In a perfect world, every stray dog would be given a home and the right amount of love. Sadly, we know this is not the case.
Each year, approximately 1.5 million shelter animals are euthanized, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA).
One lucky pooch who avoided this very fate is Kailey. She went from being an unwanted dog to a local superhero when she alerted her owner about a potential disaster back in January.
Kailey’s story is all too common. She’s an abused dog who struggles to trust humans again, and she acts out at times, making her an unpopular choice for adoption at an animal shelter.
“Her one issue was that something has happened to her in her past so that if you try to touch her and she did not know you she would snap at you,” Jacqueline Berlin, the dog’s ex-foster caretaker tells Fox 5. “Because of her issue, it was really hard to get her adopted.”
Dekalb County Animal Services, where Kailey was staying, was left with no choice but to book a time to have the dog euthanized.
As a desperate plea, Jacqueline and her partner, Keith Santer-Perham, took to Facebook and put up an ad “calling all introverts to meet their doggie soul mate,” Fox5 reports.
And thank goodness they did — ’cause it worked. The post somehow reached Suzy Chandler and caught her attention.
“The story of what she had been through just pulled on our heartstrings. We just thought we would be the perfect people for her,” Chandler tells Fox5. “It was a perfect match.”
Suzy and her family decided to take in the unwanted dog.
With time, Kailey started to befriend their other dog. But it was clear that she was still weary and edgy around people at times. She needed more time.
Then one Friday morning in January, Kailey was not quite herself and Suzy noticed something was off.
“All of a sudden she just started barking and looking at us and growling, like trying to get our attention,” she tells Fox5. “I said, ‘Well, what’s the matter with her?'”
The dog was very eager to show Suzy something. She led her to a spot her next to the house.
“She pulled me directly over to the side yard,” Suzy clarified. “Right away I smelled overpowering gas and heard a loud whooshing sound.”
What Kailey had discovered was in fact a terrible gas leak. They called 911 and the leak was resolved promptly. This could have really ended badly if it wasn’t caught in time.
Kailey is one smart dog for realizing the danger and notifying her owner.
“It was coming from next door to them where there is an apartment building full of children,” Jacqueline said. “If one person had lit a match, it could’ve been a bad scene.”
Now, Suzy has one thing to say about unwanted dogs.
“If you have the space, you have room in your heart to take in a needy animal, to love on them, I mean it comes back to you tenfold,” Suzy says.
If you agree with Suzy, please share this story with your friends to let them know that unwanted dogs aren’t bad dogs!
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