Rescues

Hey, my name is Shep! I was abandoned by my former family during the harsh winter of ‘09-‘10. I spent the entire winter as a puppy in the bitter cold until I was found by the Madison County Animal Shelter. I was rescued through a Brother Wolf adoption day at Pet Smart in June 2010.

I saw Mom walk by my crate, and she couldn’t resist taking me home. I am such a perfect boy and her very first rescue. I am the alarm clock for the house as I am up by 5 AM every morning ready to go have fun! My favorite part of the day is when Mom takes us all on a walk every morning.

*Shep is the oldest, just turning 10 years old on 6-4-20. He is the quiet, steady leader, but he doesn’t miss a thing! He is my rock.

My name is Jordan, and I was rescued through Fifi’s Friends in Yancey County in 2011. I came through two shelters from Eastern NC and was sent to a high-kill shelter in Burnsville. On the day that I was supposed to be put to sleep, the shelter put me up front, hoping that my good looks would somehow get me adopted before that fateful decision was made.

My foster mom from Fifi’s Friends happened to come in at the end of that day and took me home with her, hoping she could adopt me out. I stayed with her for four weeks before meeting my future mom and dad. They were looking to fill the huge hole in their hearts from the loss of Sugar, their beloved German Shepherd, six weeks earlier. I went to my future home on Mother’s Day 2011. I am the only girl, and I rule the house!

*Jordan will turn 9 this Mother’s Day. Jordan is the only girl, but the boys follow in her footsteps. She is a strong leader, outgoing, and very protective. Jordan was previously diagnosed with hip dysplasia at 5 years old, and we have been managing that fairly well up until the past year. The progression of the arthritis and her age are catching up somewhat.

We had a much more serious challenge in 2019. We found a small lump on her back left leg and her veterinarian surgeon removed it on 1-24-19. Unfortunately, it was cancer, a hemangiosarcoma, but we caught it very early in Stage I. Her dad and I took her back and forth to the University of Tennessee Veterinarian Hospital where she received 16 doses of radiation to the surface site over 15 days. It was a rough time for the whole family, but she got most of her fur back and is cancer-free one year now! She goes for frequent checkups to make sure she’s okay. We’re so glad we caught it early!

She still love going for walks and car rides and never lets us go without her, though we shortened a lot of walks. Her favorite things are food of any kind and hugs from Mom and Dad.

My name is Murphy, and I was rescued at Tractor Supply in Black Mountain in May 2012 through an adoption-day program called Rusty’s Legacy. Mom came to Tractor Supply that day to buy an extra water bucket and couldn’t leave without me!

I overcame some very serious health problems early on, including surviving Ehrlichiosis, a prevalent tick-borne disease in Western NC. I have a permanent head tilt because of the high fever I had when I was so sick.

Early in the summer of 2019, one of my old problems returned. My liver values spiked again, which had been fine since it happened when I was three. Mom and the vet gave me some medicines (I hated them!), and I seemed fine. In December 2019, we rechecked the blood work again and found that I was in big trouble! My liver values had skyrocketed even though I seemed fine. We did some tests and didn’t see any cancers, but I started on a strict diet and regime of medications right away. My numbers are down now but not normal, and I’m still trying to wean off Prednisone. Of course, even being so seemingly sick, I haven’t slowed down a bit. I hope to be my healthy self again this year!

*Murphy turns 8 years old on Cinco de Mayo, 5/5/20. His adoption/birthday celebration is very fitting as he’s always the life of the party. He wakes up on warp 10 and never slows down. He loves to hunt (anything), go for walks and car rides, and falls over Mom’s side each night.

Hi, my name is Riley! I was rescued by Mom when I got hit by a car in front of her office on June 5, 2014. I had internal injuries and a broken hip, and fortunately my future mom caught it so I wouldn’t have to go back to the shelter right away. The Asheville Humane Society asked her if she’d foster me, and the rest is history. I officially found my forever home and wish every animal could do the same.

With all the hip x-rays, they found out I had serious hip dysplasia in both hips. Mom takes me to therapy with my big sister, Jordan, for acupuncture, massage, laser, water therapy, and chiropractic treatment. We have a great team of people that take such good care of me!

*Riley turns 6 years old on 6/5/20. With multiple modalities of therapy, he is again fairly well and still loves being active. He will chase and retrieve a ball until he drops, but we limit how many times to prevent overexerting his bad hips. Yes, he does have a brown eye and a blue eye, and as best as we can tell, he sees out of both just fine. He has the most expressive face and a loving disposition.