The Animal Pad

06/20/2025

After 143 days in our care, Roy has officially been adopted. ✨

He came to us after being badly burned in a house fire and then taken to the shelter when his former family knew they couldn’t get him better on their own. They did the most selfless thing that day, because Roy’s transformation from burnt crispy to a plushy stuffed toy took months of specialized care and $$$$$ that the average person simply could never. He underwent many procedures, many bandage changes, and so much pain to get here- but he made it.

While in foster with one of the best medical fosters in the biz, Roy caught the eye of someone very special. When his now mom reached out to us via email, sure he must have had a family lined up already, she said it was ok if he did, as long as Roy was happy and loved. But the one liner that got me, personally? …

“In our hearts, we’ve already adopted him.”

She went on to say that her late pup Lili, also a rescued Cocker Spaniel with a tragic past, had been her whole life. “When we look at Roy, it feels like Lili is sending us a little nudge to pay attention to him. So… we’re listening.” 🥹

I don’t think I need to say more. Roy, now BonBon, is home. 🫶

If you believe in dogs like this one, who need help the most but very often don’t have any other hope or chance, please consider joining our TAP Pack of monthly donors at theanimalpad.org/donate. Saying YES to dogs like Roy/BonBon… that’s made possible by you.💚

06/14/2025

Thank you 10News – ABC San Diego KGTV for featuring adoptable Morticia as pet of the week!

Meet our ABC 10News Pet of the Week from our featured animal shelters: The San Diego Humane Society and the Helen Woodward Animal Center.

06/14/2025

Meet Indi, Part 2.

After an 11 hour rescue mission to get her safe and so many unknowns about her past, we thought there was no way of knowing what Indi had possibly been through- but immediately,she started to show us glimpses. She showed us that, different from the many street dogs we rescue, she did, in fact, know what a leash was… and to her, it was all bad. She showed us that she had been abused to some degree, by the way she would cower when we stood up, not let us get close enough to touch her, and her many, many sensitivities. But she also showed us that dogs were her safe space, so every day, little by little, we used our pack to work on Indi’s fear. And little by little, it melted away. Now she sees the leash and breaks out into the most joyful happy dance, because she knows something good is coming. And that’s the best feeling ever. 🥹

After 7 months of rehabilitation, Indi is now adoptable at https://theanimalpad.org/adoptable/indi/. 💚

PROUD OF YOU, INDI GIRL.

06/13/2025

Meet Indi, Part 1. The 11 hour rescue mission condensed to 1 minute 30 seconds. 😅

Indi was dumped outside of a Dick’s Sporting Goods in a local mall in the middle of a stormy night. Security footage showed that she sat outside the mall entrance in the pouring rain for hours before the store opened and we were called by a supporter to help. Trying to secure her turned into quite the expedition and involved El Cajon PD and the San Diego Humane Society. Indi was terrified, but we eventually got her and she hasn’t looked back toward her old life since! Indi was extremely feral when we took her into our care and showed signs of being heavily abused and triggered by things like leashes and touch. She’s worked really hard in her foster home since November 2024, and the progress she has made is astounding.

Tune in tomorrow to see. 🫶

05/27/2025

8 months ago, he was dropped off at the ER after being attacked by a dog he was living with. His owners didn’t bat an eye when they requested he be unalived. He had been a problem and inconvenience to them for too long. He was only 1 year old.

After the ER called us and we agreed to take on his case, we asked you all to help name him, and you did. Overwhelmingly, you suggested “Chance,” and right there on that first day in our care, that’s what we promised to give him. And today, Chance needs this community of supporters to take yet another chance on him.

After taking Chance into our rescue, we learned that there was so much more to him that just this facial injury, and honestly, it’s been a battle ever since to undo the bad that was done by the people who so terribly failed him.

He’s a complicated boy in need of a complex dental surgery to extract all of his teeth. In Chance’s past life, he was starved and left in the backyard, where rocks were his only source of food. This is something his former owners complained about to ER staff. Being forced to eat rocks to keep his belly full, Chance badly and irreparably damaged his teeth. He has a massive infection in his mouth and it has caused multiple abscesses. The only solution to fixing this and ridding him of this painful infection is to pull all of his teeth. Every last one, removed. And this is happening RIGHT NOW.

This already complicated surgery is made even more complicated because of a heart condition, which doctors believe stemmed from malnourishment. Because of this, going under anesthesia isn’t as safe as it is for most- But it’s a risk we have to take. We have an anesthesiologist sitting in for the procedure whose sole job is to monitor his vitals and heart rate during surgery. The cost for this is overwhelming, but we would pay any price to keep him safe.

Chance is in surgery now. Please keep him in your thoughts today, and if you can, donate to or share our fundraiser linked below.

We need all the help we can get, but Chance deserves every chance at a good, long, happy and healthy life. Let’s do this for the best boy. 💚

https://givebutter.com/r4AUCO

05/21/2025

💚 Help Us Keep Saying YES to the Underdogs 💚

At The Animal Pad, we don’t shy away from the hard cases. We step up for the dogs who’ve been neglected, abandoned, or forgotten—the ones with medical needs, the ones rescued from hoarding or the streets, the ones no one else is fighting for.

And thanks to our incredible monthly donors, we’re able to say yes—yes to vet care, yes to transport, yes to healing.

If you’ve ever thought about supporting TAP in an ongoing way, becoming a monthly donor is one of the most impactful things you can do. Even $10 or $15 a month adds up in a BIG way and helps us plan for the future and keep our rescue efforts strong.

💥 It’s reliable support for the dogs who need it most.

🐶 It helps us cover emergency medical cases, supplies, and transport.

📦 It keeps our foster program running smoothly.

💚 And honestly—it helps us sleep at night knowing we can keep saying YES!

Want to help us save more lives, every single month?

👉 https://theanimalpad.org/donation/

From all of us (especially the pups)—thank you for always showing up. 🐾

You can make a monetary donation online or pay an adoption fee with PayPal or the donation box on this page.

04/28/2025

In case you missed it…She’s CANCER FREE, and that’s not all! She’s also…

Adopted. 🥹❤️‍🩹
But that’s a reel for another time.

Congrats on graduating chemo treatment at the top of your class, Cora! 🎓Where’s the grad party? There’s a handful of people on the internet who have been following your story + cheering you on for the past 7 MONTHS… They miiiiight be expecting an invite…

Thank you to 15/10 Foundation for making Cora’s lifesaving treatment possible, and thank you At-Choo Foundation for being the reason we learned that she existed in the first place.

Her story is just beginning. 💚

04/09/2025

I am so sorry for the extreme graphics of this video, and I wouldn’t be posting it if we didn’t need major help. Our boy Milton is at the emergency vet tonight after being rushed by 2 large off-leash dogs, and now we are living through every dog owner’s worst nightmare. These dogs attacked him and, as his foster described it, he became a “rag doll.” They ripped open his chest so badly that he needs to see a special surgeon tomorrow to see what can be done to close it, if anything. Even though he must be in excruciating pain despite all the drugs he’s being given, he is, in this moment, stable.

Milton’s foster, who without doubt is the reason he is still here and alive, was also injured and got pretty bitten up in the process. And the owners of the 2 dogs… no where to be found.

We will be handling a lot of logistics tomorrow, but our first priority tonight is Milton. Even though he’s in such bad shape, we will fight for him- but he needs all of us, not just some of us- He needs every last one of YOU, this community. And we need you, to give him a fighting chance.

His estimate for JUST 24 HOURS of hospitalization and initial treatment - not including any surgery needs that will come later - is $7 - 8.8k.

If you know Milton, you know that he’s an absolute fighter and has been through this and worse before. He’s a quirky guy who has been a very loved part of our rescue since 2022, when he was hit by a car in Tijuana and left for dead. We promised when he got to us that nothing bad would happen to him ever again. But here we are.

We really, really, really need your help tonight.

Please help us save Milton, again. 💔

To donate:
https://givebutter.com/qOV9Nw
or Venmo 🫶

04/02/2025

Thank you 10News – ABC San Diego KGTV for featuring adoptable Reese as pet of the week!

Meet our ABC 10News Pet of the Week, Reese, from The Animal Pad! A 100% volunteer and donation-based. All adoptable dogs are in foster homes

03/27/2025

It’s been a bit of a scary 24 hours for our sweet Venice, and her self-proclaimed overprotective (her words not mine 😜) foster mom, Rose.

Venice had a bout of diarrhea and vomiting yesterday morning, and then later in the day, it was almost continuous. She was taken to the ER and luckily after running all the recommended tests, it appears that nothing overly serious is going on, but we still don’t know the source of her sudden sickness. Her bloodwork and electrolytes were really out of whack and she was dehydrated. She spent the night on IV fluids and continued to be hospitalized today, until we could be sure she was ready to safely go home. The second we got the all-clear from the Dr, Rose’s response was “I can be there in 15 minutes.” Now Venice is home, eating, and acting like herself again. ❤️‍🩹

If you’ve volunteered at our facility for a length of time, chances are you’ve met Venice. She was a shy little lady before Rose took her home, but quickly opened up to her and is now affectionately referred to as “Venice the Menace.” 😈

If you’ve have been to our facility for even a second, you’ve probably seen Rose. Running around, either making sure every dog is tucked in with a fresh blanket fluffy enough for her standards, or shaking p**p out of the dirty laundry basket and making sure our washing machine survives another day. Rose is not only a regular at HQ, she’s one of the beating hearts of the place. She loves Venice to death and even though it’s in no way her responsibility, she insisted on contributing to her bill. 🫶

Venice’s bill for nearly 24 hrs in hospital was right around $1800, and Rose has generously offered to match up to $500, if we can raise it.

For sweet Venice, and for our incredible Rose, if you can contribute, we would be so grateful. 💚

Ways to help-

•Venmo : (under Charities and spelled exactly as above- BEWARE OF SCAM ACCOUNTS)
•PayPal : [email protected]
•Website : theanimalpad.org/donate

03/26/2025

TAP’s 2026 Calendar Contest is underway! ✨ 📸 🐶 📸 ✨

Enter and vote for your favorite pup until April 27!

The top 13 pups will win an 8x10 fine art print (taken at their very own photo shoot) and will be featured in TAP’s 2026 calendar. 🗓️💚🐶

Entry in the contest is $5, and each vote is $1. All proceeds go to TAP!

Link to enter in here: https://www.gogophotocontest.com/theanimalpad ✨🤩🐶🐾

Huge thanks to Peanut and Bean Photo for organizing this amazing fundraiser and donating your time to photograph the winners!

03/19/2025

This is Meemo. She was a puppy put on the euth list at Devore shelter for being wobbly and a little different. Her sister was there too, but much more “normal,” so she was not at risk— but we couldn’t leave her behind with an unknown fate either— so, we took both girls into the rescue. When Meemo first got to us, she was really spirited. See video. 😆 She was doing really, really well and we even thought she was improving in her getting around. But then she started declining in her mobility, despite all of our intervention— I’m talking braces, splints, special exercise and meds… and now she needs this community’s help.

After seeing the neurologist, we are running out of options to figure out what the heck is going on with her. Today, she’s going back to neurology for a bunch of fancy blood tests that we really can’t afford right now, to test for infectious disease and be sent out to a lab in Arizona. Hopefully and finally we will get some answers.

These blood tests are $275 including the shipping to Arizona, and while it doesn’t sound like a lot, these daily costs for our dogs really add up when multiplied by the nearly 300 dogs we have in our care. If you can help us cover this bill today, any little bit helps, so we can continue to support our animals.

We just want to see Meemo be a playful puppy again.

Ways to donate below. and if you can’t donate, leave her some words of encouragement in the comments. We will read her every last one. Thank you so much from Meems and her rescue friends at TAP. 💚

Support Meemo—

•Venmo : (under Charities and spelled exactly as above- BEWARE OF SCAM ACCOUNTS)

•PayPal : [email protected]

•Website : theanimalpad.org/donate

🙏