Most people don’t realize it, but as seasoned rescue volunteers will attest, rescue stories don’t often end when an animal is taken out of a shelter or saved from euthanasia. In fact, this is usually where the real work begins. Pit bull mix Chloe knows this all too well.
When Chloe was ten months old, she was turned into United Animal Friends of Prescott, Arizona as a stray. Almost immediately, United Animal Friends placed the young dog into a foster home. Once into her foster home, however, it became apparent that Chloe had some trouble getting along with other dogs. As the weeks and months progressed, this issue became so much of a problem that it prevented Chloe’s foster and UAF volunteers from feeling comfortable enough to show her at adoption events.
So, there she was: in a troublesome situation. Chloe wasn’t quite predictable enough around other dogs to be shown in public, but without the chance to show off how smart and loving she was, she lingered in her foster home. Soon, months turned into years, and Chloe was ultimately relinquished to her foster home. But that foster home just wasn’t meant to be Chloe’s forever home; she shared the home with other dogs, and she really wanted to be an only dog. She needed special attention, and her foster knew it. Luckily, things were about to change for Chloe.
Soon after Chloe was relinquished to her foster came a blessing in disguise. Her foster parent had to leave the country and Chloe desperately needed a place to stay. Knowing Chloe wouldn’t survive in a shelter, independent rescuer Ella Hess stepped in. Ella honed in on Chloe – taking her under her wing. She put Chloe into boarding and got straight to work on publicizing her adoptability. When the rescue money for boarding ran out, Ella raised donations to keep Chloe safe. She was so enthusiastic about Chloe’s potential, she even convinced friends to visit Chloe on a regular basis – giving her the exercise and interaction she needed during her stay in boarding. All the while, Ella was working every angle she could find, putting up flyers and repeatedly sending out notices to the local rescue community. Eventually, Ella even elicited the help of Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, who sent out a special notice about Chloe.
After five long weeks in boarding, Ella’s tireless determination paid off. Somehow, Chloe’s story had made the journey down to Phoenix. There, a kind man named Leon found her picture on a bulletin board at work. He took down the contact information and called Ella. It wasn’t long before a meeting was set up, and Chloe was taken down to Phoenix to meet Leon and his wife Diane.
As the story goes, the rest is history. Leon and Diane saw in Chloe the honest, genuine goodness she had to offer, and they fell in love with it. They knew she wasn’t perfect – but they didn’t care. They were willing to give her the life she needed and in the end, Chloe gave them what they needed as well.
Enjoying the good life in Phoenix, Chloe now enjoys regular swims in her backyard pool and the 
devoted attention of her forever mom and dad. She serves as a reminder of the many difficulties rescuers face when trying to place a dog. Every dog is different; there really is no ‘perfect’ or ‘push-button’ dog. And the story doesn’t end when a dog is rescued from the streets or from a shelter. It takes the persistent efforts of compassionate people and organizations who share one common goal: saving lives.
If Chloe could speak to us, Ella imagines she might look at her with more than a little relief and exclaim, ‘finally!’ But rescuers like Ella don’t wait for that type of moment. They enjoy a special kind of thank-you that truly marks the end of a rescue effort. It often comes when they’re all alone, driving away from a successful placement – when behind them, they see a happy dog looking up at a new owner with a gratitude that goes beyond words, getting smaller and smaller in the rear-view mirror.
This holiday season, do your part to help local animals in need! Support the United Animal Friends Holiday Pet Food Drive. UAF is collecting donations of dog and cat food, blankets, collars and leashes, and other items. Distribution of all items will be through the UAF Pet Food Bank to feed hungry animals in the community. Large, gift-wrapped collections boxes are located in the following locations:
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