Diana Phillips is a volunteer, rescuer and foster mom for DFW Rescue Me in the Dallas area. Below is her story about Shilo. Diana and Shiloh will appear on this week’s episode of “For the Love of Dogs.”

This story was a ,000 winner in our “America’s Best Tails” contest, with the proceeds benefitting DFW Rescue Me. 

All my animals have stories…stories of abuse, neglect and abandonment. They now know more love than they have ever known. They are my purpose.

But on May 10, 2012 a dog came into my life so sad and so broken that I cried all the way home with her in the car. I am a volunteer and foster for DFW Rescue Me and with their help, I pulled the mama American Bulldog and her 8 babies from the shelter on the day they were all to be euthanized. I will never forget the sadness in her eyes as she sat in the big, cold metal “basket” with her pups, waiting for us to pick them up or to be taken “down the hall.” I vowed that one day she would hold her head back up and love the life she was meant to have. I named her Shilo.

Fast-forward 3 months to August…all her beautiful babies are adopted and in loving homes. Shilo is constantly by my side and the bond we have is unbreakable. I have gained her trust and she now has the brightness in her gold eyes that life had taken away. I love her more every day.

I take her to be spayed, not knowing what would unfold next for us. The day after her spay she is lethargic and I take her back to the clinic. She is then rushed to the Animal E.R. and emergency surgery is performed as she is bleeding into her abdomen. Once opened it is discovered that she has bled out over half of her blood from a suture that has slipped off. She would not have made it until the morning. She remains in the E.R. for a week but she is now having trouble with her back legs, possibly due to the lack of blood. At first she cannot walk at all and must be carted or carried. Slowly she gains the use of her back legs but “knuckles” when she walks. Although I bandage and care for her feet, her knuckles are raw and bleeding. My heart is breaking once again over the pain this dog has to endure. DFW Rescue Me orders her special braces to hold her feet in the correct position. These will enable her to walk and stay off her knuckles.

Through all of this I realize I can never let this special dog go. I adopt her from DFW Rescue Me on August 26, 2012. She will never again be alone, hungry, lost or broken. We will go through her rehab side by side. She has saved me more than I saved her…

Thank you DFW Rescue Me for all you have done for my girl.