Rescue 75 Second Hand Dogs from the Deep South

Rocky truly found his forever home with his new mom Christine who says she didn’t save him Rocky saved her. He is living his best life being the king of the castle running around his backyard chasing squirrels & playing with his toys. He loves going to work with mom everyday at home laying next to her feet till the work day is over then goes on his evening walks in the park everyday. Rocky couldn’t ask for a better life.

“Schmiegel was found in a tiny Mississippi Delta town as a stray in an elderly man’s yard. His skin was inflamed and oozing with mange, he was infested with intestinal parasites, he was starving to death, both front legs showed the early signs of Rickets. The elderly man’s granddaughter spotted this poor baby and reached out to me. I immediately drove to the nearby town and got him, called Joanne our co-founder, and she immediately accepted him into PAWS New England rescue. After lots of medical attention, food, and around the clock love, Schmiegel grew into a perfectly healthy, beautiful, happy puppy. He is now Bentley, living his best life with his new family in New England.” - with love, from Schmiegel’s rescuer.

Hercules was born in Tennessee around 2018. He spent his first 3 years chained up outside with a Chihuahua sister named Sweet Pea. Allison from PAWS New England South happened upon them one day and noticed that Sweet Pea was in rough shape. Allison couldn't leave them there and their owner was happy to give them up. Allison treated Sweet Pea's wounds and Hercules for heartworms while noticing that they weren't a bonded pair. After they were healed, Hercules watched Sweet Pea get adopted then it was his turn! Until... You see, Hercules didn't escape his chained-up life unscathed. He learned that when you're scared, barking like a lunatic will help. Meaning, that when he sees another dog while on a leash he loses his mind. This is called leash reactivity and can be fixed with time and patience. Leash reactivity is a term used to describe dogs who bark and lung at other dogs they see while on a leash. Often mistaken as aggression, reactivity is an early fear response and can be treated using positive reinforcement training. All this boils down to is, that a dog with leash reactivity is afraid and trying to scare the other dog away. The landlord at Hercules' new home saw this one day and kicked him out. Allison took him back and plans were made to move him to New England. Herc arrived in Connecticut on March 19th, 2022 to fosters Jodi and Tim. Jodi is a former certified professional dog trainer (CPDT-KA) which came in handy for training Hercules while searching for his forever family. Other than barking at dogs while on a leash, Hercules is a well-rounded, smart, goofy, and super polite dog so no one could understand why he kept getting passed up. Three different applications fell through before one day in the summer of 2023 a friend of Tim's stopped by and happened to meet Hercules and the rest is history. Hercules' new Dad rushed home to tell his partner who he had met. Sooner after, we had a meet and greet and Hercules turned on the charm. As expected, they fell in love with him and on September 1st, 2023 after 531 days in his Connecticut foster, Hercules was finally home.