She surrendered her dog but wrote the shelter every day. Community rallied to help them reunite.

Tiffani McCloud had already experienced massive strife in recent months: losing her job, losing her home, and living on the streets with her beloved dog. Her situation grew even more dire when, feeling out of options, she made the difficult decision to surrender her pup, Lola, to the Atlanta shelter, DeKalb County Animal Services. But thanks to her own tearful, poignant outreach—and the noble efforts of her local community—this devastating story had a sweeter-than-expected outcome.

The saga, at least in the public sense, begins in Lifeline’s "Adoptable Pets" Facebook group. Volunteer Jennifer Galloway, who co-runs the nonprofit RescueMeATL with Erica Perets, detailed the basic story of McCloud—including the spirit of her daily Instagram messages checking in on Lola. She ended every note with the same crushing line: "Please tell her I love her." By the time Galloway posted on Facebook, it had been over a month with Lola yet to hit the adoption floor due to space issues. But the animal community quickly sprang to action, helping raise awareness. (As of this writing, the post has over 4,500 reactions, 2,200 shares, and 995 comments.)

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"You're going to be OK"

Part of that visibility, no doubt, is also thanks to the work of local journalist Kaitlyn Ross, who documented the story on her own Facebook page and through local outlet 11Alive. McCloud told Ross, “I slept outside with her. I slept in U-Hauls with her. We walked miles and miles...I see most homeless people have dogs, but I didn’t want that. She’s not really a street dog. She wouldn’t survive. I had to do the best thing I thought was good…I told Lola when I gave her up, 'You’re going to be OK. And when we get a bigger house, we are going to take every dog we can.’"

Galloway and Perets spread the word online, making contact with a foster mom: Vonya Miller, who’d never even owned a dog but was compelled to make an exception. "People have been really kind to me over the years," she said. "I was actually homeless for a while. I had to live with one of my teachers. So I felt like this is how I could give back." Donations eventually started rolling in—over $15,000 in just 4 days —allowing McCloud to stabilize and reunite with her pup. (According to Ross, McCloud was even recently hired for a part-time role at Home Depot.)

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Selfless animal-welfare workers

In related news: In August, Congressman Jason Crow introduced bipartisan legislation for the Providing for Unhoused People and Pets Act of 2025 (PUPP Act), which would "provide funding for homeless shelters to retrofit their facilities to accommodate pets better, so that people don’t have to choose between having a roof over their head and staying with their pet."

Meanwhile, if you need an excuse to feel better about humanity, do yourself a favor and seek out the numerous stories of selfless volunteers and shelter workers working tirelessly to save animals’ lives. Back in February, a Georgia animal rescue called Bogey’s Buddies took an innovative approach to tackling cold-weather challenges, parking its bus outside a local warming center and staying through the night with pets unable to accompany their owners inside. In August, the company Natural State Drone Solutions helped a family rescue their missing dog from a coyote's grasp.

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