Penny Eims, a reporter with examiner.com, tells the tale of Blue, A Dog Who Narrowly Escaped Being Just ‘Another Statistic‘ (2/23/13).   Blue’s heroine is Michelle Aylward.  Michelle is a very active volunteer with Pilots N Paws.  She does a great deal of ground transport with PNP and has assisted on several flights.

Contributed Photo

Each day, countless dogs lose their life at animal “shelters” across the nation. Tragically, these dogs, who are so much more than just a number, wind up becoming statistics.

The following is the story of a pit bull named “Blue,” a dog who was on the brink of becoming one of those sad statistics.

Blue is alive today thanks to one woman who met him, by chance, at the OC Animal Care facility, back on Nov. 11, 2012.

The woman is Michelle Aylward, and she was visiting dogs at the facility that day because a holiday was around the corner and she wanted to be sure that the confined animals had a visitor, and a treat, before days of being alone behind the kennel bars.

Before she left, she came to a kennel run where the occupant was not readily at the door. The dog in this run was obviously depressed, lying on a bed and facing away from potential visitors.

Aylward called to him, and he rose slowly from his bed and walked to the bars to greet his special visitor. When offered a cookie, he took it, ever so gently, and then another, and another.

Aylward made a note of his kennel number and hoped to find his information on the shelter’s website. But the big, older dog was nowhere to be found.

A call to the facility revealed that the dog, identified by only his number, was scheduled to be destroyed within days – in fact, on the day that the shelter was to reopen following the holiday weekend.

Touched by the gentle giant who had so gently taken the cookies from her hand, Aylward vowed to do her best to find a rescue who could take him in.

It was then that she ran in to the walls that so many people encounter. Rescues who are already full, rescues who cannot take in a senior, especially a senior pit bull.

When the last of the sand finally fell from the proverbial hourglass, Aylward made the decision to pull the dog, dubbed “Blue,” herself.

She continued her efforts to find a rescue organization, and days later, Miranda’s Rescue, agreed to help.

Blue, the nine-year-old pit bull, proved himself to be worthy of Aylward’s efforts. He quickly stole the heart of everyone who met him, and in time, a family formally adopted the endearing senior.

Aylward spoke to Blue’s new family and found out that today, he enjoys trips to the beach and sleeping in his own special places in their home.

Blue is doing great with his new family in Humboldt, CA. Contributed Photo.

She shared the following for others who might be inclined to save a life like Blue’s:

The moral to the story ..When there is an animal’s well being involved…don’t give up…do the right thing …and remember “dreams to come true ~’. They did for Blue.

Click here to read the story at examiner.com.