Some sing about walking five hundred miles.
I know I would walk, run, and even crawl more than that to see my dog or bring him home. There’s not a boundary a dog owner wouldn’t cross for their dogs.
In the game of love for animals, we all try to be winners, and we all try to bend the rules as we like. And, that’s all in favor of our doggy friends in need!
Carli Gaetano, from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, really went all out, crossing all boundaries.
Reaching out to a shelter outside the States, peeking across the Atlantic, and falling for a dog that had his time ticking, just to give him a home is pure bravery.
This is the story of a rescue that waited for two years to get to feel what home really is.
Ace The Dog With Defects Finally Scores
I’m not gonna lie. In most cases, people who adopt dogs want it to be an ideal critter. You know the drill: a picture-perfect dog for the picture-perfect family.
But, what about underdogs, those rejected and tossed to the corner just because they look… different?
Ace didn’t choose to look the way he looks. He was born with a defect that affected his legs. All four of them are curled around strangely, with his joints popping to the sides, giving Ace the widest gait possible.
It was a chronic health issue, combined with Ace’s old age, threatening to shorten his days in the shelter and on Earth.
When Carli Gaetano heard about Ace’s story, she was overwhelmed with sadness because underdogs like him hardly ever make it. But, something made a click inside her mind, making her think she could save Ace, the dog with defects a thousand miles away from her.
Gaetano immediately called the shelter and learned that Ace was almost completely immobile when he first came to them. She also learned that another family from the States was interested in adopting Ace.
A little prayer here, some magic there, and the family gave up on the adoption, leaving the door open to Gaetano.
Now she’ll need some more of that magical pixie powder because international adoptions can be quite pricey.
Ace Is Finally Coming Home
With each new day, Ace’s future was looking brighter. Shelter workers worked really hard to socialize Ace as much as they could.
He was hanging out with cats and other dogs from the shelter and he was doing just fine, as if he was trying to prove to everyone that he was ready to join a family.
Carli knew the whole process would be difficult to pull off.
“I knew an international adoption was going to be pricey, but all I want is for Ace to have a home and family of his own,” Gaetano said. “So I started selling my fine jewelry to have more funds for Ace. That stuff is just material, and Ace is a life, a brave, pure, innocent life.”
After nearly two years, with lots of help from people who were able to gather money through fundraisers, Ace was ready to head to his furever home with Carli.
A dog that has been through a lot can now breathe freely. No more ticking clocks hanging above his head. Ace was greeted by his new mommy, Carli, and welcomed into a loving home with two canine siblings that fell for him instantly.
“From the moment I picked him up, he was loving and sweet and so well behaved,” Gaetano said. “He was a sweet little angel in the car ride home and was greeted by his puppy brothers with lots of love! He is such a good boy and soooo handsome!”
A pup that was found hopeless in the fields has gone through a lot to get what he really deserved.
After several surgeries to fix his legs, multiple rejections, and some failed adoption processes… there he was: ready to enjoy his new life with his new mom in Pittsburgh.
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Not all shelter dogs get a second chance. In fact, the probability a dog like Ace, born with defects and well into his senior years, will ever get adopted is quite low. Fortunately, there are people like Carli.
There are people who would sell a bunch of stuff, rely on fundraisers, and reach out to shelters on the other side of the pond just to save a little soul worth saving.
And, all I can do is applaud those people.
