Success Stories
The Georgia SPCA has many amazing stories about pets whose lives were saved against all odds! You can click on a title to read the full story. Also, feel free to email your success story to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ! Please enjoy these touching and inspiring tales.
A Great Match
Sonia Stewart writes: “This is "Naomi" we changed her name to Leeloo! She is really getting comfortable and keeping us and our other pets entertained. We are so thankful that she's joined our home. She's a great match!”
Happy Anniversary
Kristian shared her "Happy Tail" - Hi, this is Alaska, formerly known as Vixen. My boyfriend and I adopted her as a puppy almost 3 years ago from the Georgia SPCA. Besides being so adorable as a pup, one of the reasons we chose her was because her birth date was our anniversary! We felt like she "chose" us more than the other way around! She was very energetic as a puppy and only grew up to be eve...n wilder! She has absolutely turned into my best friend and the light of my life, yet sometimes she is an absolute nightmare because she has SO much energy and LOVES to HOWL for no reason. We like to compare her to Marley from the movie Marley and Me! The vet says she is a Hound/Lab mix possibly with Doberman or Rottie but she has gotten to be quite a large dog. She is very sweet and over protective and EXTREMELY smart. At night she will watch you go to sleep, then sleep facing the door but when you wake up she is curled up under some blankets (like in the picture), pushing you off of the bed! She is extremely spoiled and thanks to my dad, developed a taste for nice steaks ;).
Boo-tiful Baby Girl
Katie Surico writes: Thank You SO much to the Georgia SPCA for everything they have done for us and being there for us through this adoption process! We picked up our BEAUTIFUL baby girl this morning and she is doing GREAT! Sophie or as they knew her Boo has made herself at home and loves her new mommy and daddy! She loves all her new toys and bed and running in the backyard! THANKS for everything you all do for these pets! We will be back to visit soon.
Calendar Boy Charlie
Rebecca shares their "Happy Tail" - "Back in 2007, we dropped by the SPCA to see some of the dogs up for adoption since we had recently put down our 18 year old Dachshund Cocoa. In the reception room, here was a skinny basset hound/dachshund mix named Charlie playing with a kitten. Since most of my dogs I’ve owned were not the “best of friends” with cats, I was so surprised with his playfulness. I wasn’t sure if I was ready to have another pet but the moment I saw him, I was hooked! Little did we know Charlie would bring us so much love and joy! Charlie is now 5 years old and not skinny anymore! The basset hound part of him has definitely come out! Charlie is one of the sweetest, most loving dogs I have ever met. He enjoys playing with his dog sister Chica and of course he’s a sucker for cuddling. He was even featured on a recent dog calendar! Thank you SPCA for trusting our family to care for Charlie! We have truly been blessed!"
The Staggs Family
Helpful Izzy
Hello! I am Izzy. I used to be Ophelia and live at GA SPCA but I got adopted and my new mommy loves me SOOOO much!! Here I am helping her work. Since she works from home, I have to help her all day. I hope all my other brothers and sisters at GA SPCA get good homes like me. We ALL deserve it.
- told to Memrie N. Janet
Happy Jack
"We adopted Tito in early November 2011 - a 6-month-old beagle retriever mix. We have renamed him Jackson. He has been an amazing addition to our family. "Jack" is gentle, kind and very loving. He is anything you could ask for in a dog. We have had no issues getting him house trained at all. I was a little nervous about a shelter dog, but could not be happier with Jack. We thank you for caring for him and trusting our family to love and care for him. I would recommend that anyone interested in a dog get one from a shelter. Thanks for everything, Mike, Sarah, Laura and Michael Van Stone and Jackson Van Stone too!"
Not a creature was stirring...
Mom Kimberly sent this sweet note from Shadow, "Hello GSPCA family! I 've missed you all so much! I just wanted to show you guys how much love I am being given at my new home and how much I love it here. Christmas is coming and I can't wait till I get something in my stocking! My family loves me and I adore them. I'm sending some pictures of my life here! Thank you for helping me start a family and being the best first family ever! I will miss you dearly and maybe, just maybe, I will see you again." - Dec 2011
Elsa and Jet Get Married
Sarah writes: "This is what happens when you leave a very tolerant Elsa with 5-year-old Maren!
She makes Elsa and Jet get married all the time, and now they have a "baby"(pictured). We love our SPCA kitties--thank you!"
We adopted Jet (our black kitty) and his sister Elsa, an orange tabby. We were only planning on getting one kitten, but they needed each other--they still do! They're almost 2 years old now and Jet is definitely a big boy cat--quite a far cry from having to "wait" to bring them home I until they were each 2 lbs! They are both super sweet kitties, but Jet is definitely the snuggler of the pair. He's very affectionate, verbal, and tolerant of being manhandled by my daughter. We love our SPCA cats and are so grateful for our black kitty, Jet! Merry Christmas! - Dec 2011
Tuxedo Greeting
Stacey Parks writes: "We adopted "Miss Kitty" a black and white tuxedo cat. She was 1 when we got her and she is 3 now. She is the love of my life and always puts a smile on my face when i come home from work. She is always waiting for me at the front door."
Polly
Kim writes, "Polly was adopted back in Sept. from Mia Bella's litter. I fostered Mia Bella and her pups and this is a picture of "Georgia" (her new name), sent to me by her new family. She has lots of presents under her first Christmas tree! She now lives with her adoring family on a 100 acre farm." Many thanks to you, Kim, and to all of our wonderful fosters who help our shelter babies get a great start on their new lives!
Addie
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My husband and I adopted a puppy named DeLilah (that we have since renamed Addie) just a few weeks before we were married in May of 2011. Read more....
The Journey from Aubrey to Coco Chanel
In March 2011, Aubrey was in your care and then she made her journey to a foster home. The foster parent saw beauty, intelligence, devotion and fun in little Aubrey and renamed her Coco Chanel. A week later I adopted Coco Chanel and what a joy. As a professional with a hectic schedule, and a mother with multiple responsibilities, I always wanted a dog, but I could not see one in my life and schedule. How surprised I was after 24 hours of Coco Chanel trial...I made the decision immediately and I have adjusted everything in my life. Coco Chanel has thought me to relax, to play, to love unconditionally and overall to be a better person.
What a joy!!! She has been a blessing in my life and we love her dearly. Here is a photo of Coco Chanel in her fall attire. Her name says it all!!!
Florina B
Love that calendar boy!
Handsome Sampson, his "wife" Delilah, and their four lovely kittens were surrendered to GA SPCA last year. Sampson was adopted from us by a delightful couple, who later submitted his photo as a contestant for the Atlanta Humane 2012 calendar. Lo and behold, Sampson won! He's now "Mr. November". Congratulations Sampson, and thank you Steve and Wendy for giving Sampson a loving home!
Lucky Lewis
Tracie writes: We adopted Lewis a week ago. He's a sweetheart and we love this little guy! I think he's happy with his new home!
Finicky Tyra
update: JT writes, "Here's an update on Miss Dixie (when she was there, her name was Tyra). Miss Dixie has become fast friends with our other five cats, and loves to come up on the couch and sit with us when we are watching TV. She seems very happy here, and she spends her day playing with all the toys we bought her, and trying to get the older cats to play with her as well. Our oldest cat Maddie has adopted her as her baby, and is always watching over her and cleaning her. The two boy cats, Rommel and Marco like her too. We are blessed to have her, and consider her a gift from God. I will keep you up to date as she grows up. Thank y'all for all you do there, and keep up the good work. We will stop in sometime soon. Merry Christmas, and I pray your holidays are blessed."
From Tyra's new family: "Tyra" is well - we call her Miss Dixie now though; well Dixie actually, but we like "Miss" in front of it :). Dixie became fast friends with our other 5 cats, and they all play together and sleep on the big bed in the spare room together (we will send a picture when we get them all not to move while trying to take it - LOL). Anyway, she seems very happy. She spent the first week sleeping in our bed with us every night, but now prefers to be with the other cats - which is good. She is very loving, but still a bit shy with us for some reason - it takes her a few minutes when we get home to come out and say "hello". Dixie also likes canned Salmon and Tuna very much - she wouldn't eat the dry food you sent with us for the first week, so she got a little spoiled on the fish...but now she is eating the dry food just fine. We will keep you posted, and stop in and see you soon. Thanks again.
Rudy Charms his New Family
Alina writes: I have been meaning to write for quite some time. In May 2010, we adopted a little brown puppy you had affectionately named Herb. Though Herb fit him well, we found that Rudy was a perfect name for our new puppy. Rudy is now 1 year and 5 months and he is a MOST AMAZING, fun, loving and smart dog and truly our best friend.
Abel the Lap Cat
Oct 19, 2011 update: Kelsi writes: "Just wanted to send you an update of Abel, who you fostered before my boyfriend and I decided to adopt him in July. He is getting so big, he weighs almost 7 lbs now! He loves curling up with us at night (as I'm sure you know!), and is such a spoiled kitten! He gets toys and treats from all his friends and family, and is learning to get along with our friend's two yellow labs who come to visit him quite often. He rules the house now, and helps mommy with laundry and cooking! He drinks a TON of water, which gave is a little scare once we heard some friends say their cat did also and ended up having diabetes, but we took him to the vet for minor bloodwork and he's a perfectly healthy kitten! He's been wearing softclaws for about 2 months and doesn't seem to have any problem with them! He is a happy and healthy kitten and the perfect little addition to our family! Thank you for everything!!"
He is just so sweet! We have discovered quite a few of his quirks (like he tries at all costs to get in the refrigerator!) and love that he always curls up in our laps.
Sunshine Finds her Forever Home!
Great News!
Sunshine has been adopted... by her super fantastic foster family!
You may remember, Sunshine is the wonderful lab mix momma of 12 that we rescued from a local animal control this spring.
Linda wrote, "After 4 months of fostering, we have fallen in love with her and can't give her up.
Three of her 12 puppies live in my neighborhood, so maybe she can have playdates with her babies!"
Like Fine Wine, Syrah Only Improves With Age
Hi! I'm the puppy you called "Mike". Michelle decided that really didn't suit me, so she changed my name to "Syrah" because, like the wine, I am dark, complex, interesting and a litle spicy. So just like "The artist formerly known as Prince", I'm "the puppy formerly known as Mike".
Daisy and Baloo
Sandy writes: I see our kitty Daisy (formerly Shirley) is on the home page helping to recruit foster parents! She is the second on the right in the picture. I attached a picture of her now, snuggling with her best friend Baloo, our other SPCA kitty! She is a wonderful addition to the family.
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Roxy was found in a cardboard box
I was only two weeks old when a wonderful GA SPCA volunteer found me. I'd been left at a construction site, wrapped in a sweater in a cardboard box....
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Only One Dog...
The Story of Bones
Bear's Success Story
A young lady named Madison shared this: "When I first met Bear (named Cinnamon at the time) at the shelter she was about to undergo treatment for mange...
We adopted our pitbull LuLu Belle formerly Daisy in November 2009, she was a rescue from a dog fighting ring and the smallest of the 3 surviving puppies. She was the last to get adopted out and as soon as we saw her picture online we just had to have her! She was only 10 pounds when we took her home and she was obviously not cared for at her dog fighting ring. She has grown into a wonderful family pet who loves kids and other animals! She is a snuggler who loves to give kisses and play with everyone she sees! This pitbull is definitely a lover and not a fighter! The Bennett Family
I adopted Baby, a brown and white tabby, in early September. It's two months later, and I have to share how absolutely wonderful she is! I renamed her Spice, because she has a spicy, happy personality. She is smart as a whip, and amazed me the first night when she retrieved a catnip puffball and deposited it in my lap! That’s one of the games we play now. She is active and happy, whether watching birds on two special perches I set up for her, playing with her “pet” friends (like the tiger, pictured), and snuggling with me during the evenings. Spice is a great example how one person’s “trash” is another person’s treasure – she is an amazing little animal and I’m crazy about her!
Hank and Maui Kitty
Here is a picture of Hank - formerly Russ....playing with big girl Biscuit.....they are inseparable
This truly is a success story! This Maui Kitty was born at the Georgia SPCA, and stayed with us almost two years before finding his wonderful forever home!
This is One Lucky Duck!
Little "Duck" was orphaned when he was 10 days old, after his mother was run over by a car.....read more
This is our sweet kitty Baloo. We adopted him almost a year ago at the age of about
3 1/2 months.... (read more)
A Happy Ending for Tito
August, 2010: I volunteered with the Georgia SPCA for over a year before I met the pitbulls you rescued. I have always loved pitbulls, and already had 3 dogs, but I had heard one of them needed a home...
Pierre, the large, soft, fuzzy Frenchman
August, 2010: Let me tell you about Pierre, my 6 year old love bug!! Pierre Success Story
Cali Finds Her Forever Home!
July, 2010
Olive's Story
When we first looked at Olive in the shelter we were told she would need hip surgery. She had probably gotten hit by a car before she arrived at the shelter...
Dexter's Story
The Amazing Conclusion
To The Story Of Honey The Cat
Happy endings are not as common in real life as they are in fairy tales. Which is why the story of Honey the cat seemed destined for a sad conclusion. She was found in Douglasville, in wretched condition, with a computer chip that identified her as coming from the Netherlands. For weeks the Georgia SPCA was trying to find her owners or, at least, a home for the holidays. And ...then...today.....well, let's take you back a bit....
Zack's Story
Eunice the Yorkie
Eunice, a tiny Yorkie, was pulled from a high-kill, rural county shelter. Filthy and matted, she cowered in the back of her cage. When our rescuer picked up the trembling, frightened pup, she discovered Eunice had no paws on her hind legs...
Hoppergrass the Cat
I'm Hoppergrass. Yes, that's my name . . . Hoppergrass. I am a black, Oriental cat who went through a lot of stress until I found my permanent home. One day my owner who had 19 cats, took me to the SPCA because he had too many cats and I was pregnant.......(read more)