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DEC 2013 REMEMBER TO LOVE
STORY BY CHERIL LEE • PHOTOS BY ANDEE HOIG
bright boy
noah
••• noah’s story HEARTS UNITED FOR ANIMALS RESCUES ANIMALS FROM DIRE CIRCUMSTANCES. NOAH IS A DOG WHO WAS RELEASED INTO HUA’S CARE LAST CHRISTMAS WHERE HE FOUND HIS FOREVER HOME. DESPITE HIS BEING ABUSED IN THE PAST, NOAH HAS BEEN A JOYOUS ADDITION TO THE HOUSEHOLD OF JERRY AND DIANA SAMMONS AND CONTINUES TO THRIVE IN THEIR CARE. Hearts United for Animals has been rescuing dogs and cats from unfavorable circumstances for 24 years. Director Lori Hook says the organization originated in Nebraska. Their no-kill shelter and sanctuary is located an hour south of Omaha. But Lori says HUA reaches beyond the boundaries of the state. “We do rescue and outreach in other states. Our primary focus is on the rescue and rehabilitation of puppy mill dogs and other dogs in situations of severe neglect. To date, we have rescued more than 10,000 dogs from puppy mills,” Lori says. Hook says at any one time there are about 400 dogs available for adoption. The animals HUA takes in are often older with various health problems. “They seem to find us. We don’t have to go actively looking. We have numerous requests each day,” explains Lori.
Roots Around Christmas last year, Lori received an email from a statewide networking group about Noah. Somebody posted photos and Noah’s story and said they were looking for a rescue for him to go to so HUA stepped up and took him in. Noah had been held for a court case, as there was speculation he’d been used as bait in Pit Bull fights and was kept at the pound in Fairbury, Nebraska. “He wasn’t doing well at the shelter because it’s a small facility that can’t afford to do a lot. 30 | pet & ANIMAL enthusiast
We were certainly happy to get him veterinary care because had some tumors that needed to be removed. He was just a bag of bones and we were afraid he might not even survive,” Lori says. Lori says people got wrapped up in rooting for Noah because of how bad he looked. When he arrived at the HUA shelter, despite all he had been through, Noah was sweet and couldn’t get enough human interaction.
Homeward Bound The minute they heard he was free to go, Jerry and Diana Sammons adopted Noah. Diana volunteers with HUA and that’s where they had found their other two dogs: Snowy and Squeaky. For Jerry, it was love at first sight. “I just felt like Noah belonged with me. I’m blowing my own horn here but I don’t think anybody else would have taken better care of him than my wife and I. We are both retired and home with him most of the time. I know he’s been beaten up and abused so we don’t make any demands at all for Noah,” says Jerry. The Sammons feel privileged to have Noah. In fact, Jerry built him a ramp so Noah doesn’t have to take the stairs to go outside.
Jerry jokes he likes to think Noah is his guy but when Diana’s around, Noah follows her from room to room. Diana is also the only one who can touch his ears and paws, something Noah doesn’t like because of his past abuse.
The Artist Noah did an art project for HUA’s silent auction in September. Lori and Diana dipped Noah’s paws into child-safe paint, and then he walked across the canvas and made his own art project to raffle off. Lori says it brought in $350 for HUA. Jerry says the process was fun to watch. Noah created two paintings that day. The second one is hanging in the Sammons’ house. Jerry wants everyone to know what kind of hero Noah is, what he’s been through and what he’s overcome. “I’d like to take him onto the field at Husker stadium during halftime because I know once the audience heard Noah’s story, the applause and cheers would be thunderous,” beams Jerry. To view available animals at the shelter, visit HUA.org or facebook.com/HeartsUnitedforAnimals.