Chester was rescued by AWL after being abandoned at an emergency vet. His owner had kicked him and broken his leg.

Chester was adopted 2 years ago by a lovely woman and her daughter.

She recently wrote to Chester's former foster mom that Chester is the love of their lives and has made them very happy. Their other two dogs also love Chester and almost immediately adopted him as their brother. They don't go anywhere without each other.

When Chester's mom had spine surgery, Chester stayed by her side during her 6-week recovery. "We can't imagine our life without him."

Julie was taken into foster care by AWL after being picked up by Animal Control. A 12-week old pup, Julie had been abandoned in a stranger's yard! Her skin was bloody and sore from mange and she had entropion, a painful condition in which her eyelids were folded inward, causing her eyelashes to constantly rub against her corneas. After surgery in both eyes, and months of skin treatments and good nutrition, Julie grew into a strong, strikingly beautiful dog.

During the time she was fostered, Julie dispelled many misconceptions about pit bull terriers; as this picture demonstrates, Julie clearly loves children. She also helped her foster mom foster many a kitten, bathing them, playing with them, etc.

Because pit bull terriers can be strong-willed and precocious, Julie's foster mom was very careful to ensure that Julie found the right home. In early January 2012, after 15 months in foster care, Julie found her forever home. She lives with 3 children, 3 cats, and 2 adults. Here she is waving at her foster mom. This is one very happy ending for a very special dog!

Our adoptive parents wanted to share how lucky we are to have found such a loving and warm home after having such a scary beginning to our lives. The Animal Welfare League rescued us from a shelter and saved us both from euthanasia. They gave us lots of TLC in a group home until we were adopted by them in September 2010.

Although we are not really related, we quickly became inseparable. We love watching the birds outside from the safety and comfort of our sunroom.

Please help by adopting one of our friends that we left behind at the Animal Welfare League. We promise you will be as happy with your decision to adopt as our folks!

This is Jasper’s story, as told by his former foster mom, AWLFC volunteer Ann Virts.

It was early December and I had stopped by Frederick County Animal Control to see if there were adult cats in need of rescue. I found a handsome boy that had been abandoned in Jefferson. He looked like a purebred Maine Coon. A sweet boy, the minute I picked him up, he melted into my arms and made biscuits. You know the ones that steal your heart in an instant… well, this was one of those cats! I knew he was meant to be my foster. Little did I know that this was the start of a series of events that would reunite a young couple with their cat.

Jasper’s story starts 6 months earlier when a young couple, Emily and Tom, were advised by their pediatrician to re-home their two 5-year old Maine Coon cats because the cats may pose harm to their premature baby, Zoe. After posting an ad at their veterinarian’s office, they were contacted by a family and after multiple conversations and a home visit, they decided to re-home them. Now I know some people will say that they could have kept their cats. But imagine having a baby 2 months early and having the doctors tell you that the cats could pose a health risk to your infant. And, rather than dumping the cats at a shelter, this couple did all of the work to find what they thought was a good home.

Six weeks passed and Emily and Tom received a call from Animal Control – one of the two cats turned up at the shelter as a stray! Luckily for everyone, he was micro-chipped. But when the couple called the new owners, they were told that they were divorcing and moving and that they did not want the cat back but that they were keeping Jasper, the other cat! They refused to return calls and the situation became very bizarre.

From time to time, Emily and Tom, now with their healthy baby and the returned cat, would check petfinder.com looking for Jasper and then, one day, they saw the cat I had named Thor! They emailed me and told me his story. After several emails with pictures and phone calls, I knew this was their cat! When I saw the look on their faces when they saw Jasper, I knew I had made the right decision to return their cat.

While this story has a happy ending, far too many animals are taken to shelters or re-homed because of antiquated information given to new parents by doctors. As a humane education organization, we must continually educate people about how they can keep their animals as part of their family, even when circumstances change.