Dog Left Behind By Her Family Hangs Out With Firefighters All Day Now

Dog Left Behind By Her Family Hangs Out With Firefighters All Day Now

Ashley’s previous owners barely fed her, rarely took her outside, and eventually abandoned her.

Fortunately, the year-old pit dog was rescued by Erica Mahnken, co-founder of No More Pain Rescue, and her boyfriend Michael Favor.

We received a phone call from someone stating that a couple was living in an abandoned house. “They had no heat or electricity, and they had a dog,” Mahnken told The Dodo immediately after the rescue.

The couple likely left when a snowfall arrived. “I think they went looking for a warm place to stay and left the dog behind,” Mahnken speculated. “So we rushed in and got her back as soon as we got the phone call.”

Favor ordered Mahnken to stay in the car while he went inside to get the dog. Later, he would tell Mahnken how horrible it was. “There was no electricity in the house – it was freezing,” Mahnken explained. “It had no food or water.” The house was a mess. The windows were broken, and there were feces everywhere.”

Ashley, on the other hand, was not damaged, and she looked like the happiest of dogs when Favor took her outside.

“She came running downstairs, mad with joy,” Mahnken explains. “She ran right into my car.”

Ashley was underweight and emaciated. “You could only see her ribs, she was so skinny. She was 20 pounds lighter than normal, according to the vet.”

Ashley also had cigarette burns on the top of her head, which they observed.

No More Pain Rescue did not have a physical shelter, so Mahnken and Favor had to place Ashley in a foster home immediately. They knew there was a dog at the Fort Pitt firehouse because they had friends in the New York City Fire Department (FDNY). So Mahnken and Favor asked the firefighters to keep Ashley until they could find her a suitable home.

Ashley seemed happy with this arrangement.

Her tail was wagging as soon as she walked into the firehouse, and she was hugging and welcoming everyone,” Mahnken added. “She was crazy with joy. You wouldn’t expect it, considering where she came from. You’d think she’d be a little nervous, but she wasn’t at all.”

Not surprisingly, the fire department called Mahnken a few days later and asked him to keep Ashley.

“‘We’re going to adopt her,’ they said. ‘We love her. She feels right at home here,” Mahnken explained. “So I was thrilled. And as soon as I brought her in, I knew she belonged here.”

Ashley now works full-time at the fire station.

She’s always on the go – running little errands with them, riding in the fire truck with them,” Mahnken says. “They walk her about 30 times a day. They take her up to the roof to play. She’s always in the kitchen, watching them eat. She has plenty of treats. She’s had a good life there.”

According to Mahnken, Ashley even has a seat on the fire truck.

“I’m so glad we placed her with a family that will show her nothing but love and not quickly turns her into a pit bull that people love to despise,” Mahnken added. “It was an amazing feeling to know that she belonged there.”

Four years later, Ashley still loves her life at the firehouse – and the firefighters love her.

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