Two wrongly-condemned death row hugging dogs exonerated this week were rescued from being euthanized just moments before their date with death, after the photo below of one embracing the other in consolation went viral.
Shortly before their slated execution, Kala and Keira were rescued by a young man moved by an Atlanta animal shelter’s heart-wrenching plea posted on Facebook which reported that the two innocent canines were trembling in fear of their unjust fate.
“This is as urgent as urgent can get,” the admin for ‘Angels Among Us Pet Rescue’ had desperately pleaded at the doomed dogs’ eleventh hour. “We really don’t have time to spare. We have no fosters available. Animals in need have overwhelmed us recently and we must have someone today apply to foster.”
The poignant post included a picture of one falsely-condemned jailed dog comforting the other in a last tender hug that was obviously voluntary and not staged.
“Keira knows what will happen. You can see it in her eyes. She’s putting on a brave face for sure but I can feel her heart beating fast while I’m clinging to her. If no one saves us, someone will take her away from me. They’ll come for me next and I won’t be as brave. We’ve comforted each other while we were here. She gave me hope when I had none. Now it’s over. Unless…”
Within hours, that beseeching message and touching pic had been shared by tens of thousands of sympathetic animal lovers, and the death row hugging dogs were subsequently rescued within moments of being escorted -- one at a time -- to the gas chamber.
In these times of economic uncertainty, many people are being forced to surrender loving, healthy pets like Keira and Kala, either because they can no longer afford to care for them or because they’re downsizing to apartments where dogs and cats are not allowed.
Charitable donations and even food drop-offs are often all that’s needed to guarantee that suddenly overburdened shelters in your area can maintain a no-kill policy.
