abandoned and abused pit bull has a new ‘leash’ on life thanks to quick-thinking rescuers in Staten Island and the kindhearted firefighters of the FDNY.
Animal rescue couple Erica Mahnken and Michael Favor got a call that a young pit bull was abandoned inside of a freezing cold and empty ‘crack house’ in the middle of winter in Staten Island.
‘We didn’t ask any questions when the person called us and told us the dog was alone,’ Mahnken told CBS News. ‘It was freezing out. There was nothing in the house. No, we didn’t think about it – we just ran and got her and said we’ll figure out what we were going to do after we got her out of there.’
Fire rescue: Ashley – or ‘Ash’, above, was found freezing and abandoned in a crack house in Staten Island, and she was covered with cigarette burns
The Lower East Side FDNY ‘Fire Pitt’ house of Manhattan agreed to foster her – but quickly fell in love and wanted to adopt her
‘Ash’ rides along on the ‘rig’ to fire calls; and, right, she snuggles with one of her huge-hearted adopters at the FDNY
To their horror, the shivering nearly year-old tan pittie was covered in cigarette burns and 25 pounds underweight. She’d been alone in the house for two days with no heat, electricity, or food.
The pair immediately took the dog home but needed somewhere to keep her until they could find her a home. They called up some pals down on the Lower East Side’s FDNY station and asked if they could foster the pooch for awhile.
Saved by No More Pain Rescue of NYC, Ashley was malnourished and abused when they found her shivering in an abandoned building, alone for two days with no food or water.
The big-hearted firefighters, who had recently fostered a rottweiler, agreed. The couple, who founded foster-based rescue group No More Pain Rescue, gave the dog over on January 9 for what they assumed would be a temporary stay.
But three days later, they were corrected of that notion when they got a call from the firefighters asking if they could keep the dog, now named Ashley.
‘My heart wants to explode,’ Mahnken told the outlet. ‘Everyone’s so quick to judge a dog, especially a dog you don’t know where it came from or what kind of person they are and what kind… It is very satisfying.’
The firehouse was already known as ‘Fort Pitt’ because it is on Pitt Street – but now the name is even more apropos. The station is so happy with their new pooch, called ‘Ash’ for short, that she has her own Instagram account that is updated daily.
From the looks of it, Ash, now a healthy weight, has a life most would envy. She plays with the firefighters and their pals, takes rides on the firetruck, is overloaded with toys and treats from the locals, and gets walks in the doggie park. She even has her own fire jacket, which she wears on rides on the ‘rig.’ And let’s not forget her fellow FDNY friend, gray cat Daisy.
Despite everything she’s been through, Ash is a playful loving pooch who adores her new home and pals; left, with a toy a fan dropped off for her; right, in one of her special spots at the firehouse
‘That’s not my good side!’ Ashley wrote on Instagram next to a picture of her looking at her newfound fame – an article about her in the New York Post
She’s also gotten quite good at Instagram and has more than 4,700 followers.
‘Reporting for doodie… ready to ride…I got the woof! (Roof) …sorry couldn’t help it,’ she recently wrote on a picture of her sitting next to a firetruck.
‘Whenever she’s there her tail is wagging, she’s super friendly and jumping on everybody,’ said Mahnken.
This is one dog who lit a fire in her rescuers’ hearts.
No comments yet.