Forever Home Files: Sancho, Stella, and Babybel
Possibly the best part of our work is seeing a dog who was once sick, scared, and struggling in a shelter end up living their best life in a loving forever home. When we first share our Hansel Help recipients, they’ve just been rescued and often look completely different weeks or months later after receiving the care they deserve in a foster or adopter’s home. It never ceases to amaze us how much of a difference proper care and love can make. Sometimes, fosters and rescuers realize that a dogs is actually meant to be a part of their forever family, as was the case with two of the cuties below (we love a “foster fail” 😉).
Sancho from Miko’s Rescue Mission
This spring, we sent an urgent Hansel Help donation to new pit bull-focused organization Miko’s Rescue Mission to help them pull lovable Sancho from an LA-area shelter, where he was about to be euthanized. He’d been at the shelter for a month and a half. Sancho and another dog were dumped by their owner after getting into a fight with a third dog. Miko’s Rescue Mission founder Crystal (also Hansel’s mom’s name, a happy coincidence) called him “a lover not a fighter.” While the original plan was for him to stay at an Airbnb with a foster to decompress, Crystal fell madly in love with him and decided his forever home was with her! He now has three dog siblings and they all enjoy spending time together while supervised. Oh, and in case it wasn’t clear, Sancho loves giving kisses. You can follow him on Instagram here.
Stella from Lend-A-Paw Inc.
NYCACC volunteer fave Stella needed urgent rescue because she was at risk for severe pneumonia. Lend-A-Paw Inc. stepped up and saved the day, and we honored a small pledge they could use to pay for her medical care. In her forever home, she has apparently been temporarily transformed into a shark 🦈 😂. One thing that hasn’t changed since her shelter days? Her love of toys! And if this candid from her new life is any indication, she’s destined to be surrounded by them for the rest of her days!
Babybel from Cat Republic
The amazing Cat Republic rescued this senior gentleman from NYCACC earlier this spring. While their rescue primarily focuses on cats, lately they’ve also been taking in some senior and/or special needs pitties (like our first-ever Hansel Help recipient Prism!) and we are so grateful. Babybel was found stray and then spent 3.5 months in a pop-up crate at the overcrowded city shelter, where he was overlooked until the Cat Republic team swooped in. We sent a Hansel Help grant to help cover some of his vet costs — neutering, dental care, and a biopsy for an oral mass. Now, not to be 🧀 cheesy 🧀, but we are full of happy feelings because his rescuers have decided to make him a part of their lives forever. Here’s what they shared on their social media:
”Babybel has done an absolutely wonderful job melding himself into our family over the past few months. He’s gone from barking incessantly at all other animals to learning how to interact with the cats (mostly) respectfully. I’m pretty sure he loves them. And we think he’s pretty happy with us, though he would prefer more car rides and ice cream cones. We didn’t come into this adventure with Babybel looking to adopt a dog, but it’s been both more difficult to find him a home than I anticipated and more delightful to live with and love him than I ever could have imagined. He’s so perfect.”
