Although many of us wish we could save every stray pet we see, that isn’t realistic. Still, we try to help out when we can. Often, a story about a homeless dog will touch my heart. I am tempted to donate to the cause, but I’m also worried that it is a scam.
CUDDLY sponsored this post. All photos courtesy of Loving My Company. Warning: We only feature happy photos on the Daily Dog Tag, but the link in purple leads to a page that has some graphic images of injured animals that CUDDLY is helping.
So, I was happy to learn about CUDDLY: a crowdfunding platform for animal rescue organizations. Not only does CUDDLY feature adoptable pets, but you can also safely donate to help a specific pet or a shelter because each recipient has been vetted.
CUDDLY even allows you to donate money or something off an injured or ill animal’s wishlist, such as toys, treats, or a bed. One of the many pets featured on Cuddly is Allie. She reminds me of my sister’s dog, Franny.
Franny lives with my sister, Alice. Although my sisters and I have had many dogs between us, we agree that Franny is the best dog ever. While I adopted a couple of my dogs from the shelter, they were puppies, not adults. Franny inspired me to adopt Theo, and now I think I will only adopt adult dogs in the future.
Beautiful Franny has an interesting past, although we only know a little bit about it.
A vet volunteering for the Rural Area Veterinary Services in Arizona rescued Franny. However, Franny and another dog escaped from the vet’s backyard the day they arrived in Los Angeles. Alice found Franny and the other dog walking the streets of LA; Alice was able to locate the vet who initially rescued Franny. The other dog already had a vet student waiting to adopt her, but the vet was looking for someone to adopt Franny, so Alice and her Pug Lulu welcomed her into their pack. Soon after adoption, it was discovered that Franny had a rare, life-threatening condition. The vet that had rescued her originally was kind enough to treat Franny pro bono. Luckily, the treatment was successful.
We don’t really know the details of Franny’s life, but Cuddly asked us to imagine Franny telling her story now.
From Franny: “In my youth, I was pretty independent. Not that I wanted to be, I didn’t have a choice. I often had to fend for myself, finding food wherever I could, not only for myself but also for my puppies. Of course, my puppies were the smartest, cutest pups in the world. Even though I was just a pup myself, I loved them all and took great care of them!
You can bet that I was a great hunter, but occasionally, I was a scavenger during tough times. I had plenty of room to roam, and I saw a lot of things: some good, some not so good. One of the things I learned the hard way is that people are weird about their trash. One day someone took issue with me going through their garbage and shot at me with a BB gun. If it is so precious, why were they throwing it away? Did they really have to shoot at me? RUDE! I still have a BB inside me that reminds me of how eccentric people can be. Physically, I recovered from that incident pretty easily, but maybe that’s why loud noises scare me.
A kind vet transported me from my original home in rural Arizona to Los Angeles, California. I was so anxious to start my new life that I escaped out of the vet’s backyard. My forever home was out there waiting for me. I walked into Alice’s life more than twelve years ago. She spotted my friend and me walking the streets. Before I even laid eyes on her, I knew she was my person. And I was okay sharing her with another dog, Lulu.
After fending for myself for so long, I had some minor food aggression issues, but once I figured out that there was enough food for all of us, the issues disappeared. Lulu, the Pug, gave me the cold shoulder at first. But after a month, we became best friends.
We moved far away from Los Angeles to Central New York. While I love being outside in the summer and fall, winter is another story. I find it best to spend as much of the winter in a comfy spot inside.
If you want to know the most comfortable place in the room, just look for me. I am always there!
While my sidekick Darla barks at the squirrels and birds, I never do. I could still catch them easily if I wanted to, but now that I’m living the good life, I feel sorry for them. I know how tough it is when you don’t have a loving human to feed you.
Just over two years ago, Alice found a little stray kitten on the highway. Of course, she had to take him in. He had some special needs, and I kept a close watch over him. With my love, he’s flourished into a handsome cat and good friend.” 
From Alice: “Franny opened my heart to the importance of rescue work and second chances for dogs with health issues. She has been given three life-saving moments in her 14-plus years. In return, Franny has simply and quietly just been the best dog.”
Allie’s story reminds me of Franny’s, and I hope she has good luck finding a forever home like Franny did.
If you can’t adopt another pet now but want to make a difference, consider donating to CUDDLY. Additionally, CUDDLY has some great gifts for animal lovers. It is an awesome way to make someone happy and help needy pets at the same time.
I’d love to know your pet’s unspoken story! Please share on Instagram and Twitter, and use #MyUnspokenPet. CUDDLY is offering a grant to a rescue that gets the most tags on social media with #MYUNSPOKENPET stories.
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About Loving My Company: Based in Syracuse, New York, Alice specializes in photography for creative entrepreneurs and is teaching her unique business model to other photographers.
I am a real fan of rescue dogs. They are always the best pets and companions. Franny looks so loyal and a real friend.
Rescue dogs are the best! And Franny is probably the best dog I’ve ever known, (just don’t tell my dogs I said that!)
This is a beautiful story and I’m glad that Franny found the perfect forever home (or so it seems, from what I’m reading lol)
Both of our pups are rescues, each with their own background. I adopted Daviana from the local shelter when she was just 1 year old. Living on my own, she was my closest companion at the time. Indiana was adopted at 1 1/2 years old from a rescue in Ohio, the first dog that my husband and I adopted together (but I’m sure not to be the last). We have helped them work through their own fears, issues and concerns but the end result? Two AMAZING loving pups that I can’t imagine our lives without!
When we get another dog, not ready yet after our adopted Senior Pug passed away 1 year ago, we plan to look at shelters to adopt. There’s just something about giving a doggy a furrever home that otherwise wouldn’t have one that makes me happy. I’ve always had a spot in my heart for rescues, we adopted our pug and she lived a fabulous 7 years with us before getting old and passing. I still remember the 1st day she could run without a leash, her previous owners never had her off a leash, she had never been able to just RUN, I swear she smiled that first day we brought her own and let her run in a fenced in yard area.
Thanks Daily Dog Tag and Cuddly for featuring my sweet girl Franny! I agree, Allie’s story really does remind me of Franny’s backgroun as well. I bet she is going to be so happy to find a forever home!
So sweet. I always love rescue pets. We rescued our kitties! I will have to check out Cuddly for sure.
So happy Franny found her forever, she’s a pretty girl! We became part of a great rescue a few years ago & some of the stories will break your heart, but it’s always such a good feeling when they get the home they were meant to be in. Our Haley was born into the rescue but adopted & returned 3 times before we got her, so she has separation anxiety and is pretty skittish but overall SO loving & sweet. I also think if we get any more dogs, they will be adults or seniors.
Oh how lovely, I love the story and I love the photography. I couldn’t help but smile all through while reading the post.
We are a rescue pet kind of family. Thank you so much for this. I will definitely be donating to Cuddly!
It was wonderful to learn more about this site. Such a beautiful story.
I have two rescued dogs. They are so precious. So glad they are part of our family!
I didn’t know about Cuddly. Thanks for sharing the information.
This is a really good story and the dog looks so adorable. Taking care of a dog is like taking care of a kid that will eventually be lovable to you. It is sweet
This is a beautiful post! We are thinking of adopting a dog next spring! We are all agree that the dog need to be an adult!
Rescue dogs are the best! And Franny looks like such a sweet angel. Thanks for sharing her story!
more people need to think about rescuing dogs from their local shelters.
Beautiful photos! We adopted a puppy three months ago and we are first time furparent. we are loving it.
Kudos to Cuddly for doing such a remarkable act. Organizations like them are simply admirable.
gorgeous photos and such an incredible story. I have gotten a rescue dog in the past and she was amazing!
That is beautiful story, glad that Fanny found forever home and living happily with friends. Sure I will try to adopt a dog if possible if not I will donate money.
That’s a touching story. I’m glad that Franny found a loving family. And i hope more organization act to save pets and more people give love for this lovable pets.
Franny is such a beautiful baby! With an equally beautiful story to match! Rescues are the best
That’s a beautiful story! I have never heard of Cuddly before, it sounds like a great platform to help animals that are in need.
Thanks for sharing Franny’s story! She is an absolute love! We adopted our Sooshi almost 4 years ago while we were out ‘researching’ rescues. She’d been found wandering the countryside with her brother and together they were rescued from a high-kill shelter. She actually curled up in my son’s lap and settled in, so we sort of had no choice but to bring her home. 😉 She’s like the glue around here…it sounds like Franny is, too!
I only rescue and love reading about different organizations and how they help rescues like Cuddly which I have never heard. Franny is one lucky dog to have been rescued and live the good life, she deserves it and reading her story and that she was shot at with a BB gun makes me sick inside as humans can be so cruel.
I have not heard of CUDDLY before – thanks for bringing this to my attention! We absolutely love rescue pups, particularly seniors – we try to make room for one senior adoption to share in our lives at all times.
Lovely Franny; she’s so blessed to have found such a wonderful forever home to live out the rest of her life.
Franny has quite the story. She’s so strong and resilient. I’m glad she found her forever home with such a loving family. I love that trio photo of the three of them together. She’s got the sweetest brown eyes. I’ll have to check out CUDDLY too.
This is so wonderful! Both of my chihuahuas are rescues, and we don’t know too much about their pasts or stories. But we know them now, and that’s enough. Cuddly sounds like a really great organization to be helping raise funds for rescue dogs.
These photos really capture the gentle doggy personality and such perfect expressions. What a lovely tale (and tail!) and I am so glad I was able to read this. We all know rescues have tough times but hearing the happy ending is the beat part.
Aw this is so cute. I adore animals and care greatly about their wellbeing, so an organisation like Cuddly really does appeal to me.
Thank you for sharing Franny’s story. It’s always heart-warming to read about a dog that has found a safe, warm home filled with love.