Happy Endings
One, Two, We Love You
Nina and Nora are two bonded 13 pound darlings who have always looked out for each other. They looked out for each other when their owner died and the canine family was scattered. They looked out for each other after a family adopted them but often kept them in a cage to keep them out of sight and never took them to a vet. And when FOACAS received these girls, we said we would never pry them apart. And we did not.
Nina and Nora first went to a good vet and received all their shots, then went to great foster home, which treated them to walks and playdates. When the girls became rnlived by this stimulation and care, we found them a loving home- together! We are so happy. But more importantly, Nina and Nora are so happy!
Nothing Beats the Muffin Man
Oh, Muffin! 18 months old, sweet and ready to love, but an owner who abandoned you, a shelter that abandoned you, a first rescue who abandoned you. But FOACAS did not let you down, seeing your goodness. We showed you life could be free. People could be trusted. Love was there for the taking. And soon you found the perfect home. Oh, Muffin! You did it, we love you, and you are always in our hearts.
A Shell of a Life Until a FOACAS Life
Shell seemed doomed. She was a brindled pit bull abandoned at the shelter at age 11.Her sad eyes were pleading. We felt her anguish.
FOACAS found her a foster, who seemed to care for her. But then misfortune occurred for this poor girl again. A child on a scooter whizzed by her, and Shell growled in fear. The child’s family told the foster that Shell would have to leave. The foster wanted to return her to the shelter.
FOACAS pled to the community. Shell seemed doomed again. Then a miracle occurred: we found a family who wanted to adopt her. Shell celebrated her thirteenth birthday with a party and canine friendly cake. She has her family, and she forever has her life.
Every Girl Needs Her Pearls
Pretty Pearl was turned into the shelter as a pregnant three-year-old stray in May 2021. As if that weren’t bad enough, her injured right eye had to be surgically removed after weaning her babies, who were quickly adopted. Apparently, not many people were looking to adopt a one-eyed cat, so Pearl remained in the shelter until early December when FOACAS’s cat team spied her in the shelter’s trailer. A dedicated foster in North Potomac showed Pearl the joys of living indoors until a recent widow appeared on the scene; she was in search of a loving kitty to help her adjust. Pearl was happy to help and went to her forever home only days before Christmas.
Poor Po Is Not Poor Anymore
Po was a sad stray. She landed in the shelter in the fall of 2021. Poor but sweet Po came to the attention of FOACAS’s cat team when the shelter featured her on their Facebook page in the fall of 2021. At 8 years old, Po was overlooked by potential adopters usually looking for a younger kitty. When the cat team visited the Cumberland shelter in mid-February 2022, this beautiful stray stole our hearts, and we matched Po with a single woman who wanted to foster. When the foster first saw Po, the team knew Po had found her forever home, but the foster insisted she could not adopt as her life was in transition. Two weeks later, we got the call; the foster couldn’t part with Po and the adoption papers were signed. Months later the adopter admitted that Po, now Posey, is “my reason for getting up and getting through the day.”
Tea for Two But Not These Two
Jethro and Cole were languishing for month after month in a shelter because: 1) they are black dogs, harder to adopt; and 2)the shelter insisted they had to be adopted together.A long year passed, and then FOACAS found a foster to take both. Cole had an open wound from trying to get out of his prison. We immediately took him to a vet. As we suspected, the dogs were not bonded. They thrived in their freedom and each was adopted to a loving home. Black dogs rock, and they can use all the help we can give them.
Zza Zza the Dog with Nine Lives
Zza Zza was on death row at the Montgomery County Shelter. She had been returned twice and the shelter declared that she had run out of options. FOACAS took a chance, sponsored her freedom, and found her a foster. Two months later, the foster adopted her and they both live happily ever after.
Grace and Dignity
Poor Gracie. What a terrible life.Her owner was a drug addict, turned in to Animal Control by his mother. Gracie had never been to a vet. Her eyes were weakened by smoke exposure. Her lungs were weak. Gracie underwent several surgeries and spaying. Now she lives happily at Leashes End, a sanctuary for senior small dogs. In May she won cutest dog in show at the Kensington Dog Show.
Canoe Sailed to Freedom
Canoe was a go to sire for creating golden doodles sold all over the DC area. If you had a Canoe puppy, you had status. But no one stopped to meet Canoe. If they cared, they would have found a despairing poodle locked away, his only life recreating. When the breeder declared after six years of misery that Canoe was no longer cooperating, FOACAS rescued him. Canoe did not know grass. He did not know how to walk. He did not know people. One of our wonderful fosters worked with him for weeks, and one magical day, a standard poodle-loving family adopted him. Canoe was finally saved.
Taking a Chance on Chance and Cody
We received a call that two frightened dogs were living in an abandoned house without electricity and ventilation, drinking water out of a toilet bowl. Their owner was in a nursing home, and his caregiver had abandoned the dogs. FOACAS took Chance, a golden retriever, and Cody, a poodle mix, out of the dismal situation. We found them a foster together- and then a lovely home where they could live with no more nightmares.
Mikey Can See Goodness
We saw Mikey sitting sadly at a shelter, blind and without any good direction. The story was that he had been abandoned at a deserted house. FOACAS made an appointment with a leading ophthalmologist in the DC area, and transported him to a loving foster while he waited. Sadly, his blindness cannot be corrected, but Mikey was adopted by his ophthalmology vet tech!
Capone the Rain Man
Three nights of endless rain in April, and then the phone rang at 10:00 pm. A woman frantically asked us to intervene, that someone had just tied a dog to a tree at the empty house next door and left him in the storm.
We managed to find the frightened, drenched dog and bring him back to our house for a long, peaceful sleep. Capone went to a loving foster, and was adopted by a couple with another friendly dog.
Munch the Blind Teddy Bear
Munch is a mix between a cute teddy bear and a Dogue de Bordeaux, perhaps a five-year-old package of cuteness and affection.
And Munch is blind, which led to his being surrendered to the Garrett County Shelter.
FOACAS drove him down to Friendship Animal Hospital in DC, which, sadly, confirmed that his blindness was a congenital birth defect. But we could not return him to the shelter. After extensive soliciting we found Munch the perfect home, where he has mapped out the house and enjoys life.
Dan the Great Dane
Dan is a two year old great Dane, who at 18 months old was clearly malnourished , abused, and allowed one cold January night to wander onto a busy road with no one to care. A vehicle at high speed hit him and left him dying in a ditch, his legs shattered and bleeding.
FOACAS arranged for his extensive surgery, canvassed for a foster, and paid all the follow-up appointments for six months. We also paid for his neutering and tail surgery and organized the community to donate food and medicines.
In August 2023 Dan’s devoted foster adopted him, and Dan can now walk, run, and be a happy dog.
The Little Truck that Could
After years of faithful service, the little truck that could, couldn’t any more. The Shelter was in desperate need of a good used 4-wheel truck to carry on its important work.
FOACAS jumped into action and launched a GoFundMe campaign for the purchase of a reliable used truck. We found the truck and it travelled up to Cumberland in early May. It carried with it a huge supply of desperately-needed cat and kitten food. We’re told it was the largest single donation the Shelter has received. The truck is a beautiful blue and we even gave it its own banner.
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It seemed like every time we went to the Allegany County Animal Shelter, there was Willie. We first saw Willie, a corgi terrier, in the cat room, his eyes pleading. The next time we saw Willie, he was moved to the main kennel, his eyes fixed on us, hoping, even in a cacophony of noise.
Willie was so appealing, so cute, but nobody wanted a dog with bladder stones. Willie was on a special diet, and nobody could afford his specialized veterinary care. FOACAS was determined to help Willie.
We raised money in the community for him to have surgery at Friendship Animal Hospital in DC. We arranged for him to have a caring foster while he waited for his appointment. The surgery was successful, and the entire hospital was mesmerized by Willie‘s cuteness. The surgeon paraded him around the hospital, saying “can you believe this dog has no home ?”
Willie found an adopter in the metropolitan DC area. And on his recheck a few months later, Willie was deemed cured. He no longer has bladder stones, and he no longer has a need for any special care or medication.