The truth is, pets are our neighbors, too – for some, they’re more like family. Over the years, we’ve heard hundreds of stories from neighborhoods across the country about how they’ve come together for the pets in their communities, whether it’s to return them home, nurse them back to health, or simply rally around an animal that brings smiles and good cheer to the neighborhood.
Here are just a few of our favorite stories from Nextdoor members and their beloved furry friends:
Neighbors in Dallas Save Veteran’s Injured Dog. It was a typical morning for Angela, a neighbor in Dallas, TX, until she saw a dog, Hercules, get hit by a car on a road outside of her neighborhood. As it turns out, Hercules was owned by a veteran who relied on him to help ease him back to civilian life. Neighbors rallied on Nextdoor to raise money for Hercules’s medical bills and reunite him with his owner after he was gravely injured.
New Orleans Good Neighbor Rescues Hundreds of Shelter Animals from Floods. When devastating floods hit Denham Springs, LA, many of the rescue centers in the area were going underwater. Hundreds of animals’ lives were at risk. Unable to do anything else in such a short amount of time, rescue centers were opening the kennel doors and letting dogs, cats, and other animals swim for their lives. One neighbor activated her community to donate supplies, raise money, and support multiple trips to and from Denham Springs, saving hundreds of animals and finding them new homes.
Nextdoor Helps Reunite Service Dog with Owner. A hearing dog for her owner, Emmy is trained to make specific physical contact with Jason when different noises occur, such as alarm clocks or smoke detectors. After she slipped out of a gate that was accidentally left open, neighbors volunteered to hang flyers and search on foot. Thanks to the community, she was eventually returned home.
From all of us at Nextdoor: our hats are off to you, pet owners and animal lovers alike!
Join your neighborhood on Nextdoor here.
Do you have a story about how you’ve used Nextdoor in your neighborhood? Let us know.
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I am an advocate for animal assisted therapy. Suggest all pet guardians get involved in promoting this resource we need so urgently in our communities. There are hundreds of homeless cats and dogs and other pets who could be in homes helping their guardians heal while they are being rescued and loved at the same time. Anyone interested in learning more or sharing info please contact me so that we can move forward with this advocacy and bring it to a statewide if not national awareness.