‘I Promised Her I’d Fight for Her’—How a TikTok Plea Saved a Dog’s Life in Her Final Hours
On January 15th, Mary Alex Anders, a Fox 5 Sports reporter, animal advocate, and founder of Rise Up Rescue ATL, posted a video on TikTok on behalf of DeKalb County Animal Services pleading for fosters to step up for a Pitbull who was just hours from being euthanized.
The Pitbull in question was Cabana, a beautiful blue female with big brown eyes and a gentle personality who was about to celebrate her fourth birthday. A month earlier, she had arrived at DeKalb County Animal Services looking confident, strong, and alert. However, as days and weeks passed, the stress of shelter life slowly wore Cabana down, transforming her into a nervous, downtrodden, depressed dog who barely picked her head up.
@maryalexanders_ 🚨Save Cabana!🚨She has until 7pm TONIGHT (1/15)! Cabana is an absolute angel. This world has failed her. She was once a confident momma bear and now she lives in constant fear. She is a shy girl, but I know she wants to trust humans again. She’s shutting down, but she still has hope. With a little TLC, Cabana will be the perfect dog for you to come home to after a long day!! She doesn’t ask for much. Just a warm, loving home that will allow her to become a happy dog again, on her own time. It’s time to #RiseUp, Atlanta, and give her the second chance she deserves!! 🙏🏼❤️ If you think you could be Cabana’s saving grace, please go DIRECTLY to @dekalbanimals to foster or adopt- don’t hesitate. No need to call or make an appointment. Just. Go. If you’re out of town but interested in adopting, comment or DM me. A little about Cabana👇🏼 🐶Needs to be the only fur baby in your home (she deserves that right now) 🏡Seems house trained 🦮great on leash 🥰snuggle bug once she warms up 🩺No medical issues ❤️She is only 50-60lbs. A lot smaller than she appears in her photo! 🥹She’s a very sweet and gentle girl Be sure to follow @riseuprescueatl and @rescueme_atl for all things Atlanta rescue 🙏🏼 #fyp #foryou #dog #shelterdog #help #teamwork #pitbull #adoptdontshop #adoption #viral #foster #adoptme #hopecore #sos #animalrescue #hope #atlantageorgia #saveme #kindessmatters #bekind ♬ original sound – maryalexanders_
Millions of dogs are adopted from shelters annually, but those overlooked are often the ones most affected by shelter life. Shelters are loud, full of new smells, and lack the comforts of home like beds, couches, a yard to play in, and humans to love. Many dogs shut down during their shelter stays, and struggle to show their magical personalities to potential adopters. Pitbulls have the additional hurdle of breed discrimination and are often overlooked purely because of breed.
“Cabana has shut down after being in the shelter for just one month. Although she feels defeated, I promised her I would fight for her, but I need your help,” said Mary Alex Anders in a final desperate attempt to reach potential fosters on social media. “This is our last chance to show her humans are good. Time is running out.”
@maryalexanders_ 🚨Save Cabana!🚨 She has until 7pm TONIGHT (1/15)! Cabana is a sweetheart. She was once a confident momma bear and now she lives in constant fear. She is a shy girl, but I know she wants to try and trust humans again. She’s shutting down, but she still has hope. With a little TLC, Cabana will be the perfect dog for you to come home to after a long day. ❤️ We need to show her humans are still good. It’s time to rise up and give her a second chance! If you think you could be Cabana’s saving grace, please go DIRECTLY to Dekalb County Animal Services to foster or adopt- don’t hesitate. No need to call or make an appointment. Just. Go. If you’re out of town but interested in adopting, comment or DM me. A little about Cabana 👇🏼 🐶Needs to be the only fur baby in your home (she deserves that right now) 🏠 House trained 🦮great on leash 🛋️ snuggle bug once she warms up 🩺 No medical issues ❤️ She is only 50-60lbs. A lot smaller than she appears in her photo! Follow my rescue instagram page @riseupreacueatl before tik tok goes away to stay updated ❤️ #fyp #foryou #dog #shelterdog #help #teamwork #pitbull #adoptdontshop #adoption #viral #foster #adoptme #hopecore #sos #animalrescue #hope #atlantageorgia ♬ original sound – Dominik
Cabana’s prospects were bleak—a month in the shelter hadn’t gotten any results, could she possibly hope for a foster swoop in to save the day in her final hours?
No Fosters Step Up, But Cabana Gets a Miracle Instead
“Cabana Update: she wasn’t able to be fostered,” wrote Mary Alex Anders in an update video posted to TikTok the day after Cabana was scheduled for euthanasia. “Because she was adopted!”
Cabana didn’t just get a temporary foster home, she got a forever home and freedom right out of the very shelter she would have died in that night if her miracle adopters hadn’t shown up. Through social media and animal advocacy, the perfect humans found Cabana and ensured she would live to see her fourth birthday and many more birthdays to come!
@maryalexanders_ Replying to @Mejustbeingme💙💙💙💙💙💙 The update you have all been waiting for: CABANA HAS BEEN ADOPTED AND WILL NEVER BE A SHELTER DOG AGAIN!!!!!!!! 🥳🥳😭😭😭😭 THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to EVERY 👏🏼 SINGLE👏🏼ONE👏🏼 of you!! I am a MESS. I am a puddle. The most emotional day of my rescue life (so far)😭😭 Thank you for your shares/interactions, your compassion and your heart for a dog you never knew existed before today. Thank you to all who reached out to foster her, pledged for her, and even offered to fly her across the country. I stayed up 24 hours (literally) to have this result. No sleep, haven’t eaten and I DONT CARE!!!!!!! 🤩🤩 I am trying to find the words. Thank you @rescueme_atl for being the BAD A** you are! Thank you to @tiffany_baker_ for going up to the shelter, knowing you’d get there late and still WAITED for her to make sure she walked out with someone. There’s so many people to thank I can’t put it here but you know who you are!!! Most importantly, thank you to her adopter @bmason17 for giving her a chance. Thank you for adopting her. Thank you for your heart. I have no words to express how I’m feeling. You are an angel. A God send and the person Cabana has waited on her entire life.❤️❤️ It’s hard to tell who hit the jack pot more because You are both angels sent from heaven 😭 This is just the beginning of the rest of Cabana’s long, beautiful, and HAPPY story. 🥺❤️ When we #RiseUp, we SAVE LIVES!!! Thank you all. The job isn’t finished, but tonight, we celebrate this absolute MIRACLE of a WIN‼️🥳🤍😭🙌🏼 ##fyp##foryou##dog##shelterdog##help##teamwork##pitbull##adoptdontshop##adoption##viral##foster##adoptme##hopecore##sos##animalrescue##hope##atlantageorgia##saveme##kindessmatters#bekind ♬ Rise Up – Andra Day
If you are touched by Cabana’s story and want to adopt a dog, take this as a sign to visit your local animal shelter. Remember to stop and visit dogs who are nervous or shut down—shelter life is hard, but the time it takes to help a shelter dog come out of their shell and flourish is a reward beyond measure.
