Special-Need Animals Stories

Winter and Abbott the dogs inside with a bucket and raised bed in the background

Best friends at Best Friends: A real dynamic doggy duo

Meet Abbott and Winter, a couple of sweet senior dogs with a surprising past.
Now they're best buds
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Miles the kitten in his cart

Faces of No-Kill: Kitty gets kicking with care and a cart

A kitten alone by the side of the road dragging his back end, Miles needed help fast — and at the Sanctuary, he got just that.
Physical therapy is working wonders
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Yazh the puppy in here dog wheelchair, with her mouth open in a smile

Survivor puppy shows big love for life

A bullet wound left Yazh paralyzed in her hind end, but she didn’t let it slow her down for a second.
Her foster home now provides consistency and routine
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Spots the dog lying on the floor with eyes closed and mouth open smiling with Ellie behind him petting his chest

Senior dog finds love on the beaches of California

Spots came to Best Friends with an aggressive form of cancer and captured the heart of his foster person.
Read about their deep connection
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Piglet, the black and white tuxedo kitten, sitting in a cardboard box

Mending a kitten's broken heart

Kitten survives emergency open-chest surgery and thrives in his foster home.
Foster home becomes permanent
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The head of Colt, the orange tabby kitten

Kitten with unique walk lives life to the fullest

Meet Colt, a resilient orange tabby who’s learned to navigate the world in his own way.
Now he's a very happy kitten
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Sylvia the one-eyed cat with her foster person Melissa

Blind cat with cleft palate gets care, gains confidence

Sylvia was in rough shape when she arrived at the Sanctuary, but with TLC and a good haircut, she’s finally feeling feline-fine.
Read how she's improved
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Prancer the cat with her new family on a couch

Prancer the cat is home for the holidays

She has a condition that makes her wobble as she walks, but it doesn’t keep this jolly kitten from living life to the fullest.
See her now
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Coraline the kitten lying next to Rocky the dog

Blind kitten and little dog forge unlikely friendship

He was a pup just living his life. She was a blind kitten with boundless energy. It was a match made in heaven.
Meet the best buds
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Lizel Allen with a brown tabby kitten on her shoulder

Foster caregiver drawn to cats with special needs

Lizel Allen has fostered 165 pets (and counting!) since 2014, and she still finds the work incredibly meaningful — and fun.
See how it became her passion
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Orange tabby kitten hugging and giving a kiss to Jeff, the blind black and white kitten, while lying together in a bed

Blind kitten gets by with help from his friends

Jeff needed emergency surgery to remove both of his eyes, but the kitten was quickly on the road to recovery thanks to a crew of good friends.
Watch his improvement following surgery
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Frankie the dog in the lap of a person who is reading "101 Dalmatians" to him

Deaf dog loves story time

Even though he can’t follow along with his ears, Frankie loves it when people read to him.
It's fun for everyone
Best Friends Magazine
Ruthie the dog with three people (two in military uniforms) in front of a large vehicle

Faces of No-Kill: 3-legged dog earns her military stripes

Ruthie went from a scared, injured puppy in a shelter to bringing joy to combat veterans who defuse bombs for a living.
She's loving her therapy dog training
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Turtle the kitten wearing her protective helmet

Faces of No-Kill: Kitten with serious head wound gets custom helmet

Shelter collaboration, community support, and TLC help Turtle the kitten survive and thrive.
Joint effort helps save special kitten
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Evelyn the kitten sitting in a sunbeam meowing at a much larger black and white cat

Cats pamper kitten with purrs

After losing her home, an incontinent kitten joins a team of doting feline caregivers in Cat World.
See how she's thriving
Best Friends Magazine