She had been missing for more than a week.
By Sarah Ashley
Published on Oct 2, 2025 at 12:20 PM
Lucky, a three-legged Australian cattledog, had been missing for over a week when Colleen Bell finally spotted her. The dog was walking down an alley between some run-down row houses. Bell, founder of GoodBoy Dog Recovery, hoped Lucky would follow the scent of food right into a trap Bell had set.
Instead, the dog disappeared behind the row houses. Then, Bell heard yelping from inside the boarded-up buildings.
“Some of [the houses] are abandoned and slated for demolition,” Bell told The Dodo, “Because they’ve, like, collapsed inside of themselves.”
Peering into the basement window of the boarded-up row house, Bell saw Lucky looking up at her from deep within a pile of rubble.
The row house had no floors and no back wall, which made it easy for Lucky to wander in, but very difficult to get her out.
“It’s … such rough terrain,” Bell said. “I can’t even believe she went down in there. But she climbed over all this trash and then just fell down into what was the basement.”
Bell was thrilled to find the elusive dog, but worried she wouldn’t be able to navigate the debris on only three legs.
Plus, that area, near Chester, Pennsylvania, didn’t have animal control services. The local police said they couldn’t dispatch the fire department because the building was condemned and therefore unsafe for firefighters.
Bell, who’s been on a mission to recover missing dogs for 12 years, refused to give up on Lucky. She rallied her own rescue team.
“I called my brother, my cousin and a friend of mine,” she said. “I went and got some plywood and some two-by-fours.”
As Lucky barked from inside the collapsed row house, Bell’s team built a 24-foot wooden ramp as quickly as possible and slid it into the basement window — the only safe point of entry into the home. Her friend, who asked to remain anonymous, lay on his back and wriggled into the row house.
At only 10 months old, Lucky was terrified of the strangers trying to get to her. She growled as Bell and her team debated the best way to reach her.
“She was, like, another 5 to 6 feet down in a hole, totally stuck,” Bell said.
After careful maneuvering, Bell’s crew managed to use a makeshift pulley system to get Lucky up and out. Finally safe inside Bell’s car, the pup’s demeanor completely changed.
“She was a sweetheart,” Bell said. “She was just looking over at me. Her tail was wagging in the car. She was just so thrilled to be rescued.”
Bell scanned Lucky for a microchip, which led her to a family living a few miles away, who missed their puppy. They had adopted Lucky from a local shelter and were thrilled to have their dog back home.
Lucky’s giant smile and frenetic tail wags upon seeing her family suggest that she was just as happy to be back.
If you want to support GoodBoy Dog Recovery, an all-volunteer 501(c)(3) organization, you can donate via their website.
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Paddleboarder Sees Clump Of Feathers In Water And Realizes It’s Breathing
“[S]he was unable to fly” 💔
By Ashley Ortiz
It was a sunny, warm day in Southwest Florida last month when an unsuspecting paddleboarder suddenly made a frightening discovery. She spotted a ball of feathers floating in the water from afar, and as she paddled closer, she realized it was a wild bird in desperate need of help.
“The osprey was entangled in fishing line, and her feathers were waterlogged, so she was unable to fly,” Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife (CROW) wrote on Facebook.
The woman was heartbroken to find an osprey wrapped in fishing line, which had become tethered to the surrounding tree roots. It was unclear how long the bird had been trapped, but the paddleboarder knew time was of the essence to save her life.
She scooped the bird out of the water and instantly called CROW for help.
CROW volunteer Phyllis Hermann rushed to the scene in a rescue boat and began freeing the bird from the mangroves as soon as she arrived. Once untethered from the trees, she placed the osprey in a rescue box and shuttled straight to CROW’s wildlife hospital for the second phase of the rescue.
“At CROW, we removed the line and treated her for minor injuries and dehydration,” CROW wrote.
You can see more footage from her rescue here:
While treating the osprey, CROW’s veterinary team noticed something concerning about her breathing, which provided them with more insight into what she had gone through before being rescued.
“When listening with a stethoscope (auscultation), we noted increased respiratory effort and harsh lung sounds, possibly from inhaling water while struggling,” CROW wrote. “She’s currently on systemic antibiotics and is in good body condition, so we expect she’ll make a full recovery.”
Thankfully, the osprey was found just in time by a compassionate paddleboarder and taken to the best hospital for her needs. While she’s still on the mend, the folks at CROW are confident she will fully recover soon and return to her home in the mangroves.
CROW staff can’t wait to see the osprey return home. Until then, they hope that sharing the bird’s story will inspire more people to be proactive about disposing of fishing line properly and help prevent similar accidents in the future.
“As always, this is a sobering reminder that improperly discarded fishing line is more than just an eyesore. It can trap, injure, and kill our native and migratory wildlife,” CROW wrote. “Mind your line and fish responsibly!”
To help animals like this osprey get the care they need, you can donate to Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife (CROW) here.
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