Fetch 22

08/17/2024

07/30/2024

Back from a five-year hiatus, the 'Maryland 3,000' adoption challenge hopes to find new homes for as many furry friends as possible in the month of August.

07/13/2024

06/17/2024

Hello FB land!
I hope to start posting here more.
Starting with a reminder about hot pavement this week!!
Protect those paw pads!!

10/12/2023

Don’t judge a book by its cover!!💗🐾

It’s National Pitbull Awareness Month. Two years ago, we celebrated with a photo of this pretty girl, Arielle. She’s still here with us…

Arielle is a tougher adoption because she wants to be your one and only, but that doesn’t make her unadoptable at all. In fact, she’s super adoptable because all she wants is to hang out on the couch and show unconditional love. At the end of the day, that’s the best thing about any dog. 💜

https://www.adoptapet.com/pet/33952714-baltimore-maryland-american-pit-bull-terrier-mix

10/12/2023

Nov. 16 update: Despite widespread sharing of our Oct. 11 post about Grayson, a ball-loving dog who was going blind, no one ever came for him. Dogs are continuing to pour into the shelter, which now is overcapacity, forcing extremely hard decisions. This afternoon, while a favorite volunteer and a favorite staff member stroked and kissed him and fed him chocolates and peanut butter, Grayson calmly slipped away from this world to a place where we hope he will have perfect eyesight and an endless supply of tennis balls. RIP, dear Grayson.
——-

“If he didn't have bad luck, he wouldn't have any luck at all."

That phrase keeps running through our head when we think about Grayson, a 3-year-old dog at Anne Arundel County Animal Care & Control who, barring a near miracle, likely has few days left on this earth. His story:

--Grayson first came to the shelter in April 2022 as an emaciated stray found tangled up with another dog, both of them tied to a tree. He was adopted but returned in September 2022 when his owner entered a homeless facility that did not accept dogs.

--He was adopted a second time and spent almost a year with this adopter until he was returned to AACACC on Sept. 16 because the adopter was moving overseas.

--Both his second adopter and shelter volunteers/staff noted that this young fellow was having vision issues. A week ago, we took him to an eye specialist. Grayson has an incurable genetic condition and is going blind. It is not painful and does not require medication or surgery, but blindness will be the inevitable result, the specialist said.

Grayson is affectionate and trusting with people. (“Loves my toddler," his first adopter said.) For example, although panting with anxiety, he was patient and friendly while the eye doctor, a stranger to him, put her face very close to his and also placed paper test tabs in his eyes (see video in the comments).

"A loving and lovable goof," one dog volunteer said. "Loves to be petted and enjoys being with people."

Dogs, however, are another matter if Grayson is on a leash: He barks and pulls toward them — he is a strong 57 pounds — sometimes with his hackles up. (We cannot imagine how traumatic it was for him to be tied to a tree while tangled up with another dog.) Off the leash, he's seemed more curious about other dogs than reactive, but staff has not risked letting him meet another dog without a barrier. He is anxious in new situations and in his shelter cage surrounded by strange dogs, uncomfortable during car rides and scared while on uncarpeted floors. He still loves to fetch, but it's getting more difficult for him as his sight dims.

Also: Grayson is a black pit bull-type mix with white markings. The shelter currently has some 15 other dogs who also meet that exact description -- dogs who are not going blind, who do okay with other dogs, who haven't been in and out of the shelter repeatedly, who aren't so anxious inside a cage.

The shelter is very, very full, with more dogs arriving than leaving. Its foster homes also are filled, as are its rescue partners that take pit bull-type dogs; finding a spot with them for a dog-reactive dog is particularly difficult. A mentally stressful existence without hope in a shelter cage is no life, especially for a dog whose sight is fading. Unless an adopter comes for him very soon, Grayson likely will be humanely euthanized. If so, members of the family he’s known the longest -- the staff and volunteers of the shelter -- will be there to comfort him as he crosses the bridge.

09/14/2023

03/07/2023

02/21/2023

02/21/2023

📺 Late Breaking News! Adoptable AARFie Nyla will be featured at 9am this morning on WJZ channel 13!

12 year old Nyla is a Puggle who has been with AARF since September, and we're hoping her ⭐️ leading lady ⭐️ status will help her get the role of a lifetime: ADOPTED!

To learn more about Nyla, visit: https://animalalliesrescue.org/adopt/dogs-available-for-adoption/

01/24/2023

09/10/2022

Our Ask the Cat Behaviorist column is back! Laura Cassiday answers reader questions.

05/20/2022

Excited to add Eden Mill Nature Center to our event!!

Have you marked your calendars yet??

04/25/2022

03/28/2022

Love senior pups!

03/28/2022

Limited vacation spots available for Summer 2022!
I will also be unavailable Mothers Day weekend and 8/13-20.

12/20/2021

💕

"The incredible 'Vick dog' era is over."

Today, BAD RAP shared the news that sweet, shy Frodo crossed the rainbow bridge on Saturday with his family at his side. His passing happened only a few days after the beloved Jonny Justice, whose family posted about his last moments shared at home with his loving family. 🌈

This means that the last of the 47 dogs rescued from Michael Vick’s dogfighting operation has passed on. After an astonishing legacy, from coast to coast, from warm homes to state capitals, these beloved dogs have been the living embodiment of resiliency. Their courage proved that there's no such thing as "too damaged" or "beyond hope.” Their story has been captured in television, print, and The Champions film, and the impact of their lives will live on in our hearts forever.

Be sure to read this Washington Post article about their legacy from 2019: https://wapo.st/3FiZkhy. -emily

06/18/2021

My gray-bies!

06/13/2021

06/07/2021

It’s that time of year to be aware of our four legged friends in the heat. ☀️

05/25/2021

04/19/2021

🐾💗

03/12/2021

🥰

03/01/2021

Birds are amazing!