11 of the Most Heartwarming Animal Rescue Stories

The little fur ball in this video is so lucky to be alive after finding himself in the middle of an intersection. Laney, the woman on the bike who managed to capture the entire ordeal on video, spotted the orange kitten after he apparently fell from the undercarriage of a car. Laney stopped traffic to jump off her bike and grab the kitten and bring him to safety. And the best news? Laney brought the kitten, now appropriately named Skidmark, home for herself.

When Vet Ranch found little Kristy, she was covered in mange and scheduled to be euthanized, but the veterinarian-run YouTube channel refused to give up on her. The Vet Ranch vets took her in, and with donations from their viewers, they were able to save her life. Check out the video to see her transformation over the course of nine weeks, and see the happy, peppy puppy she turns into.

When Tillie and Phoebe went missing in Washington, Vashon Island Pet Protectors set out on a search for the pair of pups. What they found will make your heart swell.

Someone reported seeing glimpses of a red dog, possibly Tillie, in a ravine, and volunteers fanned out to look. They found Tillie hunched over a cistern where Phoebe had been trapped for days. It turns out Tillie only left her side to go look for help, returning each night to watch over her.

Both dogs were cold, tired, and hungry when they were rescued, but they're doing just fine.

Two good samaritans fishing in Alabama came across something in the water they certainly weren't expecting. One of the guys saw something small and furry swimming toward their boat and quickly realized it was a cat. He gently pulled it from the river and wiped the water off it. The cat meowed happily at being out of the water, but before the guys could process what had just happened, another cat started swimming toward the boat. Watch the entire rescue scene unfold here.

It's hard enough for adult dogs to get adopted, but when those dogs have special needs, it becomes a whole new ball game. That was the issue in Nebraska when a shelter realized 3-year-old Rosie was deaf. But they didn't give up on her — they taught her sign language for the basic commands. Slowly but surely, she came out of her shell, but the best part of her story is that she found a forever home with someone who could really relate to her. Watch the video to see Rosie's whole story. It's such a good one.

When Animal Aid happened upon this abandoned dog on the side of the road, he was completely covered in mange and very close to dying. But the rescue group brought him back to their facility and nursed him back to health. Watch the video to see the story and just how adorable and happy he is in the end.

When Imgur user dmitrigreene was out running one day, she stumbled upon a very, very sick kitten who had been abandoned. The kitten's eyes were sealed shut with so much infection, but he was brought home and nursed back to health in no time. Check out Dmitrius's early days at home with his new human, and just wait till you see how well he recovered.

When one family was out playing in the snow, they had no idea they'd stumble upon a kitten very close to freezing to death. Without thinking twice, the family rushed the small animal inside and did everything they could to keep it alive. Lo and behold, the kitty wasn't quite ready to give up and made a miraculous recovery. Check out the heartwarming video — all captured on a GoPro.

Three scared pups — Emma, Sage, and Ginger — were trapped on a mountainside, 7,600 feet up, when rescuers swooped in to bring them home. After days of trying to trap all three, rescuers were finally successful. All three pups were brought out to be cleaned and put up for adoption. Thus far Emma and Sage have found forever homes, and Ginger is still waiting.

Though it's already pretty adorable to see Rudy the Pit Bull taking a relaxing bath in a sink and being fed treats before dozing off, what makes it even more sweet is that the video was shot after he was rescued in New York and nursed back to health by S.N.A.R.R Animal Rescue Northeast. Rudy's injuries when he was found were vast — they probably should have killed him — but with a lot of help and love, Rudy bounced back!

Nine Lives Foundation in Redwood City, CA, has a new little guy, affectionately dubbed Smurf because of his artificial blue color, that is beating the odds and making a recovery after being dumped at a San Jose, CA, animal control center. The cat had likely been used as a chew toy for dogs, according to ABC 7 in California, and suffered a lot of injuries before being brought in. But vets and volunteers have been working with him for about a month now, and he is starting to get better.