‘Hugging’ Shelter Dogs Rescued Together Hours Before Being Euthanized

Hours before they were both scheduled to be euthanized yesterday at a high-kill Atlanta shelter, Kala and Keira were rescued — just two hours after a touching photo of the pair was posted on social media.

In the photo, posted on the Angels Among Us Pet Rescue Facebook page, Kala, a brown terrier mix, is clinging to the neck of her cellmate, a black-and-white Boxer mix named Keira.

Angels Among Us Pet Rescue is a nonprofit dedicated to saving the lives of pets in high-kill shelters in northern Georgia. Someone from the Atlanta shelter sent the organization the photo of Kala and Keira, hoping it would help get them rescued — and it worked.

“I’m Kala. This is Keira. We’re so scared in here,” reads the photo description, which is as moving as the photo itself.

“Can you see our faces. Keira knows what will happen. You can see it in her eyes. She’s putting on a brave face for sure, but I can feel her heart beating fast while I’m clinging to her. If no one saves us, someone will take her away from me. I’ll see her as she goes down the hallway. She won’t come back and I’ll cry. They’ll come for me next and I won’t be as brave. We’ve comforted each other while we were here. She gave me hope when I had none. Now it’s over. Unless…”

The photo quickly went viral. Exactly two hours and six minutes after it was posted, Kala and Keira were leaving the shelter — not via the euthanization room, but with the man who rescued both of them.

“There are no words to tell you how happy we are that these two best friends are safe and together!” Angels Among Us wrote on its Facebook page yesterday.

“Thank you for your shares, donations and offers! Just look at these two!! This is why we rescue. We can do amazing things when we all work together!”

To make a donation to Angels Among Us Pet Rescue, click here.

Photos via Facebook