Meet The Pack

Born April 17, 2014  |  Labrador/Border Collie Mix  |  Rescued from Lost But Now Loved in Pine Bluff, AR

After spending weeks on Petfinder by early June of 2014, a little black fur ball named Ace came across my screen. His description said he was a Labrador/Border Collie mix, his mom a border collie mix and his dad a full blooded American Lab. His location was advertised as MA, close enough I thought. After contacting Animals Lost But Now Loved rescue I learned more about Ace’s story. His liter was born on the side of a country road in Arkansas where, thankfully, the lovely Tina Bohannan scooped them up and nursed them to health.

After a grueling application process, which I now know it is for the animal’s benefit, I received the email that said he was mine. I was completely and utterly over the moon. That same day I went into every pet boutique in our area and showed every employee (that was willing to listen) a picture of baby Ace's face, while cleaning out their inventory.  Needless to say, June flew by and before I knew it Ace, who I decided to rename Bear, was on his way from Arkansas via GotTransport. 

On July 5th of 2014, we sat apprehensively at a rest stop in Connecticut waiting for the RV to pull in. At around 10:00pm, the truck arrived and I was handed my sleepy little pup and drove into the night with him, happily ever after, or so I thought. After 3 days with what we thought was an extremely placid, sleepy puppy, Bear fell extremely ill with lethargic temperament and extreme vomiting and diarrhea. Being a first time dog owner, I was extremely nervous and instead of boiling rice and chicken, I rushed him to the vet. 

At first the vet was unsure and thankfully decided to keep him hooked up to an IV while they monitored him throughout the day. By the end of the day the vet had an inclination it may be something much bigger than an upset stomach. We were transferred to the MSPCA-Angell where they diagnosed Parvovirus. His first few days in the ICU were not hopeful. We waiting patiently each day for visitor hours where we had to dress fully in scrubs while bear fought his way through this terrible virus. On the 4th day, we received a call from our amazing doctor Emma-Leigh Pearson. She shared the news that Bear had turned the corner and we would be able to take him home that night (along with a $4000 medical bill).

Today, Bear is a happy, healthy 2 year old who is completely spoiled. He is the most well-mannered, lovable dog I have come across. We say he is an old soul, most likely because he knows he came very close to an illness that was almost bigger than him. As much as we rescued him, he rescued us as well. 

Born January 5, 2015  |  Golden Retriever/Yellow Labrador  |  Rescued from a breeder South of Boston, MA

Knox came to us in a unique way. While only having Bear for about 6 months, a woman in our apartment building told us about a breeder she had picked up her Golden Doodle from. She described the conditions of the facility and painted a picture of the squalor environment. We came to realize that there were a lot of dogs in need of a home, both young and old. A few days later we headed South of Boston and arrived at an outdoor green house like shelter. Upon meeting the breeders and entering the facility we realized just how bad the situation was. There were tons of older Golden Retrievers and Poodles, two litters of Golden Retrievers, two litters of Terriers and one litter of Golden Doodles. We gathered from the breeder that this was no longer what they wanted to do and had lost interest in their business/keeping up with the 60+ dogs they had.

Previously we had no interest in rescuing another puppy as space was tight in an apartment with just one young dog. However, after seeing the conditions/situation we decided that the only way we could help (although not much) was to rescue one and give him a furever home. We entered the pen of what they said were English Golden Retrievers and instantly fell in love with Knox or #88505. Many of the puppies were huddled under the wooden shed inside the pen as they had been spooked numerous times by a shovel banging against the wire and the male breeder screaming QUIET! However, Knox quickly forgave and forgot this and trusted us to show him love. He grabbed on to our shoe laces and shook his head as if he was trying to shake the life out of the lace. We walked forward and he pulled back. He acted resilient and spunky. He fought for our attention and loved us as instantly as we loved him.

Unfortunately, because he was only six weeks at the time we had no choice but to leave him there. When we returned a week later the breeder let him go (possibly before 8 weeks). After immediately taking him to the vet we realized the shots they promised and care they said they had given, was not true. We now know Knox is not an English Golden, but an English Golden Retriever bred with an American Yellow Labrador. However, he is a healthy, ACTIVE and hilarious 1.5 yr old!

Born March 16, 2015  |  Rottweiler, Labrador, Pit bull, Boxer and Australian Shepherd mix  |  Rescued from Ward Animal Shelter in Ward, AR

Only 3 months after rescuing Knox we were browsing Petfinder just for fun. We picked through thousands of puppy profiles all in the Arkansas area and came across a litter of red Labrador looking puppies. Three boys and one girl around 9 weeks old were the only ones left out of a litter of nine at Ward Animal Shelter. 

We did some research on the shelter and saw that they rescued animals from high kill shelters in the area and worked on getting them adopted and sent to the East Coast. From what we were told, "people up there just seem to care for their pets better than the average down here."

The girl, named Hunny stood out to us with her big pleasing eyes and wrinkly face. Out of curiosity we decided to email the shelter and ask a few specific questions about Hunny.

A few days went by and we were unable to get Hunny's lovable face out of our minds. We still hadn't heard back so we decided to fill out an application for her and keep our fingers crossed for a reply. 

Finally a few days later we were contacted by someone at the shelter. The intro said, "We have looked over your application & everything looks great. If you want to let Hunny adopt your family it is fine with her."

It was then we had realized a third and final puppy was going to join the pack. We worked out the logistics to have Hunny transferred from Arkansas on a similar transport bus as Bear's. 

On June 13th, 2015 we picked up Hunny, who we renamed Harper in Moosup, Connecticut. Her wrinkles were as real in person as they were in her pictures online. She immediately snuggled into our arms and has become the leader of the pack. She is always keeping the boys in line!