Roscoe and his mate Jayva had carved out a fragile life on the streets, raising a litter of pups in a city park. It wasn’t much, but they had each other.
That all changed the day animal control showed up.
In an instant, the family was broken apart — the mom and pups taken one way, Roscoe another — all of them dropped into the city shelter system.
City shelters are where too many stories end. The mom and her babies were fortunate: a foster family stepped forward quickly, which meant Friends For Life could pull them out.
Roscoe wasn’t as lucky. By the time another foster opened their home for him, days later, he was already sick with pneumonia, lying dejected in the back of his kennel.
When our team came to get him, he wouldn’t walk or even look at anyone. We had to carry him out of the shelter kennel and into the van.
Once Roscoe arrived at Friends For Life, everything changed.
He was given medical treatment for pneumonia, along with the comfort of a foster home where he could rest and recover. With time, care, and patient TLC, the spark began to return — first a flicker of a tail wag, then an appetite, and eventually playfulness.
Getting healthy was only part of Roscoe’s journey. He’d been pulled away from Jayva and the pups without warning, and we figured he hadn’t forgotten them. So our team set up a reunion — a chance for Roscoe to see his family again.
The reunion was pure magic.
Roscoe lit up the moment he saw Jayva, tail wagging as he sniffed and nuzzled her like he’d been waiting for this moment all along. Then, with his mate by his side, he raced to the pups — all of them tumbling, wagging, and bouncing over each other.
It was a moment of joy and closure — a chance for Roscoe and his family to know everyone was safe and cared for, even if their journeys would soon take them in different directions.
Today, Roscoe is thriving as an “ambassadog.” He greets visitors with a grin, soaks up belly rubs, and happily lets kids love all over him.
His story is proof that fostering doesn’t just save lives — it restores families, health, and hope