Georgia Dogs Photographed Hugging Inspires Rescue Before Euthanasia
Kala and Keira were saved in just over 2 hours thanks to Facebook.
— -- An adorable snapshot of two dogs embracing each another spread like wildfire across the Internet -- something that may have also helped save their lives.
“It seems they love to play together,” said Karin Wallace, a founding core member with Angels Among Us Pet Rescue where the dogs will be fostered. “The need to rescue pets from high kill shelters in Georgia is astronomical. Our ability to save more lives is limited only in our ability to find foster homes to care for them.”
The photo of Kala, an eight-month old hound mix and Keira, a one-year-old boxer mix, was taken on July 20, just hours before being rescued from a Georgia rural shelter by Angels Among Us Pet Rescue and Etowah Valley Humane Society, a representative from Angels Among Us in Atlanta confirmed to ABC News.
The post has since received over 16,000 likes and 9,000-plus shares on Facebook, helping to raise $3,400 to help cover the medical expenses for Kala and Keira.
"Exactly 2 hours and 6 minutes. That's how long it took this amazing community of animals lovers to come together to save the lives of two canine friends," the post read. "We just received word from our Angels volunteer that Kala and Keira are safely in the car and on their way to a vet -All thanks to you. From the time we posted on Facebook until the time the dogs were out of the shelter and safely in the car ... 2 hours and 6 minutes. That's how you take action!!"
A representative of Angels Among Us said the dogs were rescued 12 hours before the apparent euthanasia, which was scheduled at Bartow County Animal Control in Cartersville, Georgia.
Bartow County said they do euthanize animals on Tuesdays, but could not confirm if the dogs were set to be put down on July 21.
“The timing was great because I was talking to her ... and next thing you know she just came over and hugged the black dog," said Malena Evans, who took the photo and is an adoption coordinator at Etowah Valley Humane Society. "We started about five years ago, started posting stories about the dogs. If they are together, we want to adopt them together, keep them together. We’ve grown on Facebook from 500 people five years ago, and we just hit this week 700,000 fans on our Facebook page. And it’s because of the stories.”
Officials said the next step for Kala and Keira is to find them a permanent home.