Rescues

Mom and Dad were devastated by the sudden loss of their Shepherd mix Murphy on January 27, 2021, to an aggressive cancer. Our story is unique in how it intertwined in such a special way with the big brother I never got to meet. At 10 months old, I was dumped off at Rusty’s Legacy on Christmas Day 2020, the same day Murphy got so sick. Mom stayed up all night with Murphy that fateful Christmas, and I spent that same Christmas night scared, confused, and abandoned by the family I thought loved me. The same foster mom and shelter that rescued Murphy also rescued me – small world! It gets better: as Murphy’s cancer quickly took over, Mom let Jeri at Rusty’s Legacy know how sick he was and that he would pass soon. The night before my big brother went to heaven, my foster mom sent my mom-to-be a picture of me to “think on,” not knowing Murphy would pass so soon. During January, Camp Bow Wow took me in to help me conquer my fear and anxiety, giving me a better chance of being adopted. I got to play with other dogs all day, and the people there were so nice to me! On February 6, 2021, Mom came to meet me for the first time. She brought Shep, Jordan, and Riley too. They took me with them that day, and I found my forever home.

Mom is my world and my compass, but I still have leftover fear and anxiety issues even with all the love and special care I’ve been given. After four years, I’m still learning that being touched and loved on is okay. With much help and patience from Mom and Dad, Heather from Mindful Mutz, and the incredible teams at Waghab and my vet’s office, I have made huge progress with being social and handling vet visits. Though I want to play, I’m still very reactive and cannot socialize too well. I still struggle to meet other dogs. There’s no doubt that Mom and Dad gave me a second chance at life and love and call me “their favorite dingbat.”

My 6th birthday is March 2026, but my 5-year anniversary being with Mom and Dad is February 6th! I’ve had a good year overall except I may have something wrong with my liver. I’m on special supplements, and mom is keeping a good watch on this. I got my first real teeth cleaning and x-rays in October and did great. Mom always tries to clean them well, but I’m not a good patient! Being asleep for it was the best. Rosie is my rock, and I’m barely tolerating the new puppy – I guess she’ll grow on me! My favorite things are still food, car rides, walks, and food (I had to say that twice).

Mom actively sought me through German Shepherd Rescue & Adoption of NC during the summer of 2022 when she lost her dear soulmate Jordan and then Riley just five days later. I was found running the streets of Durham in the spring of 2022 with a terrible past that only I know, but abuse was very evident on the outside to everyone I met. Looking to fill the big hole in her heart with new love, and after just having lost her dad on her birthday in October, my new mom chose me to be her special girl. I came to my new home in Black Mountain on 11/11/2022, very sick and shutdown and only weighing 58 pounds as a full-grown German Shepherd. My given name was Connie, but she named me Rosie to honor her own mom’s childhood nickname.

It’s an understatement that it was a rough start for me. After traveling four hours with Mom to get home, Mom got me comfortable in the living room, and I was so terrified that I crashed through the French doors and escaped through the garage after just five minutes. It took 20 minutes for them to corral me, but fortunately I had gone into a dead-end driveway at the neighbor’s house. If they hadn’t caught me that day, I might still be running! I stayed in the back of the crate for weeks, would barely eat, and destroyed my beds and rugs because I was so anxious and upset. I was terrified of people, especially males, and Mom began to spend time with me in my crate – my safe space – to earn my trust. Before long, Rocky came to be with me in the crate too, and I gradually settled in and allowed them to love me. It took me much longer to trust Dad, and he worked so hard for months and wouldn’t give up on me. I didn’t mean to hurt his feelings for so long, but I couldn’t help it. He’s the best doggy dad, and I’m glad he melted my fearful heart.

The other part of becoming whole was getting healthy. I came with four types of worms, including the very serious heartworm infection. Through great and helpful vet teams, we eradicated the very bad heartworms and completed the long, slow recovery period with Mom and Dad by my side every day for two months. Though this was a scary time, this is when I knew I had a wonderful home and the best pet parents. It took almost a year for me to get healthy, but we finally cleared all the worms from my system.

Like many German Shepherds, I am still high strung and have leftover GI issues sometimes, but Mom and Dad feed me an amazing diet with great supplements that keep me mostly balanced and feeling good. I stay around 70 pounds now, big enough to hold my own with Rocky! I’ve grown into a healthy, confident girl, and now Rocky is the chicken!

My third anniversary with Mom and Dad was 11/11/2025, though I’m really about six years old like Rocky and that hateful Casper! I’ve come a long way from being severely underweight and shut down – it was a long journey, but I had the right people to help me. I’m the queen of the home (Casper only thinks she is!) and Rocky’s best friend. Raven is a little annoying, but I’m helping her become a good addition to the pack. Can’t she just grow up faster?! I’m a great watchdog but still so anxious and afraid of certain things, especially car rides. Mom depends on me so much when we’re out because I’m so good at seeing what’s around us – I scare off people and bears equally! I’ve had the best year so far with my health, and I’m looking forward to another great year with Mom and Dad.

I’m the newest addition, and I hear I hit the jackpot with my new mom and dad! Rusty’s Legacy found me in McDowell County on a hot summer day as part of an abandoned litter of pups, and I went to the big adoption event in Black Mountain right when Mom was searching for a new pup to fill their heart and home after losing Shep eight days earlier. To be honest, Mom and Dad were looking for a senior dog, but nothing worked out. And what do you know? They found me on September 20th at just four months old, and I’m rocking their world! The shelter named me Bunny for my huge ears, but when Mom and Dad adopted me they renamed me Raven, hoping I’d grow into my ears one day.

I’m a great pup, but I’m absolutely all puppy! I’m smart, curious, and growing so fast (50 pounds at just six months old…I’m going to be a big girl). I try not to pester my big brother Rocky and sister Rosie too much. I really want to meet Casper face to face, but Mom won’t let me. Mom recently completed two doggy DNA tests, and we will soon know what breed I am when the tests come back in the near future!

Casper was initially seen in Dr. Bowman-Hensley’s neighborhood early June 2023. Dr. Bowman-Hensley caught glimpses of this gorgeous, all-white cat for a few days and eventually found her hanging out under the bird feeder, trying to survive. She was extremely underweight and severely injured. After a few days of feeding her, Dr. Bowman-Hensley realized she was severely hurt and bleeding, so she trapped her on June 13, 2023. Her injuries were consistent with a hawk’s attempt to get her as she had significant puncture wounds around her head. Dr. Bowman-Hensley took her to urgent care and couldn’t turn her back on this beautiful girl who clung to Dr. Bowman-Hensley at the vet’s office late that night. Dr. Bowman-Hensley and Casper both cried, going and coming to the Emergency Animal Hospital, with Dr. Bowman-Hensley not knowing what to do next as she had never had a cat in her life – it was always a house full of dogs.

As the summer progressed, the shelters were full, and their friends and neighbors were unable to care for Casper. Dr. Bowman-Hensley fell in love with this beautiful girl and decided to keep her as her first ever cat. Early on, she and Mike went to great lengths to figure out how to separate her from the dogs at home for fear they would hurt her.

Casper settled in to becoming a great office cat during the week, and Dr. Bowman-Hensley would take her home when the office was closed. When Jasper joined the family at the office, she took quite an exception to him; though it was hopeful they would become buddies, Casper made it clear that was not going to happen!. Dr. Bowman-Hensley took Casper home late summer 2024, and she now rules the whole house!

Like Rocky and Rosie, she’s also six, and her health is great! She keeps Rocky and Rosie in line but is still figuring out the new puppy too…she doesn’t know whether Raven wants to chase her or eat her! Dr. Bowman-Hensley and Mike are working on Raven to help her get along with Casper, and one day she’ll let Raven know who’s the boss! What’s not to love?!

Jasper was part of the litter of feral cats that Dr. Bowman-Hensley and her staff had been taking care of since COVID started. Jasper started coming by the summer of 2022 and had been the most frequent flyer out of all the feral litters. He would lay low in the bushes nearby and wait to see Dr. Bowman-Hensley’s car as he’d become very dependent on those meals. Dr. Bowman-Hensley stayed dedicated to him, always coming twice a day to make sure he was okay and never hungry.

Jasper disappeared in early January 2024, and Dr. Bowman-Hensley’s heart fell as she knew something had probably happened to him. After a few days he reappeared, and Dr. Bowman-Hensley’s fears were confirmed when she and Hannah noticed that he had been seriously hurt. She very much feared for his ability to weather his injuries with the coldest air of the winter coming that weekend. On January 18, 2024, Dr. Bowman-Hensley was referred to Friends 2 Feral, and they helped trap him that day. Because of his serious injuries and overall poor condition, he was hospitalized for the care he desperately needed for 10 of the next 12 days. Dr. Bowman-Hensley worried very much that he would not pull through as he was still very underweight with very serious injuries that needed to heal. Early on, as Dr. Bowman-Hensley gained his trust and started assessing him more fully, it became very apparent that a coyote had likely nearly killed him; she felt it was a miracle he survived the injuries, even with the professional help he received. He was way too sick and injured to turn back outside as is customary, and Dr. Bowman-Hensley and her staff fostered him and nursed him back to health. After three full months, his physical and emotional scars healed nicely, and he started putting on weight and thriving. Very ironically, his first exam showed that he has malformed teeth and likely would have had trouble foraging for food as feral cats must do. This helped explain why he was so consistent with coming for meals, and it is so fitting that he landed at the local dentist office as his new home!

Jasper has made an amazing transition and has had free run of the office since early 2025. Except on the busiest days, you’ll find him greeting you in the hallway and accepting all the love anyone wants to give him. He has lots of mamas at the office and can always pick out which patients love cats too. It’s still so amazing the progress he’s made while being feral in early 2024, and Dr. Bowman-Hensley couldn’t be more proud of him.