I first met this incredible canine and her human caretaker nearly eight years ago down in New Orleans in those horrendous days following Hurricane Katrina.  And she soon inspired me and so many others in our pet rescue efforts.
Her name is Zoey, and she herself, was an abandoned stray.  Her human caretaker, Al Tedrick, rescued her many years ago, and she has been his faithful companion ever since.
Al had been an Animal Control Officer in Moultrie County, Illinois and that’s where he found Zoey as a pup. They soon became inseparable, and they soon became quite the dynamic duo rescuing other abandoned dogs together in Illinois.
Then Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast, and Al and Zoey now found themselves down in New Orleans, now helping to rescue hundreds of abandoned dogs left behind in its devastation.  They were both truly tireless in their rescue efforts, and they soon became Pet Rescue Role Models for anyone lucky enough to meet them.
I was one of the lucky ones, and I soon became utterly fascinated watching them work together.  Al would send Zoey off into the rubble, and she would either come back with a terrified left-behind in desperate need of help, or she would lead Al and other pet rescuers to their exact location under a pile of debris or trapped inside an abandoned house.  And she truly had both the nose and the knack to help save so many of them.
Al and Zoey also stayed behind on the Gulf Coast helping numerous left behind pets long after many other pet rescuers had finally gone home.  And since the day that I met them nearly eight years ago, they have been a continuing inspiration to me on my present day pet rescue efforts.
Very sadly, I was recently informed that heroic Zoey is now gravely ill, and now fighting for her life.  Another pet rescuer named Peter Crowe who was also in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina recently set up a blog and a website dedicated to Zoey and to Al, and asking for donations for Zoey’s now needed medical care.
Please visit the website linked below to read ‘The Zoey & Al Story.’  A story well worth reading about a truly incredible dog and a most compassionate man.

I’ve also posted a poem this morning about Zoey –‘Ode To A Very Special Canine’