March Real–Life Claim Story

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Vision loss from juvenile cataracts won't slow down this happy husky

Katie and Bart Ducharme's first pet as a couple, Charlie, was the first of several spur-of-the-moment, four-legged additions to their family.

It was eight years ago, and the Ducharmes had just moved into a pet-friendly apartment in Connecticut. Katie was browsing online when she spotted six puppies with a heart-wrenching story available for adoption.

"I wanted a puppy," explains Katie. "I found him online in New York and I rushed to pick him up."

"To a shelter in downtown Manhattan in rush hour," Bart interjects.

"We had nothing planned," Katie continues. "They were closing, but we were like, 'Please save one of them!' And when we got there [Charlie] was the last one left."

Last, but not least

Charlie and his five siblings had endured a harrowing start to life that could have had ended very differently—without a lot of luck and a lot of caring people.

The six young puppies were found in a bag on the side of a New Jersey highway before being brought to the shelter in New York. Shelter workers believed the pups were the result of backyard breeding that didn't come out the way they wanted to.

But for Bart and Katie, the "schnauzer...spaniel...Lab...mix?" was simply perfect.

"We fell in love with him," says Katie. "And we took him home that day."