From Rescue Miracles To Emotional Reunions: 32 New Dog Stories Shared By 'We Rate Dogs'

This is Rex. He located a missing 7-year-old in just 12 minutes during his first-ever tracking mission. The young girl had been separated from her mom for more than two hours, but after sniffing the child’s shoes, Rex was immediately on her scent. “He’s kind of a triple threat,” his handler Deputy John Gray said. “He’s a therapy dog. He’s also a full explosive detection canine, and then he’s also a trained tracking canine, so he can track missing people.” Rex only completed his tracking training last year, so this was his first official mission. He works with children regularly as a school therapy dog, so he easily shifted to comfort mode with the young girl as soon as she was safe and just needed a calm presence.

Ten years ago, a dog fell into the Sayran reservoir in Kazakhstan and was at risk of being carried away by the current. A young man saw the dog and immediately climbed down to help, but was unable to climb back up the steep embankment with the dog. More bystanders formed a human chain to pull the dog and original rescuer up to safety. Now, thanks to a private funder, the moment is cast in metal and on display at the site of the rescue. The statue commemorates the 10th anniversary of the rescue and symbolizes unity and solidarity, as well as “support and collective action in overcoming challenges,” according to the city. A good reminder for us all.

This is Sprout. He just turned 21, so of course, his doggy retirement home threw him the party of the year. After getting his new ID, Sprout got his first legal pup cup, then he and his friends celebrated with cake, presents, and even a Sprout-themed calendar.

This is Honey. She lives on a farm with her family in northern New Mexico, where they raise chickens and horses. One morning last month, Honey showed up in the family’s driveway with major wounds, swelling, and a gash along her neck. The family spotted scratches along the fences and trees that indicated a bear had been in the area, but not a single one of their 60 chickens was lost. Having defended her pack, Honey then let the family take care of her. She headed to @espanolahumane for low-cost emergency care, and she received treatment for her neck wound as well as bandages and medication for her other injuries. “She protected our chickens and our family, and I feel like they [Española Humane] in turn have been protecting her in helping her … I’m getting emotional … through her healing journey,” said Denise Martinez. “She’s our little savior. She’s been nicknamed the bear slayer, and we’ve just come to find out that the bear slayer is afraid of the vacuum cleaner.”

This is Chewy. He digs all of the holes his grandma needs to plant flowers. For his next trick, he will resist the urge to dig all of them back up.

This is Molly. She and her human Jessica Johnston were hiking together in a remote area of New Zealand last week when Johnston fell down a 55-meter (180-foot) waterfall and suffered serious injuries. Johnston was rescued by helicopter, but Molly remained missing. Due to the traumatic fall, Johnston wasn't sure whether Molly fell with her or not. But one week later, after three unsuccessful missions to try to find the dog, helicopter pilot Matt Newton spotted her near the base of the waterfall using a thermal camera. He immediately passed the news along to Johnston, who had only recently been released from the hospital. During the rescue, a helicopter crewman named Wayne brought along his Jack Russell, Bingo, for emotional support in case Molly was frightened. Once she was safely secure, Molly and Johnston were reunited. The rescue missions were paid for by donations, for which Johnston is extremely grateful. "I'm absolutely blown away with the support everyone has given her so far from the kindest of strangers," she wrote in a Facebook comment. "Thank you for helping bring my Molly back home."

Following months of activism, 1,500 beagles are being released from the Ridglan Farms research facility in Wisconsin. Dane County Humane Society (@dchsgiveshelter) and the Beagle Freedom Project (@beaglefreedom) will help place 500, and Big Dog Ranch Rescue (@bigdogranchrescue) is rehoming the other 1,000. “We wanted a structured, responsible plan that guarantees every one of these dogs is safely transitioned into the care of reputable fully vetted rescue organizations, including ourselves,” said Big Dog Ranch founder Lauree Simmons.

Ridglan Farms, a commercial breeding facility that supplies beagles to animal testing labs, has been in the news for months following multiple break-in attempts this spring by activists attempting to free the dogs. The news comes one day after a court ruled the case against one of the organizers of those efforts can proceed to trial; felony burglary charges are pending against three others. Simmons credited the activists with raising awareness about the facility. “What they did was put the message out,” Simmons said. “What we did, we wanted to do legally and in the best way and for the best outcome of these dogs for the future.”

Ridglan Farms agreed to sell “a substantial majority of its dogs to groups that offered to purchase the animals,” according to a statement from the facility. Terms of the negotiations and sale will remain confidential. After a special prosecutor was appointed in 2025 to investigate alleged violations of Wisconsin’s animal cruelty laws, Ridglan Farms reached a settlement to avoid criminal prosecution in which it will forfeit its license to sell dogs effective July 1, 2026. It’s estimated that Ridglan Farms has roughly 2,000 beagles, so we hope to hear good news about the remaining dogs before that July deadline. To all the dogs being released, we wish you many years in loving homes.

This is Stanley. He’s been digging around the same spot in his backyard for about a year. His humans tried patching it up, even putting a paver over the top of it, but Stanley was insistent. Finally, he found his treasure: a blue glass bottle from the Victorian era that once contained poison. When his human began researching the bottle’s origins, he was able to immediately connect it with an infamous murder case that had taken place just two doors down in what is now Clyst Honiton, Devon, a village in England. In 1865, a woman in the village named Mary Ann Ashford poisoned her husband’s tea so she could be with her younger lover. She was executed in a public hanging that was a key to the end of capital punishment in Britain. While poison bottles were relatively common in the era, Stanley’s human points out: “If you had bought that bottle for the right reasons, like killing rats or something, why would you bother burying it?” Since his discovery, Stanley has stopped digging in the same spot, having completed his role in the historic murder case.

This is Cannoli. He stars as a model and scale reference in countless Facebook Marketplace ads placed by his human. He often takes up more of the photo than the item for sale, which is sometimes even cut off at the bottom in favor of getting his good side. He seems generally on board with his role, but he clearly holds a grudge against that pancake griddle.

This is Trinity. She was born with an ectopic ureter, a condition in which the tubes that should carry urine from the kidneys to the bladder instead drain into the urethra. Because of this, she had trouble controlling her bladder. As you can imagine, this was limiting her ability to be adopted. Thanks to your recent support of our ‘tell your dog i said hi’ merch, the @1510foundation was able to cover her $11,000 ureter surgery. We’re thrilled to report she can finally use the restroom normally and has found a forever home with a fellow husky brother.

When dogs arrive at the shelter, they get an intake picture, but they often look scared or nervous, and the photos are generally low quality. At @burkecountyanimalservices, once the pups have settled in, gotten a bath, and grown more comfortable, a pet photographer visits the shelter to do a photoshoot that better captures their personality. Those photos then go on the shelter’s website and social media pages, where they’re much more likely to get attention from potential adopters. We’ve seen countless examples of this throughout the shelter world, but Reddit user Smittensky has a portfolio of some of the most dramatic glow-ups out there. “I like to post my work here on Reddit to encourage other people to take up this hobby,” they wrote. “It is never too late to make a difference for the neglected animals in your community.” 13/10 for all.

(We’re pretty confident the new headshots helped every one of these dogs find a forever home because none of them are available through the shelter’s website.)

This is Hank. He will be joining you on your ride-share trip today. Because if he’s not there, it’s just a ride.

This is Poppy. She thinks if you didn’t want her to get the zoomies, you shouldn’t have taken her to a place literally called the zoom room.

This is Missy. She’s not sure what the big deal is. She had an adventure, found trusted adults, and came home cleaner than she left.

This is Sherlock Holmes. He arrived at his rescue with a large tumor on his left side. The mass was removed, but tests confirmed it was cancerous. To give him the best chance at a full and lasting recovery, he needed chemotherapy to help prevent the cancer from returning. Thanks to your support of our ‘tell your dog i said hi’ merch, the @1510foundation was able to cover his $12,000 care, including seven rounds of chemo. We’re thrilled to report he’s since been adopted, graduated from chemotherapy, and is now cancer-free!

This is Ranger. He’s never struck out like this before. Especially from people who don’t really seem to have anywhere else to be.

This is Westie. He knows that sometimes making a difference is as easy as making a friend.

This is Marty. He played the role of Bruiser in a college production of “Legally Blonde” and nailed every line. Was confused when people were impressed though. What, like it’s hard?

This is Fidèle. He napped on that windowsill, over the Groenerei canal in Bruges, Belgium, for over a decade. By doing so, he quickly became one of the most photographed dogs in the world. His fame was serendipitous. His human, Caroline, said that “one day he just went to lie in front of the window.” The canal below that window is considered to be the most charming spot in all of Bruges. Tour boats began pausing so visitors could take a picture of Fidèle. Fidèle passed away in 2016 at the age of 12, but not before making literally millions of people smile. Although visitors can no longer see him in person, he’s been fully immortalized on social media and in countless vacation photos in homes all over the world.

This is Brew. He heard how bad the sock market is right now. Thought it would be a good idea to save up.