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Posted on Fri, Apr 26, 2013 : 6 a.m.

Two dogs who got a second chance at life and other animals are the focus of Pet Photo Friday

By Lorrie Shaw

We invite our readers to interact here on the pets section any chance we get, and one thing is evident: People are passionate about their companion animals, no matter what breed they are. And as we see at the end of each week, they like to show off their cute pet photos!

It's always fun to see what our readers' lives are like with their own pets and other animals, and there are always interesting stories to tell.

This week, you'll see all sorts of cute pets, including a pair of very apt office assistants, and an update on one special chihuahua named Tinkerbelle.

Last year, Tinkerbelle was brought into the animal intake department at the Humane Society of Huron Valley after being found with a badly broken front leg that had not gotten proper treatment.

The then 5-month old puppy ended up needing a surgical amputation. But because her white cell count was low, she needed a lifesaving blood transfusion.

Ziggy the pit bull, (click here for his fabulous success story) who was up for adoption at HSHV was able to act as a blood donor for the tiny pup, saving her life. You can read about how all of that came together by clicking here.

Her owner, Heather La Palme, notes that Tinkerbelle has a great life, and shares her home with her family that includes another three-legged chihuahua named Honey, a rescue.

"I didn’t make it my mission to adopt 3-legged dogs -- it kind of worked out that way."

Tinkerbelle, along with Honey, have accompanied their owner at Clague Middle School, where La Palme gave a talk to a class about why she adopted dogs with special needs after the students took interest in Tinkerbelle's story while doing a school project on adopting pets from shelters.

The pooch has also been an inspiration to La Palme's mother, who had a series of strokes and spent time in a rehabilitation center. Tinkerbelle would accompany her owner on regular visits, and she proved to be an uplifting presence to others.

"I would bring Tinkerbelle to visit her but everyone who would see her would fall in love and would have lots of questions as to what happened to her leg," says La Palme.

"I would tell the story and everyone would walk away happy and uplifted to see her doing so well now. Even my mom would look at her for courage as well. I really feel like even though Tinkerbelle is a little dog that she has brought a lot of joy to everyone who meets her."

Stories like this are a true testament to the resiliency that animals possess, and the positive impact that they have on our lives as well.

We love seeing the images each week -- and hearing the stories behind them. What's yours?

Participating in our weekly photo blog is easy — simply email a photo of your pet to ppsa2mi@gmail.com any time for our weekly Pet Photo Friday feature.

Be sure to include the name of the animal(s), as well as their age and city or township of residence in your email. Photos should be 1,200 pixels wide and in .jpg format.

We put the week's photos into a slideshow, publish and promote each Friday here in the Pets section.

Lorrie Shaw leads the pets section for AnnArbor.com. You can follow her daily pet adventures on Twitter and subscribe to AnnArbor.com's email newsletters.

Comments

mady

Sat, Apr 27, 2013 : 6:09 p.m.

Oh, my goodness, talk about an overload of Adorable!!!! Bring it on!

Mary Bilyeu

Fri, Apr 26, 2013 : 5:05 p.m.

Oh, just too much cuteness!!!

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