It’s the new year and we’re super excited to share some of our biggest highlights from 2021. It was another incredible lifesaving year, with nearly 6,000 animals finding forever homes. In today’s blog, we’ll be taking you through some of the happiest adoption stories from 2021.

Fino

When Piper came to us last year, we noticed immediately that her appetite seemed to come and go and her weight was fluctuating. Our Medical team determined that she had diabetes mellitus, and her pancreas was not producing enough insulin. This can prevent sugar from the blood from getting into cells where her body can use it. Her disease required that she receive daily injectable insulin treatments and remain on a special diet.

Despite Piper’s health issues, she was a happy, friendly cat. She would purr and headbutt our Medical staff during each exam, and preferred to eat when someone stayed close to her and petted or scratched her the whole time. She even tolerated her daily injections well – she stayed still and happily received attention during and after. Piper stayed in our care for many months. First, our veterinarians wanted to keep an eye on her and make sure her insulin levels were stable. Once they were happy with her levels and overall health, it took a while to find someone willing to take in an older cat that needed daily injections, no matter how sweet she was.

Finally, though, Piper found her perfect match. A veterinary technician who also has diabetes met Piper and fell in love. Her and her boyfriend brought Piper home, where they gave her a few days to transition and understand her new environment. Piper was understandably hesitant at first, but after a few days she was showing off her happy Piper personality again.

She met her family’s dog, which went great. The two are getting along so well, share the pet beds, and love to hang out together in the office while their mom works! Piper’s new mom says she’s doing great for her daily insulin injections and glucose checks, makes muffins everywhere, and loves being brushed and pet. “We are so happy we adopted Piper,” she says. We’re so happy we were able to help Piper and her family find each other. It was clearly a perfect match!

Jake

If you’ve been around our Facebook page, you might remember Jake. When he was with us, he was known as Zach, and first came in from a Central Valley shelter after he had been found unable to walk on the side of the road. Once he arrived, our Medical team examined him and quickly determined the leg was broken in several places. The fractures were so severe that our team determined he would need orthopedic surgery, and reached out to an orthopedic specialist to schedule Jake for surgery.

The surgery was estimated to cost at least $4,000, so we reached out to our community on Facebook to help. Within days, our incredibel supporters steppe dup to donate to Jake’s surgery. Jake’s surgery went well, and he then spent weeks in a foster home receiving intensive therapy to help him start using the leg again and build his muscle back.

It took many weeks, but finally, Jake was ready to find his home. He was adopted in April by a sweet family with another 2-year-old dog Carly who was so excited to have a new brother.

Jake is doing amazing in his new home. His family says he’s so sweet, friendly, and playful. He’s using his leg and loves to run, play fetch, and chase his sister Carly around. Jake’s story was only possible thanks to everyone who donated to his surgery and shared his story. We are so grateful to our amazing community for rallying aroudn this sweet dog. And we’re so happy to see Jake thriving in his home!

Henry and Ogie

Henry and Ogie had been living together for years. They were surrendered to us when their former family was going through a tough time and was no longer able to keep them. When they first arrived, the two cats were extremely shy and had a difficult time trusting new people. Our staff and volunteers worked with them for weeks, slowly gaining their trust and showing them it was okay to open up.