On Jan. 19, 2024, the Humane Society of Missouri’s Animal Cruelty Task Force rescued 55 freezing, starving dogs from a property in Stone County. Miles away in Warson Woods, Mary Michalski saw the story on the news, not knowing that only a few months later, one of those dogs would become her family’s new best friend.
After losing the family’s almost 13-year-old dog that February, Michalski started looking into adopting another. She first spotted Sanchez, a 2-year-old hound/lab/chow mix, on the Humane Society’s website. In March 2024, Michalski and her son went for a visit.
“As soon as I said I wanted to see him, the employee smiled. She said ‘Sanchez is my favorite,’” said Michalski. “We went to the meeting room and he came barreling in. He played with balls, jumped around and on us. I said ‘I think this is him.’”…