Story of Pit Bull’s Happy Ending After Years of Raising Abandoned Puppies Is Everything

In a world full of sad news, this story that People Pets shared on Monday, September 2nd, is the feel-good story we all want to hear; it'll warm your heart! Lucky Dog Animal Rescue rescued a pregnant Pit Bull named Noel in December 2020. It took 1,263 days, many foster homes, and raising countless puppies to find her forever home, but in July 2024, she finally did!

Noel was found by Lucky Dog at the Florence County Environmental Services' animal control shelter in Effingham, South Carolina in the dead of winter. Based in Washington D.C., Lucky Dog pulls and transports at-risk canines from kill shelters in South Carolina to find foster families for them in the D.C. area. Knowing that a pregnant Pit Bull would have a hard time finding a forever home, they took Noel in.

Noel quickly found a foster home to have her babies in, and they were all eventually adopted. All of them except for Noel, that is. She bounced around before luckily ending up in the foster home of Irene Marquez in April 2023.

Marquez had been fostering rescued animals, especially puppies, for 18 years. It took the Pit Bull weeks to feel at home, but she finally did. After that, she became a surrogate mom to the rescued puppies who Marquez cared for. Marquez said Noel loved every puppy that came into the house, "It didn't matter what size, as long as they were puppies. She let them do whatever they wanted to her." Marquez told People Noel was an "amazing mom" to over two dozen foster puppies while she was there. You can read all of the details of Noel's transformation at People Pets.

Related: 'Saddest' Pit Bull at Shelter Immediately Lights Up Upon Realizing He's Being Rescued

Rescued Pit Bull Noel Finds Her Forever Home After 1,263 Days

Though Noel was still living with Marquez, Lucky Dog was doing everything they could to find her a forever home. They decided to run a digital flyer on Nextdoor, and the beautiful pooch caught her eventual adopters eyes. Joe Capra and Valerie Smith told People, "We saw her, and then we talked to Lucky Dog about it and found out she'd been in foster care for three years, and we were like, 'Yeah, no more of that,'" Capra says of what happened next.

On July 19th, the day they met her, although Noel was still a bit shy with her new family, they took her home. She settled in immediately, and has made a welcome addition ever since, describing her as a "mild-mannered, very gentle" dog. Noel finally found her happily ever after, and Capra and Smith found theirs as well!

Noel's story reminds me of my dog Savannah's rescue story. Savannah (she's a Pit Bull mix) and her six siblings were found alone and trying to survive the cold with their still-nursing mom at the end of November 2023. One puppy had already passed when they were found, and another passed soon after. Savannah and her siblings were all adopted rather quickly once they went to a foster home, but it took their mom months longer.

I think that's why this story touched my heart so much, and why Lucky Dog, Capra, Smith, Marquez, People Magazine, and so many others all encourage pet adoption. There are too many animals to count out there who need to find homes and they all want and deserve it. There's something so special about adopting a pet; it's almost like they know and understand that you saved their lives. Definitely consider it the next time you are thinking about bringing home a new fur baby!

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