Oscar's story is a bit lengthy, because it needs to be for you all to understand just how serendipitous his rescue really was. . .

Here is the back story . . . Former adopters Kim and Jason (parents of Kumi, Milano, Fiona and Ephiny) rescued a sweet tortie abandoned in their parking lot. We offered to help with vet bills and support because they stepped up to foster--quite a commitment for a couple who already had four kitties!! Kim, a networking genius, managed to find an adopter for Sophie, the adult tortie via numerous Facebook pleas. And Sophie's new mommy needed to follow up with a single vaccine that Sophie still needed. So, she brought Sophie to the Cat Hospital where we could take care of that last vaccination. And while she was waiting, she ran to Starbucks for a coffee. And that's when she heard meows coming from the dumpster.

When we tell you we believe that the Universe puts us exactly where we need to be, we aren't kidding. Sophie's mama recovered a shivering, skinny filthy baby from the dumpster, and found evidence that the rest of his litter wasn't so lucky. She brought the little man to the Cat Hospital, and they called us. If baby was OK, would we take him? Of course we would.

So Oscar became a U-Love kitten. He was 8 weeks old and just over a pound. We medicated him, fed him and snuggled him. Our amazing foster family, the Kellums, made him their special project. Oscar turned out to be an amazing, intuitive little baby. He was recently adopted by a wonderful woman who sometimes has health issues. When she does, Oscar is snuggled right by her side--all day. When she is fine, he is a normal, wild and crazy kitten. It's perfect. A little one who shouldn't be here at all is comfort and best buddy to a human who needs him to understand a little bit about life's challenges. And Oscar definitely has that in his wheel house!

Sometimes, our director gets what she calls a "heart-tug." When this happens, she goes against every reasonable argument created by her own brain (and those of others she trusts implicitly) and simply dives in. This is how it was with Gracie.

Gracie's photo was on THAT list--the list we receive every day that shows babies at the shelter who are in danger of being euthanized. "Needs rescue by December 10." This means there is no December 11th. . .

As she was scrolling down the list, Gracie's photo made her stop. The photo had a pleading quality--almost like Gracie was begging for someone to help her. She read the story: 12 year old Australian Shepherd, found abandoned in the mountains, stiff gait, rotten teeth, covered in mats. Her marketing strategy was not great. . . with the exception of that face. So on her way home from work that day, our director took a little detour and found herself at the shelter, asking to meet Gracie. And as we all know, when eyes meet eyes, well, this is the kiss of life;) Gracie was as sweet and gentle as her photo suggested--she was not spending one more night at the shelter.

Lisa (our director) called her amazing mobile groomers to see if they could possible clean up a dog who was covered (and we mean covered) in huge, urine-soaked mats. They did not hesitate. "Bring her to us," they said. So into Lisa's car Gracie went and oh, my goodness--she was a perfect little lady, if terribly stinky (see photo above). Gail and Buff from TLC Grooming worked their magic on her (it took hours). All clean and beautiful, Gracie took a long deserved nap . . . and wiggled her way into Buff and Gail's hearts. It took less than a day for them to e-mail and suggest that Gracie may have found her forever home--with them:) No surprise--Gracie, and all of us at Unconditional Love, were ok with that;)

We eluded to Princess in our intro, but we couldn't refrain from telling her story here. Even though we are still in the middle of our journey with this little girl, the fact that there IS a middle to this journey is quite miraculous to us--and a testament her spirit. Endings aside, she is here today, wobbly and walking, trying. And that's important.

You will see the names Buff and Gail again in this story, because frankly, they are the reason Princess is alive. Gail sent a text to Lisa asking if any desperate, older pups needed a miracle at Christmas. Because of that text, Lisa took a deep breath and opened the rescue list. . . and there was Princess.

We called the rescue coordinator to inquire about both Princess (unnamed on the list) and Annie, a 10 year old German Shepherd. The response was that Princess was bad off and slated for euthanasia the next morning. The rescue coordinator actually expressed concern that putting off euthanasia would be a bad idea. So we agreed to get to the shelter at an ungodly hour to assess both babies ourselves.

We met Annie first (and trust us--we have obligated to Annie). Ten years old with a graying muzzle, Annie was still spry enough to beg an early morning play session out of us (which we loved). She has a neck mass, and we have a vet appointment next Friday to get that taken care of, because Annie is special . . .

Princess was next. She was laying in her kennel, and the stench was potent. We sat down next to her and she didn't even lift her head. Her back end was covered in feces and urine. A shelter tech asked if we could try to get her to eat. She just didn't have the strength or will to try. We sat there with her for a solid hour--debating whether we should just let go and move on, or if we should be the people who snuggled her as she exited this world. The answer (like always) was inherent in the debate. "Please wrap her in a clean blanket and bring her to the car."

We stopped at Pet Food Express, where compassionate employees set us up with a warm bath and tons of towels, all free of charge. Once we were all clean, we headed to Adobe--seriously, we figured this was a one way trip. But Dr. Zarday saw something in Princess, and asked if we wanted to actually run some tests or just call it. We figured that we were there, so what the heck. And so many things were wrong! Free fluid everywhere. Horrible urinary tract infection. Zero protein levels. Liver failure. BUT--all of those things are treatable for awhile. So we determined that, if we could get her to stand and go potty NOT where she sleeps, maybe she could have quality of life. And we invoked the pharmaceutical gods to help us

Two days ago we visited Princess early. She greeted us with a wagging tail. She stood up with just a little help. And she walked outside and squatted and went potty. She promptly fell afterward, exhausted. BUT SHE WALKED AND WENT POTTY OUTSIDE! For Princess, the dog signed for euthanasia on December 18th, little things were huge on December 20th! We chatted with our wonderful vets in charge at that point, Dr. Blackwolf and Dr. Denise. And they agreed that Princess was at the point where she could leave the ICU and go have a fabulous, if short, rest of her life with someone who loved her.

On December 21st, we picked up Princess from Adobe. Wonderful Gail met us and scooped up Princess, put her into the grooming truck and headed for home. An hour later, Gail sent a text to inform us that Princess would rather be called Holly, and that she and Gracie were hanging out together--members of the "old girls' club"--in sunbeams, snoozing.

None of us is guaranteed tomorrow. When we are lucky enough to get tomorrow, we should make it special. We should wag our tails, take a walk outside, and find a sunbeam . Princess, aka Holly, has taught us that.