Several clear acrylic boxes holding blue collars and labels like "SAFE," "HOME," and "HEALED" sit on a black table in the foreground, with a "COLLARS OF HOPE" sign and a dimly lit event space in the background.

Every collar should belong to a dog who is safe, loved, and home. Tonight, Collars of Hope is a reminder of the promises we've made in the last Decade. It honors ten Rescue Rebels dogs whose lives changed because someone refused to give up on them. Their named collars surround you at Rescue Ball, and their stories are here for you to discover. Each represents the medical care, patient healing, and love that helped a dog overcome yesterday and find a different tomorrow. Beside them, five empty collars represent the dogs we have not yet met—the ones still waiting for someone to come.For ten years, Rescue Rebels has answered those calls, helping more than 450 dogs find their way to forever families. But every new “yes” carries a responsibility: emergency treatment, surgery, rehabilitation, and care for as long as healing takes. Your generosity makes that commitment possible. Funding Collars of Hope gives us the resources to act when the next desperate plea arrives—when a dog needs help immediately and cannot wait for us to raise the money to save them.Read the ten stories below. See what became possible because people like you cared. Then choose a giving level that is meaningful to you and help fund the next life we can change. We do not yet know that dog’s name or what it will take to bring them home. With your help tonight, we can be ready to say yes. Their tomorrow begins tonight. With you.<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/hxn9dbuhd/image/upload/v1790682543/wysiwyg/udzpss8slk1nhctujna0.jpg" style="width:600px;display:block;vertical-align:top;margin:5px auto;text-align:center;padding:0px 1px;max-width:100%" />In July 2016, a young black Lab named Dr. House sat at Orange County Animal Services with a badly injured front paw.His situation was beyond urgent. He was on the euthanasia list for that day. His life was out of time.Rescue Rebels reached him before it was too late and gave him a new name: Jake.As our second rescue and our first dog requiring major medical care, Jake helped shape the rescue we would become. After orthopedic surgery, he spent ten weeks recovering in a nurturing foster home before joining the forever family that had been waiting for him.Today, Jake is eleven years old and living a beautiful life in North Carolina.Jake’s life did not end that day.It became the beginning of everything Rescue Rebels knew it could do.<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/hxn9dbuhd/image/upload/v1790682590/wysiwyg/vgwav7loiltzkvmefawy.jpg" style="width:600px;display:block;vertical-align:top;margin:5px auto;text-align:center;padding:0px 1px;max-width:100%" /> In April 2022, Hannah arrived at Orange County Animal Services critically ill and unable to see. She had a serious facial injury, pancreatitis and untreated diabetes. Her body was exhausted, and she had quietly withdrawn from the world around her.Rescue Rebels saw beyond her condition to the life still waiting inside her.Her care would eventually cost nearly $13,000. With specialized treatment, a carefully managed diet and daily insulin, Hannah slowly grew stronger. Cataract surgery restored her sight, while a patient foster family helped her rediscover comfort, affection and trust.One year after Rescue Rebels welcomed her, Hannah joined the family that would love her forever.Hannah’s world had gone dark, but healing gave her the chance to see just how beautiful her tomorrow could be.<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/hxn9dbuhd/image/upload/v1790682634/wysiwyg/jgu3h3t4ocebmnxi9m7e.jpg" style="width:600px;display:block;vertical-align:top;margin:5px auto;text-align:center;padding:0px 1px;max-width:100%" /> The call came at 9:00 on a Wednesday night. Clewiston Animal Control had a German  Shepherd in immediate danger of dying and there was no time to wait until morning. The  shelter drove Heidi to a specialty emergency hospital in West Palm Beach, and Rescue  Rebels took responsibility for the fragile life arriving through its doors. Heidi weighed only 29 pounds. She was emaciated, severely anemic, infested with hookworms and heartworm  positive. Her recovery would not be quick or easy, but Leigh opened her home and stayed beside Heidi through the long process of rebuilding her strength and completing  heartworm treatment. Slowly, the dog who arrived with almost nothing left began to heal. Today, Heidi is not merely alive. She is home with Heather and Chris, surrounded by the  safety and love that once seemed impossibly far away.This is the promise behind every Collar of Hope: when Rescue Rebels says yes, suffering gives way to  healing, safety and a life filled with love.<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/hxn9dbuhd/image/upload/v1790682687/wysiwyg/icfvjusrs1hn1omao5lk.jpg" style="width:600px;display:block;vertical-align:top;margin:5px auto;text-align:center;padding:0px 1px;max-width:100%" /> At five months old, Artemis should have known the simple comfort of a full bowl and clean water. Instead, Artemis and Apollo were surviving in a trailer park  by drinking from dirty puddles and eating rocks. Their small bodies were emaciated, anemic and overwhelmed by hookworms. When Connie Pavelich asked Rescue Rebels to help, our veterinarian delivered the devastating truth: without rescue, the puppies would have died within days. Artemis needed plasma and blood transfusions, treatment for the hookworm infestation, and the patient care of a foster. Before vaccines or routine veterinary care could even begin, Artemis first had to become strong enough to survive them. Day by day, emergency care gave way to recovery. The puppy who once searched muddy ground for something to drink is now healthy, happy and deeply loved. This is our Promise: when Rescue Rebels says yes, suffering gives way to healing, safety and a life filled with love.<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/hxn9dbuhd/image/upload/v1790682731/wysiwyg/pfiibjrdp9mr3seqwmxy.jpg" style="width:600px;display:block;vertical-align:top;margin:5px auto;text-align:center;padding:0px 1px;max-width:100%" /> Apollo fought along side his brother Artemis just to survive. No one helped, no one came, death was days away. But Rescue Rebels held its’ promise to the discarded, the neglected. A promise that you are seen, you are loved and you will heal. A gentle foster hand, good nutrition, medical support and love gave Apollo the fighting chance he needed to be a healthy and happy puppy.Another saved life and another promise kept. We saw you Apollo and we knew your life was worth saving.Collars of Hope knows no end, Collars of Hope gives life to those still waiting, those fighting to be saved.<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/hxn9dbuhd/image/upload/v1790682768/wysiwyg/arf90knyczpcyfiyxvl6.jpg" style="width:600px;display:block;vertical-align:top;margin:5px auto;text-align:center;padding:0px 1px;max-width:100%" /> At only three months old, Maple was taken by her breeder to be euthanized because she was failing to thrive. But Maple was not beyond hope. Testing revealed a persistent right aortic arch, a deadly birth defect that could be corrected only through surgery. A Mississippi rescue reached out to Rescue Rebels, and Dr. Christiansen at Animal Specialty confirmed that he could operate. Our supporters raised the money overnight. On August 29, 2023 - exactly three months after she was born - Maple underwent lifesaving surgery. The birth defect had also caused megaesophagus, making her journey even more complicated. Then, months later, Maple bloated. Oviedo Veterinary Care gave her only a 30 percent chance of surviving. Surgeons removed her spleen and the part of her stomach that had twisted and died. Somehow, Maple pulled through again. For 21 months, Dawn and Paige shared Maple's recovery, care and training. Every setback demanded another decision to keep believing in her. Ralph and Connie, experienced German Shepherd owners, finally gave Maple the lasting home she needed. The puppy once brought to a veterinarian to die now weighs 70 pounds.<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/hxn9dbuhd/image/upload/v1790683378/wysiwyg/r0qgb7qsp7grhen1rqiy.jpg" style="width:600px;display:block;vertical-align:top;margin:5px auto;text-align:center;padding:0px 1px;max-width:100%" /> When Luna reached Miami-Dade Animal Services in September 2023, life on the streets had left its mark everywhere. Her coat was severely matted and sun damaged. She was lethargic, anemic, infested with worms and urinating blood. Rescue Rebels transported her to Animal Specialty, where Dr. Christiansen discovered the staggering reason for the bleeding: a bladder stone larger than a grapefruit had been growing inside her. Luna underwent surgery to remove the enormous stone and was spayed during the same procedure. Pam welcomed her into foster care in Orlando, giving Luna a quiet place to recover after everything her body had endured. With medical treatment, rest and consistent care, the exhausted stray began moving toward a different life. Michael and his wife later adopted Luna. She would never again have to survive alone on the streets; she finally belonged to a family.<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/hxn9dbuhd/image/upload/v1790683417/wysiwyg/eeksrspbxdgb5p8vcq6q.jpg" style="width:600px;display:block;vertical-align:top;margin:5px auto;text-align:center;padding:0px 1px;max-width:100%" /> Bessie arrived at a Georgia shelter in a condition that was impossible to dismiss and difficult to comprehend. Her skin infection was among the worst Rescue Rebels had ever seen. An untreated hematoma had remained on one ear for so long that surgery was necessary. Her condition made clear that pain and neglect had been part of her life for far too long. Rescue Rebels arranged for Bessie to be flown to us so treatment could begin without delay. But rescue was not a single flight or one medical procedure. Healing required approximately ten months in our care - ten months of treatment, patience and the steady belief that her past did not have to decide her future. When Bessie was finally ready, a family chose her. The dog once defined by untreated painleft Rescue Rebels as something entirely different: adopted, wanted and home.<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/hxn9dbuhd/image/upload/v1790683460/wysiwyg/gmafhnk7pbooajgx80oc.jpg" style="width:600px;display:block;vertical-align:top;margin:5px auto;text-align:center;padding:0px 1px;max-width:100%" /> Gunnar was found near a dumpster, searching for anything he could eat. By the time animal control brought the stray to Pasco County Animal Services, hunger was only one part of the crisis. Gunnar was emaciated and fighting pneumonia with a collapsed lung. His body had been pushed to the edge simply trying to stay alive. The shelter transported Gunnar to one of Rescue Rebels' veterinarians, and we took responsibility for everything that came next. First, he needed medicine, nourishment and time. Once his body became stronger, another kind of healing had to begin. Orlando trainer Gary Adams helped Gunnar through behavioral rehabilitation so that survival would no longer control his future. Elizabeth later adopted him in Brevard County. Gunnar went from searching a dumpster for his next meal to knowing where every meal - and every night - would be: at home.This is the promise behind every Collar of Hope: when Rescue Rebels says yes, suffering gives way to healing, safety and a life filled with love.<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/hxn9dbuhd/image/upload/v1790683564/wysiwyg/vx2xerdxzpoe6hk5ppne.jpg" style="width:600px;display:block;vertical-align:top;margin:5px auto;text-align:center;padding:0px 1px;max-width:100%" /> Petra’s condition was devastating. Starving and ravaged by Demodex Mange. Touch was painful. Petra had been left for dead, dumped in an alley. She was an unrecognizable pile of what someone called a decaying pile of garbage. But someone saw her. They saw her fear, her helplessness and her defeat. What Rescue Rebels saw was another life worthy of love, worthy of care.  With just one day of love, a safe place to rest, a full belly, and kindness the fear began to fade, her eyes began to soften. Her spirit was not gone. Her medical condition was fragile but we said yes and would give Petra everything she needed to grow into the strong, gentle, intuitive girl she is today. Since leaving her foster family Petra is now exploring a world of opportunity and will soon accompany her forever dad on all of his journeys offering him the calm and support he so dearly needs. Perhaps He and Petra saved each other.

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