Living the Life Animal Rescue, Inc.

03/30/2026

So proud of our rescues....

Congratulations to our once rescue turned show horse Cilantra and her momma Alicia Ashmore Davis . We're so proud of you and look fwd to 2026

01/25/2026

10/24/2025

They are usually the sweetest and quietest. Just happy to live out attached to your side for some pets and laps to be loved in

Yesterday, I brought home the oldest and sickest dog from our local shelter here in Oregon.
They called him “Gramps.” No one ever stopped by his cage anymore — he’d given up long ago. He just lay there, eyes tired, waiting for his last day to quietly come.

The volunteers looked at me, surprised. “Are you sure you want… him?”
I smiled through tears. “Yes. He’s the one.”

When the cage opened, the other dogs ran out barking, tails wagging. But Gramps just stayed curled in the corner — until I knelt down and whispered, “You’re coming home with me.”

He slowly lifted his head, and for the first time, I saw a spark.
When I held him, he melted into my arms — and fell asleep on my lap before we even made it to the car.

That’s when I knew: maybe I didn’t just save him… maybe he saved me, too.

Give them a chance.
Give them love.
They’ve been waiting for someone just like you. ❤️🐾

08/05/2025

Educate yourself please......

Simon the eastern box turtle was brought to a pet store almost three months ago by a woman declaring intent to keep him as a pet. The staff at the store convinced her to leave him there, but didn’t know that he wouldn’t be releasable if no one knew where he came from.

We searched far and wide and begged the person who found him to come forward with that information, but she never did. We have accepted that we will never find Simon’s home and he will be non-releasable. 😔

Many people want us to release Simon, but we can’t, legally or ethically. Box turtles have very small home ranges and will try to walk back home— facing traffic, predators, and disrupted reproduction— no matter how far away they’re relocated. Some survive relocation, but most don’t.

Additionally, because box turtles travel such short distances in their lives, every region’s turtles have distinct DNA and carry a distinct profile of natural diseases. When one is moved, it can spread infections that are harmless to their own population but catastrophic to another. This is especially true when a box turtle was found on one side of a natural boundary, like the Tennessee river or the Cumberland Plateau.

These concerns about disease transmission are part of the reason that most states have laws forbidding the unauthorized import or export of native wildlife. The pet store where Simon was brought is just two miles from the Georgia state line, and it’s anyone’s guess whether he came from Tennessee or Georgia or somewhere else entirely. If we were to release turtle of unknown origin into Tennessee state lines, we would be violating the law and risking our license.

We wish Simon could go home, but he will instead become a treasured education animal, and will, hopefully, be able to spread the word about why removing box turtles from the wild is so wrong. 🐢

[Description: an eastern box turtle, dark brown and yellow in color, in dark brown substrate. He has red eyes and is standing next to a partially eaten pear about one-third his size.]