Rescue Dogs Success Story – Read About My Family

I want to share with you my family’s journey with rescue dogs and highlight a special rescue that’s been integral in that journey.

First, let me share a bit about Benji and Kady.

My journey with rescue dogs

I’ve had dogs all of my life. I can’t imagine not having them in my house. So, when I got married, my first goal was to buy a house and get a dog (kids would come later). As soon as we bought our first home, I convinced my husband, who hadn’t grown up with dogs, that we needed to head to the local shelter.

The instant we saw Benji (and, yes, he looked a lot like the movie star dog) we fell in love. We adopted him on the spot and headed home.

It didn’t take long for Benji to acclimate to life in our new home. He had quite the personality and I should have known he would be quite the handful. He was fearless and intensely loyal to me. In typical terrier fashion, he loved to dig (out of the yard) and chew on things like shoes.

We were living in Houston at the time. One of my favorite memories of him was when he took a flying leap off a second floor balcony at the beach so he could chase something on the ground. I assure you he wasn’t hurt. The other was of him chasing an armadillo into the woods. I was sure we would never see him again. But, he came back!

I could tell stories all day about Benji – the way he’d take a flying leap off the bed into our arms, the time he jumped on the table to eat our dinner, his need to escape from the house and the hours we spent looking for him.

Not long after we brought Benji home, a little black Lab puppy wandered onto the school grounds where I was teaching. No one claimed her from the box in the office so I loaded her up in the car. When I picked my husband up from work that afternoon, he took one look at those puppy dog eyes in the box and let me talk him into a second dog.

As it turns out, Kady was the perfect companion for Benji. She had the typical Lab personality – friendly, well-behaved, always happy. She was a loving companion her entire life.

How it all started

I don’t remember a time when my family and my grandma didn’t have dogs. For me, if you had a house and a family, you had a dog, too.

When our family dog, Puff, passed away, I had already left home for college and marriage. My brother and sister had left home as well. So, my mom began adopting rescue dogs.

Over the years, Mom would have 2 rescue dogs in the house at a time. She would adopt older dogs with medical issues and give them the best life possible in their later years. They all had to be small because she didn’t have a big house.

Mom didn’t have a lot of money but she would make sure the dogs always had the medical care they needed. I suspect her vet, one of my brother’s high school classmates, gave her a deal because she never seemed to hesitate to take them in. She gave all of her rescues all the love and care she could possibly muster and made their final days the best.

The tradition is passed down.

As it turns out, my mom was the one who inspired my oldest son to adopt rescue dogs. When it came time to add a dog to the family, he didn’t even consider getting a dog from a breeder.

Just before their first son was born, they adopted Raleigh as a puppy. She grew into a patient, loyal companion, adaptable to any situation and easy going. She went almost everywhere with them and became a constant companion. She was just about as easy as they come.

Two boys later and with Raleigh beginning to age, they decided to adopt another dog to be a companion for Raleigh. Enter Ruby, a 6-year-old rescue from a high no-kill shelter in Virginia.

While she was a sweet, quiet dog who got along well with Raleigh and other people, the family quickly found out that she had her own agenda. She would eat absolutely anything (nerf gun bullets, ALL the food) and pee in the most unfortunate spots. She had short legs but still had an uncanny ability to leap higher than we thought possible. She came to be known as ‘Houdini dog’.

Raleigh and Ruby were fixtures in our family. Every time the family came to visit, my house was filled with dogs!

Sadly, both dogs have passed away in the last year. It’s awfully quiet around here without them but I suspect that won’t last forever!

Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole.

Roger Caras

The organization that made it all happen.

My son’s family adopted both Raleigh and Ruby from Joyful Rescues, an accredited non-profit rescue based in Cuba, NY. My daughter in low found the organization in a search on PetFinder and applied for adoption through the rescue’s website.

Joyful Rescues operates as a no-kill shelter with a high number of their rescues coming from the following states: TN, NC, SC, OH, WV, GA. The rescue finds suitable, responsible, and loving forever homes and provides educational resources.

Our main location is a country paradise for our displaced friends until they go to their forever homes. Joyful Rescues has over 8 acres fenced in with a large pond for our friends to run, swim & play. Some of our pets are in loving foster homes throughout WNY and also in northern PA.

From the website

Potential adoptive families must first fill out an application and be approved. The application is online HERE.

You may not be able to foster or adopt a rescue dog. That’s OK! On the home page, you’ll find ways to donate to Joyful Rescues. By shopping through AmazonSmile and Chewy.com, items you purchase can be shipped directly to their site in NY. You can also make a monetary donation through their website. There are so many ways you can help these dogs in need and the organization that takes care of them.

Joyful Rescues is just one organization that does this important work. Find an organization near you and invest in helping them find forever homes for rescue dogs. I promise you’ll be doing a great service and get such a sense of satisfaction!

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