Happy Tails

If you’re looking for a pup who is chill in the home…lights up around kids…and loves to snuggle, you’ll want to meet Yuki! We rescued Yuki from Chicago Animal Care & Control in the early days of the COVID-19 shutdown. We don’t know her history, although we do know she has had puppies. She went […]

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ADOPTED! Starting out life as an unwanted puppy, this happy boy found his place with us!

Read Cooper's happy tail!

After being left at Chicago Animal Care and Control, Maggie was breaking down in a matter of days and needed help, fast!

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Stray in a big city, hit by a car and spending 129 days at an over-filled open access city shelter, Rocket beat all odds!

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ADOPTION PENDING! Just a puppy, Flip was found as a stray, landed in a high kill shelter, sick and in need of rescue!

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ADOPTION PENDING! This beautiful pup was rescued once from imminent doom, and is now looking for a forever home!

Read Zorra's happy tail!

ADOPTED! Vader is a sweet, loving puppy who will make a great addition to any family!

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ADOPTED! Leia is a fun, typical puppy full of love and character!

Read Leia's happy tail!

ADOPTED! This lovely senior sweetheart came to us on her 10th birthday with nowhere to go.

Read Roma's happy tail!

ADOPTED! After being evicted, her family could not take her with, but we promise her a forever filled with magic!

Read Layla's happy tail!

This six year old boy was abandoned by his owner who left the country. Now he’s on his way to finding his forever home!

Read Capricho's happy tail!

ADOPTION PENDING! Our adorable Sammy made it safely off of Craigslist. Now he’s ready for his forever home!

Read Samson's happy tail!

ADOPTION PENDING! Because she was too big for her family’s new home, Twilight ended up in a high kill shelter, sick and at the top of the euthanasia list.

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ADOPTED! After surviving two months at a high kill shelter, this stray puppy’s life was in danger!

Read Leon's happy tail!

ADOPTED! Esther didn’t have a good puppy life. That is, until a Good Samaritan stepped in and took action!

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ADOPTED! With just hours left to live, a foster request came in at the 11th hour and Renegade was saved!

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ADOPTED! From a stray to kennel favorite, this girl still found herself on death row!

Read Sally's happy tail!

ADOPTED! Scarlett was left to die in the woods, but instead, this survivor is shining!

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ADOPTED! It isn’t every day that a boy like Berlin is saved. Being pulled from a high kill shelter, being one of the lucky chosen few, really is miraculous.

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ADOPTED! We love it when people step in and take action. It isn’t easy to bring a stray dog into your home when your house is already full, but that is what Birdie’s Good Samaritan did.

Read Birdie's happy tail!

Found wandering the streets of Chicago in freezing temps with his mommy, then landing at a high kill shelter, three month old Blu is finally safe!

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ADOPTED! Pulled from a high kill shelter, Jett beat all odds!

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ADOPTED! We hadn’t planned to bring another pup into our rescue, but then we saw this smile!

Read Mia's happy tail!

ADOPTED!  This great boy was saved by a team of vet techs after he was found as a stray.  Noah was emaciated and had sores on his legs, one can only imagine how long he was left to fend for himself on the streets. After his stray hold was up, he was to be transferred […]

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This sweet 1 year old boy was found in the parking lot of a Chicago suburb hospital around three months ago,  left in a locked crate with a 30lb bag of dog food and a note attached to the crate explaining the commands this emaciated boy knows.  And to make matters worse, it was only […]

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ADOPTED!

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ADOPTED! Ivy is a sweet, smart pit bull/bull terrier mix who loves to cuddle, play, and do doggy yoga!

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ADOPTED! Sprout is a charming, sociable puppy with a wonderful temperament!

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Bella is a gorgeous girl with a fantastic personality. She loves people, loves to cuddle and is a great companion. You will instantly fall in love once you meet this beauty.

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Athena is a precious, playful pit mix puppy who lives to play and love. This little girl adores everyone she meets, including other dogs.

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ADOPTED! Rescued once as a stray running along a highway, now a victim of the economy, Sweetie is sure to capture your heart with her gentle, sweet ways!

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Petey is great with other dogs, and has that silly, spunky puppy play energy that keeps those around him laughing. We double dog dare you to let him wiggle his way into your heart!

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This lovely girl was adopted into her very own family!

Read Lily's happy tail!

How can you look into those eyes of Henney and say “No”? Well, we couldn’t either!

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Life doesn’t always start out smoothly, at least not for a puppy left with no food, no water and no heat in an abandoned building. But Abby’s story ended up being a happy “tail” to tell. And now this charming, playful puppy is in need of a loving home. Midwest Rescue was at Aberration Tattoo […]

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Tiffany came to me in August 2002 as a foster. She was 6 mos old and I knew she was the one for me. So I ended up adopting her. I put her through all levels of training. She loves her Rottweiler sister Mia and Rottweiler brother Dart…they are inseparable. She loves to snuggle in […]

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Can you ever love another dog as much as your first? My boyfriend James and I hadn’t considered the possibility of adopting another dog when the picture of a doe-eyed, brindle pitbull/boxer mix in need of adoption landed in our in boxes. We pushed it aside at first, but our curiosity was piqued. We kept […]

Read Bryn's happy tail!

Check this out, two happy tails for the price of one! Here are the combined stories of two very lucky girls that found their home, and places on the couch, with one very incredible family. Lynn and Jerry adopted Bess, now named Phoebe, and what great people they turned out to be. Mind you, they […]

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Bucket came to live with us as a foster child, and in a few short weeks he convinced us that our apartment was his home. He and his sister dog Zoë love to run circles around each other in the yard, chewing on each others legs and faces. We are lucky to have adopted such […]

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I have always been a huge pit-bull advocate, so naturally when my last one passed away a year ago, I started looking for a new one. I was contemplating purchasing a blue nose from a breeder, but a friend suggested that I consider adopting one instead. This is where Midwest Rescue of Illinois came into […]

Read Xena's happy tail!

Sometimes, good things come in BIG packages! Tyler, a large pit bull mix, came to Midwest Rescue via a Chicago-area Animal Control unit. He had been found running loose in the streets with two other puppies. Animal Control contacted his owner and asked him to pick up his pet. But rather than pay the required […]

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Everyone has a best Buddy, right? Well, Red and Loki have theirs now, thanks to their mom, Samantha. We received a plea from a rescuer that there were three sweethearts who needed immediate help. Not to worry, although truth be told, we were sweating bullets for a short while, all three found safety! Thanks to […]

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Faith and two sisters were found tied to a tree in an alley abandoned and left to die, not to mention that is was freezing cold out! Faith and Paige survived, but sadly the third sister didn’t…her injuries were too severe. Faith and Paige were brought to Animal Control and remained there waiting for rescue. […]

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Freckles came to Midwest Rescue as a puppy, one of a litter of five. Her brothers and sisters quickly found homes. So did Freckles. She was adopted by a young couple, soon to have a child. Their application was approved by Midwest Rescue. (We carefully check the references of all adoptive families before releasing our […]

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We just want you to know how much we adore our precious princess Sally! Sally is adapting well to apartment life. She does her best to determine if a noise is worth barking at. Our friends and neighbors have accepted her into their hearts…she has become the official Queen of the building! Our neighbor Derek […]

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This particular Saturday, we saved PetCo for the last stop. Well, we were headed out the door and all of sudden I heard Alex ask me if she could go pet the dog before we went home. I grudgingly went over to talk with the people there. I could not help but look at the […]

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By Roxie’s Mommy My family had some bad luck with our last dog, so even though my kids and I wanted another one, it was not going to be easy to convince my husband to give it another try. Still, I did my research and was very intrigued by what I learned about pit bulls, […]

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This Happy Tail has been three years in the making! Allie was adopted out as a puppy from Midwest Rescue, but was soon removed from that home. During a surprise home check, we found her tethered to the kitchen sink. Needless to say, we took her back into our safe hands. Do you believe in […]

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It took some persuading to let Cassie come to our house. After losing my dad in March of 2008, we all were looking for someone else to love. Never having been pet owners, we were all unsure of adding another member to our family. But once she walked through our doors, we knew she would […]

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When Winnie came into our lives, all I knew was that I wanted a dog more than anything, but just didn’t know if I was ready. I had always said that when I finally adopted a dog, I wanted a girl, 2-3 years old, and the one that was in the most need of a […]

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Nova, short for Casanova, stole our hearts! We went to Animal Control to meet a dog the team was trying desperately to save. Not only did we leave with Rascal, but with four others as well! Nova was loved while with us in rescue, became our mascot, and stole the hearts of everyone who met […]

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The Story of Bobby and Bella By Gloria, BOBBY’s mom (and BELLA’s foster mom)… Bobby was found in the rain on the streets of Cicero in front of a nursing home. My husband was at the nursing home visiting his mother when he saw the dog. When Animal Control arrived, my husband asked what would […]

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Aidan, found wandering the streets of Waukegan, was picked up an Animal Control officer when he was about 10 months old. He was extremely underweight, but even half-starved was as sweet as they come! His caregivers named him after the actor Aidan Quinn because of the lovely color of his eyes. (Yes, he is quite […]

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I found Midwest Rescue when I decided that I needed to start volunteering at an organization that was important to me. Their “Pocket Pit” Jersey quickly caught my eye.  Of course, all the girls were very encouraging that I just meet her – just to see! Well, I didn’t even get that chance before I […]

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As many of you know, Saki has been with Midwest Rescue for a number of years, patiently waiting for her special someone to “pick her” as the dog of their choice.  Well, that time has finally come for Saki and she’s having the time of her life.  Saki needed to be the only pet in […]

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Devon & I knew we wanted to get a dog, but we had concerns… We lived in a small apartment in the city without a yard. So there were space considerations, we were also concerned about noise since we lived in a building with others. Neither of us had ever considered adopting a pit bull. […]

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I must begin this story by saying yes, I flunked fostering! Url came to my home as a “foster pup” that was supposed to stay only until we found him a home. Little did we know that the home would be mine! This little/big guy stole my heart from the moment I saw him! From […]

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Ring the bell…it’s Marci! On second thought, let Marci do it herself. This gorgeous girl is so smart, she rings a bell to let her foster mom know when she needs to go outside.

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Hello, I’m Leo, and I’m a cool-looking, super-fun boy who loves to play, cuddle, and soak up da love. I’m in training, and I love that, too. Actually, I love…everything! And I bet YOU’LL love my trademark move: my famous Leo hugs. Come get one!

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ADOPTION PENDING! This sweet two year old boy has made lots of moves within the last few weeks and he is ready to settle into his forever home, once and for all! Big Boy is good with dogs of all sizes and shapes, adults, kids and yes, even cats!

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Killian (aka “Red” for obvious reasons) is an affectionate, well-behaved boy who loves giving kisses. Killian is on the smaller side, around 50 lbs, with bright eyes and a striking red coat.

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At just 2 years old, Dozer kept appearing at his rescue angel’s doorstep to find safety during the night. Since then, he has moved himself into their home! However, his time is limited as their living situation does not allow dogs over 50lbs.

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ADOPTION PENDING! Yup, it’s true: blondes DO have more fun! Of course, it doesn’t hurt to be a sweet, petite ‘pocket pit’ with excellent manners! I’m great with kids, kitties, and most other dogs. Find out why I am looking for an extra-special home.

Read Lulu's happy tail!

Available for adoption through Bombshell Bullies, this boy was found with a seven foot tow chain wrapped around his neck. Needless to say, Taboo is ready for the good life!

Read Taboo's happy tail!