Noel’s Christmas wish (2004)

Noel was found on Christmas Eve after having been hit by a car, leaving her with a broken pelvis and back legs. These life-threatening injuries required special orthopedic surgery that left scars on both her hind legs. While in a critical state of health and reliant on the care of her community, thousands of people across Berks County fell in love with Noel, resulting in an out-pour of support and a grand total of $25,000 in donations to cover her surgery costs.

After she healed up, she couldn’t have found a more perfect home when the Executive Director at the time, Harry D Brown III adopted her. To this day, our emergency medical “Jack and Noel’s Fund” is named after the Jack Russell terrier who captivated the hearts of thousands across Berks County.

Bernie’s healed burns (2011)

Bernie was found on a rooftop during a heat wave with severe third-degree burns on all four feet and his back and belly. In collaboration with Wyomissing Animal Hospital’s Boyd Wagner, BVMS, the team at ARL took a rather different approach to Bernie’s treatment: Stem cell therapy, a procedure in which injured tissue is repaired through the injection of stem cells (cells with the ability to develop into specialized cells in the body).

Many people involved in Bernie’s road to recovery would agree that the stem cell treatment, which was a relatively new procedure at the time, may have been the catalyst of his remarkable recovery. While such severe burns would typically take months to recover from and cause traumatic scarring, Bernie’s feet were almost completely healed within one month of being in our care!

Willow’s journey (2012)

When ARL humane officers received a cruelty complaint about a farm with horses who had no access to food or water, they were not expecting to discover a two-day old foal on the premises. After discovering the owners were not home, our humane officers bravely rescued the near-death foal, who was so malnourished and in critical health that she was able to fit inside of a large dog crate.

Upon her arrival to ARL, Willow was suffering from seizures, was septic, malnourished, dehydrated, and had an infected umbilicus from the poor conditions where she laid since birth. Willow was at least in the right hands at the right time, as one of ARL’s experienced humane officers graciously fostered her back to full health. While she grew up to be smaller than an average Appaloosa horse, she still ended up going on to live a healthy life with a loving family of her own!

Finding Sandra Dee (2016)

As you might imagine, a small white dog doesn’t stand its greatest chances of being found in the middle of a blizzard. After escaping from her leash with her new family, Sandra Dee was on the loose for a total of nine days, with six of those days being caught in the midst of a 30” blizzard. With volunteers, ARL staff, and concerned Samaritans searching around the community for days, the search for Sandra Dee began to feel hopeless.

However, on the ninth day of the grand search, an emaciated, matted, and dirty Sandra Dee arrived at the doorstep of ARL with a police officer who received the call that somebody found her in the snowstorm. The team at ARL waited for her arrival in tears as relief washed over them knowing Sandra Dee was safe once again.

While her new family was relieved to know she made it, they concluded that she was safer in the hands of a more experienced family who would be prepared to find her again if needed. Fortunately, a staff member at ARL knew the perfect family for Sandra Dee, who drove all the way from West Virginia to adopt this sweet pup, now renamed Ginger.