off the road, lie down and rest. Maybe when I wake up, it will be OK.
I'm now awake. But where am I? I'm at Somerset Regional Animal Shelter in Bridgewater, New Jersey. There are other cats here too. I hear dogs barking. They named me Katerina. I like that name. They are so nice to me. I get food, water, playtime, and can sleep. I'm safe. They are helping me heal. I feel lucky.
People come here to look at me, but today this lady came to visit me. I am cranky. I heard the staff say I might not be the right cat for her since I don't get along well with other cats. She looked sad, but she pet me anyway and talked sweetly to me. A few days passed, and she kept visiting me to see how I was doing. No one adopted me yet. She kept telling me I was beautiful and would be OK. I let her brush my fur and hold me. I hope she comes back again and again.
Lots of people visit, but they make fun of me because my tooth is outside my mouth because I was hit by the car. My jaw was broken. My grin is crooked. People call me snaggletooth. I am still sad, but I hoped the lady would come and pet me again. She came today, and I heard her talking to the shelter worker, and she wants me. She wants to adopt me. Does that mean I finally have a home?
I went home with the lady. I fit right in. I met my family, a brother and five sisters. Two are deaf and no one makes fun of them. I don't feel weird anymore. I am told I am loved everyday. I am brushed, played with, and sleep on her bed. I love wet food, and I feel so safe here. No cars to worry about. Only lots of love and attention.
Somerset Regional Animal Shelter rescued me and saved my life. My mom volunteers at the shelter now. We love each other very much.
Runner-Up
Rene Anne Pizzo
Oregon Humane Society
Portland, Oregon
Our Oregon Humane Society Technical Animal Rescue team (OHSTAR) responded to a call for help. A young woman named Kerri was hiking on Mt. Hood (the tallest mountain in Oregon) when her beloved 3-year-old chow mix, Stella (an OHS adoptee), bounded over the edge in her happy quest to seek adventure. Stella tumbled more than 50 feet down a steep embankment.
As Kerri and her fellow hiker made three valiant attempts to rescue Stella, they realized they were unable to. The third try was nearly fatal to both. Stella had been able to climb much of the way back up, only to tumble down again and land on a ledge from which she could not move. To do so would mean a 200-foot fall to certain death. Kerri had also nearly fallen over the edge on that third try. She tearfully said good-bye to Stella, thinking she would never see her alive again.
We received the call for help at 9 p.m. By the time our team gathered gear and made the nearly two-hour drive to the trail edge, interviewed Kerri, and started the two-plus hour hike to where Stella was trapped, a long day was turning into a long night. We were thrilled to see that Stella was still on the ledge and very much alive as her eyes reflected back at us from our flashlight beams.
It took what felt like hours to set up our rope systems by the light of the full moon and our small headlamps. The team hooked me up to the main rope and the safety line, and lowered me over the edge until I got close enough to Stella to place a safety line on her. I rigged a harness onto her, which was no easy feat perched on the edge of the rock over the drop-off. Stella was so happy to see me, she crawled that short distance to seek comfort lying against me—and behind me—which added to the challenge of getting her safely rigged up for the team to pull us back up that cliff. They had their own challenges hearing me call the commands when I was ready to be brought back up because the Zig Zag River was loudly rushing below us.
Kerri and her husband, John, said they had never been so happy when they saw Stella in my arms as the team pulled us back up the embankment—and Stella felt the same way to see them. She had lots of cuts, bruises, and nails torn off—but she was alive and ready to enjoy many more years with her loving family.
Runner-Up
Raymond Coyle
Northeast Animal Shelter
Salem, Massachusetts
My wife and I finally felt that our children were responsible enough to live with a dog. My daughter had been knocked down and hurt by an off-leash dog when she was four, and she had only recently started to be comfortable around dogs. We wanted a puppy who could grow with the kids.
I don't know what made me decide to bring the kids to the shelter on that Wednesday before Thanksgiving, because we had decided to wait until the spring. I suspect it was because a co-worker had told me about her new dog—a stray who had shown up at their door.
We set off to the shelter with an agreement that we would just look. We thought we wanted a beagle mix puppy, and were thrilled when we saw that the cages had several litters of adorable mixed hound puppies.
We were interviewed by the adoption specialist. I was disappointed when she told us that she couldn't approve us for a puppy because we had too long a period with no one at home. She wouldn't approve us for a hound either because our neighbors' houses were too close. She was afraid that a hound would be returned as soon as the dog started baying.
She told us that she could consider placing either a retired greyhound or a mix from Puerto Rico with our family. The greyhounds were larger than we wanted, so we asked for more information about the dog from Puerto Rico. She had been flown to Massachusetts by a rescue group, Save the SATO. The group had been flying strays who had been tested and brought back to health for some time. The dog available had been found with a litter of puppies under a boardwalk. I agreed that we would meet her.
When we went to the cage, my daughter was thrilled to see that it was a dog she had noticed as soon as we had walked into the shelter. The dog was about 25 pounds, and her face looked a little like a German shepherd. Her head was too small in proportion to her squat body. She seemed a little hyper, but at the specialist's suggestion, we put her on a leash and brought her outside so that we could visit with her without the other dogs around.
We weren't outside two minutes when a woman drove up in a large Cadillac, got out, and asked us if we had adopted the little dog. I told her that we were considering it. She explained that she had seen the dog earlier, and was coming back for her.
My family had fallen in love with the odd little dog from Puerto Rico. We took her home, and she has been with us for ten years now. Rosalita has been the hit of the neighborhood because she is so soft, calm, and friendly. When a child or adult comes near her, she sits down and waits for them to fuss over her. She seems disappointed if they don't.
When we moved to a new neighborhood, we met most of the neighbors through our dog. The neighborhood kids refer to my wife and me as "Rosa's Mom and Dad." It is appropriate; she is like a child to us. My experience with the shelter made me become a shelter volunteer!
Runner-Up
Phillip J. Cosgrove
Chicago Anti-Cruelty Society
Chicago, Illinois
I remember the day we found Shadow at the Anti-Cruelty Society in Chicago. She was in a cage by herself. I jingled my keys near her cage, and she lowered her head to sniff them.
The information card on her cage said that she and her mother and father had been "found on LSD." Fearing the worst, I was relieved to learn that "LSD" stood for "Lake Shore Drive." They had been abandoned there.
Nineteen years later, we returned with Shadow. She was weak and sick and had to be carried in wrapped in an old baby blanket.
The attendant took us to a back room where Shadow was gently and humanely put down.
Runner-Up
Cindy Kalkbrenner
Humane Society of Washington County
Hagerstown, Maryland
As a columnist for the Humane Society of Washington County, I felt compelled to submit this Super Shelter Story. It's really hard to pick out just one program since all my humane friends here perform award-winning activities every day. But the Pet Food Bank (PFB) is one that benefits a lot of my friends and their pet companions.
Enclosed is a photo of the truck we use to pickup thousands of pounds of food, litter, treats and toys every week. That's right—thousands of pounds. As fast as we get it in, we give it away. It is hard work to unload and sort, but everyone is glad to be helping so many animals and people in need. My friend Sparky was able to stay with his family because of the Pet Food Bank.
Sparky was found running the streets in a neighborhood where kids chase dogs and sometimes throw rocks. His family kept him because he was small and would be an easy keeper.
Everything was going great: Sparky enjoyed playing with the kids, walking with the dad, and sleeping on the bed. Then wham! Suddenly, things changed. Dad lost his job. Sparky heard them talking about "cutting back" and other things he didn't quite understand.
Then one day they loaded Sparky in the car. He thought they were going on vacation or to the beach. Instead they brought him to my shelter—the Humane Society of Washington County. They said they couldn't afford to keep him. Everyone was crying.
But my friend Star who runs the PFB said, "You don't have to give up Sparky. We have a Pet Food Bank." She told Sparky's family how it worked. They could get free food, toys, and other supplies. They just needed to enroll, show proof of public assistance, and come once a month. It sounded perfect. . . and it is.
This program was started in 2003, and now serves more than 300 clients—people like Sparky's family who are running a little low on funds but still want their animal companion. In addition to individual clients, the Pet Food Bank also provides food to other animal welfare organizations—some 51 agencies in four states. By sharing those donations, the number of individuals and companion animals served increases exponentially.
Word is getting out. Something this good sells itself. The Pet Food Bank Program gets most of its clients because people talk, and it's getting bigger all the time.
