Your patience will pay off

When you're this adorable, you can't help but be apprehensive about who you hang around with. Penny is very timid around people - especially strangers - but she's only a year old. She's learning rapidly how to build up her confidence around people. Dogs are another story! She'll dive right into playtime with a canine friend. Once you earn her trust, cute little Penny is going to be a loving and faithful friend. Just be patient! Penny is your Adoptable Pet for the week of February 24, 2014.

Scrappy needs your love

You can tell from this photo that Scrappy needs you. He's a little shy, but it doesn't take long for him to come out of his shell if you're loving and patient. He was one of five terrier mixes recently abandoned in a busy parking lot at a Dallas apartment complex. So his shyness is completely understandable. Scrappy is looking for someone like you, who can give him the love and the happiness he deserves. If he looks adorable now, imagine his face once he's overjoyed to be a member of your family! Scrappy is your Adoptable Pet for the week of November 11, 2013.

What a positive attitude!

This youngster is a happy boy. Shaggy prefers to look on the bright side of things. Want to go for a walk? Want to play? Want to take a nap? He'll be more than happy to participate. You can tell from his smiling face that his goal is to enjoy life. Shaggy is one of five terrier mixes recently abandoned at a Dallas apartment complex. Read their story at Blue Ribbon News. If you're one who always tries to maintain a positive attitude, meet your perfect companion. It's especially amazing considering what Shaggy has been through! He's your Adoptable Pet for the week of September 16, 2013.

Abandoned dogs escape troubled past

Shaggy was one of five dogs abandoned in the parking lot of a Dallas apartment complex.

Shaggy was about to abandon hope. The seven-month-old terrier mix was completely disoriented when he discovered he was marooned with four similar puppies in the parking lot of a Dallas apartment complex. Some of the dogs, like his friend Thelma, had been stuffed into a recycling bin.

Before they could get their bearings, Shaggy and the rest of the confused young dogs were whisked away to the Dallas animal shelter. Danielle Fry, the shelter’s rescue coordinator, sent out an urgent call for help. She felt the petrified dogs would fare poorly in the shelter environment.

Within minutes, Christina Arriaga, who manages the rescue operation for the nonprofit Rockwall Pets, was busy arranging foster homes for the frightened puppies. Rockwall Pets quickly notified the shelter that it would take Shaggy, Thelma and the other three abandoned dogs.

Just two days later, the smile had returned to Shaggy’s face after he discovered he and his friends were safe. Rockwall Pets is a nonprofit rescue organization dedicated to ending the killing of healthy and treatable shelter pets in north Texas. Shelter killing is the number one cause of death for healthy dogs and cats in the United States, according to the American Humane Association.

After leading local efforts to achieve No Kill status for the Rockwall and Royse City shelters, Rockwall Pets set its sights on saving the lives of shelter pets throughout north Texas, especially in Dallas. The nonprofit estimates an average of 50 healthy and/or treatable dogs and cats are killed every day at the Dallas shelter. Rockwall Pets has saved the lives of nearly 300 pets from the Dallas shelter during the past 12 months.

Dallas Animal Services conducted an investigation into the abandonment of the dogs but could find no leads.

Within a couple of days of his rescue, Shaggy was attending his first Rockwall Pets adoption event. His ever-present smile offered no clue as to the horrors he’d witnessed the previous week. He was a long way from a filthy recycling bin in the middle of a crowded parking lot. For what could be the first time in their lives, Shaggy, Thelma and the rest of their friends are experiencing the love and joy of being a puppy.

Donate today to help the abandoned dogs.