Olive was rescued on March 27, 2013 from Fort Worth Animal Control. She was removed from her home because her elderly owner had passed away. She was found lying on the bed on top of her owner's body, for approximately a week. She arrived at the shelter terrified and depressed. Here is the heartbreaking description of her from the shelter.

19373195
Female
Shepherd Mix
Around 60 lbs

This girl made me cry. She was at the front of the cage when I first approached, but quickly moved to the back as I stood in front of her cage. She began shaking immediately, and urinated/fecated all over her cage in fear. She is extremely scared and has not been well cared for. Her nails are extremely long and she appears to have scars. –Lauren

Olive’s picture and description touched many animal lovers, and we all worked together to save her from being euthanized. At one time she was lost in the system and people trying to help save her thought she had been put to sleep, but due to some error this was not the case. Once the mistake was caught she was reposted and only given 24 hours due to having symptoms of an upper respiratory infection. We, the Village as we like to call ourselves, went to battle on her behalf. We begged for more time so we could continue networking for her. We all worked many hours, contacting over 100 rescues asking them to help her.

Wanda couldn’t stand the thought of what happened to her, as her time was up but we had not heard anything from the shelter as to her status. Wanda went to the shelter to see if she was still alive. Thank God she was! She spent several hours with her and once out of her cage and outside she turned into a different dog…..happy, playful, grateful to be outside. Wanda asked for more time and once the workers saw how different she was they granted her a 24 hour reprieve. Wanda also met the AC officer that removed her from her home and told her about Olive’s sad story and how she stayed by her owner’s side for almost a week. Wanda promised Olive she would be back the next day to get her.

Finally a rescue stepped up and tagged Olive for adoption the next morning. Caddy, a local rescuer, met Wanda (Foster) at the shelter and they got Olive out to begin her new life. Our village was full of joy and happy tears were shed. We did it!

We decided she needed a good strong name with meaning, so we named her Olive which means I’ll Live. The olive tree is very hardy, drought, disease and fire resistant, it can live to a great age. Its root system is robust and capable of regenerating the tree even if the above-ground structure is destroyed. This is our Olive and she will live.