Pitbull abandoned by family now spends her days hanging out with firefighting crew
Many abandoned dogs have to go through a long process before they can be adopted out. They have to be checked for abuse and neglect and then it must be determined their ability to live in a new home. An abandoned pit bull, named Ashley, in New York just happened to find herself in the perfect situation from the get-go.
A pit bull is abandoned by her owners in the cold
Ashley’s former owners had neglected the poor pit bull, barely taking her outside or feeding her, before finally just abandoning her one winter. Erica Mahnken and her boyfriend Michael Favor got the call to rescue the abandoned pit bull.
“We got a phone call from somebody that there was a couple living in an abandoned house. They had no heat or electricity, and they had a dog there,” Mahnken, cofounder of No More Pain Rescue, told The Dodo. “I guess they went to find somewhere warm to stay, and they had left the dog behind. So as soon as we got the phone call, we ran and got her.”
A life of neglect and abuse
Fortunately, Ashley was unharmed as they put her in the vehicle. In fact, she seemed very joyful for a dog who had just been abandoned. Putting her into the car, the couple took Ashley to a local vet. Once there it was discovered that Ashley was severely malnourished, and Was 25 pounds underweight.
In addition, the pit bull had cigarette burns on the top of her head, so she had also been abused. One thing No More Pain Rescue didn’t have was its own shelter. Desperate to get Ashley into a foster home, the rescue organization approached a New York City Fire Department, the Fort Pitt Station, that had once had a dog.
Finding Ashley a foster home
At first, the couple just wanted the station to hold onto Ashley until they could make more permanent arrangements. For her part, Ashley seemed more than okay with the arrangement.
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“As soon as she walked into the firehouse, her tail was wagging, and she was licking and greeting everybody,” Mahnken said. “She was super happy. From where she came from, you wouldn’t really expect that. You would think that she’d be a little skittish, but she wasn’t at all.”
Ashley’s temporary home becomes a permanent one
Mahnken was not surprised at all when the fire station called her days later wanting to keep Ashley.
“They said, ‘We’re going to adopt her. We just love her so much. She is at home here,'” Mahnken said. “So, I was thrilled. And as soon as I walked her in there, I knew that that’s where she belonged.”
A perfect fit
The fire station was a perfect fit for Ashley. She would go on smaller runs with the firefighters, riding in the fire truck. And she seemed to get plenty of exercise as there was always a firefighter willing to walk her. The firefighters would even take Ashley on the roof of the fire station to play.
“I’m so glad we got her into a home that will show her nothing but love, and not make her into the pit bull that people love to hate so quickly,” Mahnken said. “It was an unbelievable feeling to know that that’s where she belonged.”
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For more on Ashley and her life at the fire station, check out her Instagram.
For more on Ashley’s heartwarming rescue, watch the video below!
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Sources: The Dodo, Dogtime.com, Instagram – probyash, MEET our furry friends