'We Rate Dogs' Shared 50 Stories That Are Funny, Emotional, And Absolutely Heartwarming

This is Sunny. She was adopted by Norm Feigenbaum in 2021, five years after his wife passed away, and they’ve been inseparable ever since. But when Norm left for the grocery store one day, he didn’t realize his trusty pal had scaled a six-foot fence to try to come along. When the 93-year-old came back home and realized she was missing, he contacted Dog Days Search & Rescue to help track her down, but they had no luck and no sightings for over a week. Finally, she was spotted in a fenced-in nature preserve about a half mile away. The rescue group set up traps baited with Norm’s unwashed socks, homemade meatballs, kielbasa, and rotisserie chicken, and they were at last able to lure her out. After 12 long days apart, Norm and Sunny were finally reunited. Sunny was taken to the vet and treated for a few scrapes, and now the duo are overjoyed to be back home together. “She is back to her old self,” Norm says. “Without her, there’s nothing.”

This is Leia. She was hit by a car, leaving her with multiple pelvic fractures, broken back legs, and a dislocated hip. Her fur was so severely matted that rescue staff said she looked like a “pile of old hair,” a clear sign she had been on her own for a long time. Thanks to your recent support of our ‘tell your dog i said hi’ merch, the @1510foundation was able to cover her $18,000 care, including multiple surgeries to repair her injuries and laser therapy. She made a full recovery, and we’re happy to report she was adopted by her foster family, who completely fell in love with her.

This is Maggie. Her humans took her to the vet after she had a seizure, and doctors were surprised to discover that 95% of her brain cavity was filled with fluid. (According to vets we reached out to, the brain should take up 80-90% of the cavity. In frame 2, Maggie’s scan on the left is compared to that of a “normal dog” on the right.) She was diagnosed with hydrocephalus, a condition marked by an abnormal buildup of spinal fluid in the skull. The condition hadn’t prevented Maggie from living a fairly normal life in the six years she’d already spent with her humans, who did say they’d noticed she had always been “a little off.” Vets speculated that her body’s extremely low sodium levels had kept the disease in check and allowed her to live a long and happy life before passing at the age of 12. We love her little round noggin and vacant stare nonetheless.

This is Goulash. He’s turning 5 in December, and he’s getting a baby human brother early next year. When his mom Inês Egner went in for her 20-week anatomy scan, a friend pointed out that one of the sonogram pictures looked exactly like Goulash. “We were skimming through them together as you do, admiring the little hands, the little nose... until we came across that picture and my friend goes, ‘Wait, doesn’t the baby look just like Goulash?’” Egner recalled. “Hard to unsee the uncanny similarity after that.” Turns out, her whole family agrees. She texted the photo to her family, and her dad came to the same conclusion on his own. And hey, maybe the family resemblance makes sense: “In truth, we do like to jokingly refer to the dog as our son,” Egner told People. “I can’t imagine my life without him, and I’m so happy my son will get to have such a doting big brother when he arrives.”

This is Bronson. He passed from bone cancer. When his human saw a post from a dog named Brue who is also battling cancer and recently became paralyzed, she offered her Bronson’s wheelchair. Brue got used to it very quickly, and now she’s running for both of them.

This is Brenda and Linda. They were brought into the shelter together, and Brenda had zero interest in being separated from her best friend. She jumped the kennel wall to get to Linda, and made sure everyone knew they were a package deal. The best news? It worked: They were adopted together.

This is Dorian. He cordially invites you to release your inhibitions and feel the rain on your skin.

This is Cato. He’s usually a calm dog, but in January of 2021, he suddenly became anxious around his human, Chase Johnson. After a few days of nervously following her around, he pressed his nose firmly against the side of her breast. “He did it a second time, which hurt,” Chase said. “That is when I started searching and found the lump.” This was not the first time Cato detected something was wrong. He had previously shown similar anxious behaviors around Chase’s husband, Ben, who was shortly after diagnosed with colon cancer. So when he began exhibiting these behaviors for a second time, Chase trusted Cato’s instincts. She immediately set up a doctor’s appointment and was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer (an aggressive form of breast cancer that tends to grow and spread faster). She was able to undergo treatment within a year and even participate in a clinical research trial for a breast cancer vaccine to decrease the risk of recurrence. Both Ben and Chase are grateful for Cato. “If my dog hadn’t alerted me, I think it would have been much later before I caught it.”

This is Bernard. He fell into an icy pond and couldn’t get back out. His family had contacted emergency services right away, but it ended up being a local teen who came to the rescue. High school senior Hugh Pinneo immediately jumped into action, grabbing his family’s kayak. He rowed out to the dog and reached into the frigid water to pull Bernard aboard before wrapping the dog in the coat off his back. “I didn’t really think about the risk or the cold – in the moment, I just realized if I’m the one who can help, I’m the one who’s gotta go,” Hugh said. Bernard and his very grateful family were reunited, and the adventurous pup has agreed to stick to land activities in the future. For Hugh’s part, he’s “just glad I acted that day and saved the dog’s life.” We are too.

This is Magnus. He just beat cancer. His family was so excited that they wrote the news on their car window and bought him a bunch of balloons to celebrate. The whole ride home from the vet, Magnus was showered in love and support from strangers. His human said, “I hope everyone has a Magnus in their lives, who radiates light every step and shows them what determination and strength are.”

This is Flambo. He isn’t trying to start anything right now, but needs you to stop lying to his face.

This loyal dog who refused to leave his owner’s grave for 10 years has inspired a new law in Brazil allowing pets to be buried with their families, in recognition of the familial bond between pets and humans. Nicknamed Bob Coveiro (or “gravedigger” in Portuguese), the fluffy brown pup insisted on staying in the São Paulo cemetery following his human’s funeral in 2011, even returning to her gravesite when family members tried to remove him. Eventually, cemetery staff officially adopted him, providing him with food, shelter, and medical care over the years. Gravedigger Bob reportedly followed other funeral processions in the cemetery, sometimes carrying a ball in his mouth and providing a moment of levity to mourners. When Bob died in 2021, there was no law on the books allowing pets and humans to be buried together, but the Taboão da Serra city council made an exception for him after widespread public outcry. Now, five years later, the Brazilian state of São Paulo joins two others in having passed an official law allowing the practice. “Anyone who has lost a pet knows: It’s not just an animal. It’s family,” one of the authors of the bill wrote on Instagram. “Love does not end at goodbye.”

This is Elain, Rhysand, and Cassian. The mischievous trio ingested something toxic, making them all very sick. They must have made some sort of secret pact because they’ve been very tight-lipped about what they ate 🙄 Thanks to your recent support of our ‘tell your dog i said hi’ merch, the @1510foundation was able to cover their $9,400 hospital bill. They all made a full recovery, and each of the puppies found a forever home.

This is Porter. He experienced a spinal stroke on Thanksgiving, leaving him paralyzed in his back legs. His family has since been doing everything they can to help him walk again. He goes to physical therapy and hydrotherapy once a week, and he does red light therapy and daily at-home physical therapy. After one month he finally began to show signs of improvement when he was able to urinate on his own and even experienced feeling in his right leg. His family is overjoyed by his progress and says, “We are very hopeful that our boy will do all the things he loves again.”

This is Princess. She and her human work hard every day collecting trash at an apartment building. It is an often thankless job, but one kind resident thought the pair should know how much they are appreciated, and that Princess should get a uniform too.

This is Katya. She was found as a stray with CCL disease and grade 4 (the highest) luxating patellas in both hind legs, making it very painful to walk. Due to the severity of her condition, the risk of complications is too high to attempt surgery. Instead, she needs lifelong medication to manage it. Thanks to your recent support of our ‘tell your dog i said hi’ merch, @1510foundation was able to cover the $7,800 for anti-inflammatory medication, pain management and annual bloodwork to keep her comfortable for the rest of her days. We’re thrilled to report she’s already showing improvement, and she’s thriving with her forever family

This is Kevin. He’s less reactive in public when he gets to pick out a little treat. 14/10 extremely relatable.

This is Marbles. She was found as a stray with several tumors in both her ears. The growths were completely blocking her ear canals, and they were trapping dirt, which caused itchiness and discomfort. Thanks to your recent support of our ‘tell your dog i said hi’ merch, the @1510foundation was able to cover the $13,000 TECA surgery to clear and remove her ear canals. She has since fully healed and is living her best life in her new forever home.

This is Kintsugi. She arrived at a shelter with a fractured leg. Her rescuer sadly believes she was abused, most likely kicked, based on her behavior. Thanks to your recent support of our ‘tell your dog i said hi’ merch, @1510foundation was able to cover her $5,200 surgery to correct it. She has since been adopted and is healing beautifully in her forever home. She was named Kintsugi after the ancient Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold, highlighting the flaws in the mended object.

These pups weren’t about to let a historic blizzard keep them from having a good time. Because after all, every day is a snow day when you’re a dog.