Sometimes rescue begins with something incredibly simple: someone saying yes.
Yes, I’ll foster him. Yes, we’ll make room for them. Yes, I’ll keep sharing her story. Yes, I’ll bring him home.
Here’s what happened this week. 💗🐾
This week at Labradors + Friends, those yeses showed up everywhere—from a 10-year-old dog who needed somewhere to go, to two tiny puppies who made it safely into rescue, to a long-awaited Happy Tail and a volunteer whose commitment to LAF didn’t end when she moved out of state.
And one very special Rainbow Bridge story reminded us just how much life can fit between that first yes and a final goodbye.
Plus, we’re celebrating an incredible Pulls for Pups fundraiser, sharing new ways to join us at upcoming events, and asking for more foster homes so we can keep saying yes when the next dog needs us.
Sometimes volunteering starts with something as simple as asking a question.
For Christie, that question changed far more than she ever expected.
She would often see people walking dogs while she was out on her own walks. One day, she finally stopped and asked who they were and what they were doing.
They were volunteers with Labradors and Friends.
Christie decided to become a dog walker.
What she found was much more than a way to spend time with rescue dogs.
She found a sense of purpose she hadn’t realized was missing.
The dogs were incredible, but Christie quickly discovered something else: the people were pretty special, too. Before long, she was helping organize adoption events throughout Orange County, and volunteering with LAF became an important part of her life.
A Move Couldn’t Take Her Away From LAF
In 2024, Christie moved to Arizona. She looked for another rescue organization where she could volunteer, but nothing felt quite the same.
Labradors and Friends had become more than a rescue.
It had become family.
So when the opportunity came to help remotely as an Application Coordinator, Christie jumped at it.
Today, she helps prospective adopters through the application process and works to connect families with dogs who may be the right match for them.
And when Christie travels back to California, she still makes time to meet the dogs whenever she can. Knowing them personally — their personalities, quirks and needs — helps her do an even better job helping applicants find the right dog.
And there is one LAF dog Christie will never forget.
Then There Was Bradley
Bradley’s journey with Labradors and Friends began in one of those ways you couldn’t make up.
One of our volunteers was camping when they woke up to discover a dog sitting in a chair at their campsite.
Someone had abandoned him.
The dog was Bradley — an incredibly sweet Pit Bull who needed somewhere safe to go. The volunteer reached out and asked if Labradors and Friends could help.
We said yes.
Bradley became a LAF dog.
But finding his forever family wouldn’t happen quickly.
Bradley was a wonderful dog, but his prey drive toward smaller animals meant he needed a particular kind of home. Again and again, he was overlooked.
Days became months.
Months became years.
Bradley waited nearly two years.
One Post Changed Everything
Christie never stopped seeing the dog behind the wait.
In 2022, she posted a photo of Bradley on Instagram.
A former coworker saw it.
She reached out to Christie and asked about him. Christie told her all about the sweet senior who had been waiting so long for someone to choose him.
And then, on Christmas Eve, Bradley finally got the gift everyone at LAF had been hoping for.
He went home.
Today, Bradley is living his best life with a family of his own.
For Christie, knowing she played even a small part in getting him there means everything.
But Bradley’s story also shows something we see over and over again in rescue.
One volunteer found him.
Another kept advocating for him.
Someone shared his photograph.
Someone else saw it.
And eventually, someone said yes.
That’s rescue.
And it’s why the people behind Labradors and Friends matter just as much as the dogs whose lives they help change.
Christie says it best:
“For me, Labradors and Friends is so much more than a rescue. It is a community, a purpose, and most importantly, family.
After 473 days in a shelter, Jesse finally walked into freedom. But for a dog who had spent so long waiting, freedom was only the beginning.
When we shared Jesse’s freedom ride, it was the ending everyone had been hoping for. In reality, it was the beginning of a very different journey—one that can’t be rushed.
Jesse is learning what it means to live in a home, to trust the people around him and, most importantly, to understand that he is safe. His foster family knows this will take time. And they are giving him exactly that.
His foster family understood from the beginning that after 473 days in a shelter, Jesse wasn’t going to suddenly walk into a house and know how to be a family dog. He needed time, space, and people willing to let him figure things out on his own terms.
And that is exactly what they’ve given him.
His foster mom is completely in love with him. Dad handles the late-shift walks. Their daughter helps whenever she’s home. Everyone is part of Jesse’s journey, and they understand it may be a long one.
They aren’t asking Jesse to move faster. They’re meeting him where he is.
When the World Still Feels Too Big
A week ago, Jesse gave his foster family quite a scare.
Somehow, he seemed to have disappeared in their own backyard. His Fi collar showed that he was still on the property, but with nearly a quarter acre to search, that still left plenty of places for Jesse to hide.
For 45 minutes, his family searched for him. Finally, they found him quietly hunkered down in a back corner of the yard.
The relief was enormous.
It may sound like a small moment, but it says a lot about where Jesse is right now. When things feel overwhelming, his instinct can still be to find somewhere quiet and disappear.
His family didn’t see it as a setback. They simply kept doing what they’ve been doing all along—giving Jesse the time and space he needs while showing him, day after day, that he is safe.
Little by Little. Day by Day.
Jesse’s journey isn’t measured in giant leaps. It’s measured in small moments of trust, growing confidence, and a family willing to give him all the time he needs.
Sometimes fostering is taking a dog home and three days later finding them curled up beside you on the couch.
And sometimes fostering is giving a dog a quiet place to land and asking for nothing in return.
It’s late-night walks. It’s searching the backyard for 45 minutes. It’s celebrating tiny moments that someone else might not even notice. It’s understanding that trust can’t be put on a timeline.
Jesse’s foster family has given him something incredibly valuable: the freedom to take as long as he needs.
After 473 days of waiting, Jesse finally has people who aren’t waiting for him to become something else. They’re simply showing up for the dog he is today.
Sometimes rescue takes a village. And this week, we saw exactly what that means. ❤️
Bob needed a village to help him fight pneumonia. Harold and Maizy needed a chain of people willing to say yes. More new faces arrived needing their own second chances, while Fremont and Mimi reminded us what can happen when those chances are given.
And at the Rainbow Bridge, we honor Grandpa Cody—a senior boy who found safety, family, and so much love, and who did it all his way. 🌈❤️
And through it all, one thing remained true: rescue is never just one person or one organization. It’s a community coming together for dogs who need someone in their corner.
This week’s Tail Wag takes us through just about every part of rescue.
Emma’s 8 Pack is growing up and getting ready for families of their own. Blaze is healed, adopted, and home with his boys. After more than two years in boarding, Kira is finally discovering foster life. Gracie Lou is still waiting for someone to see what we see in her.
We also pause to remember Sirius and the hundreds of working dogs who served after September 11—and introduce seven of the newest members of the LAF family.
Different dogs. Different journeys. One thing behind every story:
Someone said yes. ❤️
Catch up on everything you may have missed in Weekly Tail Wag 008 below.
