Lifesaving tales: Pets land new homes in unusual ways

Adopting a pet from a shelter is a sure way to save a life, but it’s not the only one. Sometimes pets in need and people willing to help them just find each other — no shelter or rescue group required.

When people take matters into their own hands, it keeps pets out of shelters and frees up space and resources for shelters to care for animals who truly need them the most. That’s one way to support shelters everywhere in reaching no-kill.

Best Friends members shared their stories about the unconventional ways homeless pets landed in their homes and became cherished family members. Those chance encounters and kind people saying yes to taking in a pet they hadn’t planned for lead to some really beautiful and life-changing stories.

Note: Stories have been edited for length and clarity.

Marty was left in our local Walmart parking lot. He ran back behind the garden center when I approached him. The eight stray cats I fed back there would not let him come out to eat any of the food I left for them, so I started feeding Marty off by himself. After about three weeks, he started allowing me to pet him and would come up to me when I drove up.

We found a family that would take Marty to be a barn cat, so I brought him home and took him to our vet to get a checkup. The family we had found for him was on vacation that week, so we kept Marty with us until they were ready for him. We brought him down to them on a Sunday night. They loved him. The next day, they called us to say that he had run away overnight, so we set out to find him. For four days, I went up and down their street after work shaking his food bag calling out his name, but nothing.

Then, on the fifth night, I went with a flashlight to see if I could catch his eyes reflecting back at me, and after an hour I saw glowing eyes looking in my direction. I called his name again and the eyes moved closer, then closer, and closer, and when he got to the road I saw it was Marty! I scooped him up and brought him back home to our house, and he has been ours ever since.

Marty has turned into the most special cat in our feline family — very loving, follows me everywhere, sleeps with us, and gets along with everyone, including the dog! He has total love now within our family, and in our book, love heals all.

— James Ferguson

The day before Thanksgiving in 2019, I got a text from my neighbor while I was working. Her father had died suddenly, and he had two orange cats. Could I take them over the holiday weekend (because she had three dogs)? I said yes. My cat had passed in March, and I was lonesome.

That night, I met Bo and Honey — two very scared cats. I settled them in and spent the next two nights listening to meowing. On the third night, I tucked one under each of my arms and put them under the covers in my bed. We all slept, and their future was assured.

They have been with me since, and I truly believe they rescued me. They are what I get up for in the morning. They have blessed me with much love, lots of mischief, and many laughs. I can't imagine my life without my two orange cats who were just going to stay for the weekend. Instead, they stole my heart.

— Kathleen Courney

Fifteen years ago, I trapped a mom and three kittens to have them spayed or neutered. My daughter still has one of the kittens, and I still have another. After coming to live in the house, the mama became one of the most lovable cats until she passed away after a long life.

Then, seven years ago, I trapped and spayed or neutered another mom and her three kittens. We lost that mommy three years ago, but one of her kittens now lives in the house with me. The other two have insulated igloos on my deck and on my next-door neighbor’s deck. We feed them, put flea-and-tick medication on them, and brush them regularly. Trap-neuter-return works, and sometimes you get best buddies out of it.

— Dorothy DeAngelo

I have two 4-year-old cats who are littermates. I used to feed their feral mother, and one day a tortoiseshell kitten (she's now named Fancy) stayed behind after her mother had eaten and left. She camped out on my back porch all day. I opened the door and asked, "Do you want to come in?" She was so small (around 6 weeks) that she couldn't even climb the steps without assistance. She's been with me ever since.

At the age of 3 months, her sister (now named Callie) decided being an outside cat wasn't for her and followed her in. I can't imagine my life without them. When I lost my job due to the pandemic, they were what kept me going. They are the very best part of my life.

— Tracy Hunley

It was late December, just before midnight, when I came upon him: a gray kitten sitting on the frozen slush beside a frost-covered country road. When his eyes met mine, for one long moment he just stared at me, as if searching me deeply for proof of something. Then, he asked me a question — a question delivered through one tiny, desperate-sounding meow. And he waited for me to respond. I have no idea exactly what he asked me. But somehow my spirit knew, and it answered. To my own surprise, I suddenly threw open my arms and said, "Of course I will!"

Immediately, he sprinted toward the car door, jumped in, ran up my chest, started rubbing his face side to side against mine, and just kept howling and howling. I'd never heard a cat make a sound like that before. It was startling and tore at my heart. It was like his own little heart was broken and he was crying and saying "thank you, thank you" repeatedly. "I can't believe this is happening," I thought as the tears welled up in my eyes.

I named him Peanut because he was just such a little peanut in this great big world. I also called him my Peanut Boy and my Sweet Pea. I never heard him howl again like he did that night, although for a long time afterward it did seem as though he was always smiling.

Peanut loved to ride on my shoulders. Nearly every morning, he would reach up and hug my leg, asking for me to pick him up. When my hair was still damp after a shower, Peanut liked to climb on my back, grab my head with both paws, and lick my hair. He remained my dear friend and companion for 18 years.

— Randy Scott

I used to be a city bus driver. On this route I did once a week, as soon as I opened the door for the passengers to come in, this dog just hopped in and went to the side of my chair. I asked a lady if that was her dog, and she said no and said this dog had been hanging around for a week just like he knew which bus to take.

I told the dog I would let him ride for free to anywhere he wanted to go, but he’d have to promise not to make any noise or we’d both be in trouble. I thought he was going to run out on the next bus stop, but he stayed with me until my shift finished after five hours. I took him home and went to my vet to check him for a microchip, but there was no sign of one. That was 15 years ago, and he’s still with me.

— Josie Hata

The day I met Samson (my heart dog), I was working at a client site about an hour from home and got a call from my husband about a miniature pinscher at our vet who had a broken leg. The owners could not afford the surgery and were going to have him put to sleep. The vet wondered if we knew of a rescue group, and my husband said the "Bowers Rescue" (our name). I whipped my client through the rest of their stuff and took off at a high rate of speed to our vet because they were closing soon.

There he was, a little 12-week-old min pin, huddled in the corner of a cage. I burst into tears the second I saw him. I bundled him up and took off to the second vet who would be doing his surgery. Once he got home from surgery, he was my baby boy for the next 11 years (gone far too soon). No matter what trouble he got into, he was always my bestest boy.

— Beth Bowers

Opened the front door and there she was: about 2 months old and demanding to be let in. Gertrude walked through the door and stayed for 15 years, and she has stayed in my mind and heart for another 50. Her picture stays in my wallet, and her portrait is where I can see it all the time.

Sweet, sassy, and the terror of every dog in the neighborhood. Friendly with the Muscovy ducks and terrified of bugs. She brought such joy and love to me, and I still miss her. She was my friend, companion, and solace. Everyone should have that.

— Katie Murdock

It’s not every day that fate will bring you and a new furry family member together. But you can still help homeless pets any day of the week. Learn how you can help by adopting, fostering, volunteering, advocating for the animals, and more.

Our goal at Best Friends is to support all animal shelters in the U.S. in reaching no-kill in 2025. No-kill means saving every dog and cat in a shelter who can be saved, accounting for community safety and good quality of life for pets. 

Shelter staff can’t do it alone. Saving animals in shelters is everyone’s responsibility, and it takes support and participation from the community. No-kill is possible when we work together thoughtfully, honestly, and collaboratively.