Celebrating Luna
May 20, 2026
All the benefits of being adopted by an immeasurably lovable canine is celebrated annually on May 20th ….. National Rescue Dog Day!
Officially designated as a National Day on May 20, 2018, to honor the inspiring ways rescue dogs become a part of the human family, the Day also increases awareness about the number of dogs in shelters. Given a chance, rescue dogs fill their forever homes with unconditional love and unabandoned joy with every belly rub.
#NationalRescueDogDay
According to the ASPCA1, approximately 3.3 million abandoned and abused dogs enter shelters every year, each one needing a forever home. They are Rescue Dogs and their potential is limitless.
Always able to nuzzle, fetch, kiss or beg their way into your heart, rescue dogs provide comfort, security, and friendship as family pets. And with training, they can:
- restore independence of people with disabilities as service animals;
- provide comfort as a best friend to the elderly and infirmed;
- make excellent teachers by showing children about caring and kindness;
- provide a variety of therapeutic benefits to people with autism, mental illness, PTSD, anxiety, and depression;
- rescue us from dangerous situations, help us investigate the cause of a fire, search for missing persons.
When it comes to our four-legged friends, they improve the human condition by leaps and bounds, barks and yips. It is hard to imagine a more helpful, worthy companion. Bring out the treats!
How to Observe National Rescue Dog Day
Get involved in the lives of rescue dogs. Here’s a few ways to share your puppy love.
- Volunteer at your local shelter by taking dogs for walks, grooming, and giving them plenty of affection.
- Make donations, from financial to providing things like blankets, toys, food, treats, and leashes.
- Consider fostering. Many dogs abandoned in shelters require some medical care or rehabilitation in a home setting before an adoption can take place.
- If there’s room in your life for a rescue dog, consider adoption and giving one a forever home.
Is there a rescue dog in your life? If so, share your story. Here’s mine!
Luna – from Felon to Forever Furbaby!
The year was 2017… we’d moved cross-country 2,000 miles to New Mexico, bought a home, felt settled in by December, then realized things were too quiet. We had somehow lived two full years without a dog in our lives and decided to begin our search for a furry companion. By mid-January 2018, we had visited several local animal shelters, but there were no puppies or even young dogs available for adoption. But when we toured the Los Lunas shelter an hour south of us, our luck changed. In a very small cage, separated from the big dog kennels, was a small puppy hugging the back wall of her cell and looking very scared. We asked the attendant why the pup seemed to be isolated from the general kennel population, and he replied, “she’s being held for 30 days for the owner to claim her.” We asked if he knew when the puppy would be released for adoption, and then left to check on the date. Meanwhile, we had some time to get a better look at this little pup! She appeared to be a pitbull cross, all jet black except for a few white paws and a bright white blaze under her chin down to her chest. As she greeted us with kisses and butt wiggles, we decided this girl was as cute as could be! We were in love! No matter how much longer her incarceration might be, we would wait.
The attendant returned with a big smile on his face and said this was the pup’s lucky day because “today is her release day; she can be adopted!”
Of course we wanted to take her for a test drive, so as she was being removed from the cage and leashed up, we asked, “but really, why the 30 day sentence? What’s her back story?” He smiled then chuckled a bit before saying, “it all began in Albuquerque.”
“There was a group of kids looking for a joy ride through town. Not having their own car, they stole one and began racing around neighborhoods at break-neck speeds. It wasn’t long before the driver wrapped the car around a light pole. Not wanting their fun to end, they stole a second car and resumed their fast touring of another neighborhood. By this time the cops had caught wind of the speeding car and began their pursuit. The young driver, seeing two fast approaching cop cars, headed for the nearest I-25 on-ramp and punched it. Knowing they’d be in deep do-do if caught, and still with a sizable lead, they flew off the next exit and entered another neighborhood, coming to an abrupt stop in someone’s front yard but not before taking down their fence! Car #2 wrecked. Without blinking twice, the kids stole the closest car they saw, fired it up and raced away, getting back on the interstate and headed south, out of town. In about 5 minutes, the cops (now there were 5 cars in pursuit) were back on course, finding themselves in a high speed chase, determined to stop the kids before anyone got hurt.”
“It’s 20 miles from the south end of Albuquerque to Los Lunas, and those kids drove that stolen car almost the entire distance at speeds exceeding 110 mph. Then something happened ….. either the driver lost control or a tire blew, but just before the exit the car careened off the highway, hitting a ditch and rolled and rolled, coming to rest upside down. Car #3 totaled! Well, the cops were instantly on the scene and able to not only pull those four kids safely from the vehicle but retrieved a pretty shook-up puppy too!”
“Everyone involved, including the puppy, was charged and sent to jail … the kids for reckless endangerment and grand theft auto, and the pup for aiding and abetting. And because the kids wouldn’t admit to the puppy being theirs or to stealing her, the cops brought her to us (the shelter) and made us lock her up for 30 days without bail. So you see, the puppy could’ve been with them from the very beginning of the escapade or just happened to be in one of the stolen cars, a victim of dognapping.”
We adopted that little girl on the spot, and forgave her if she was, in fact, a member of the gang of felons. But we prefer to think we rescued and rehabilitated her from a life of crime. After a quick stop at the Los Lunas PetSmart to buy now-urgent supplies (like puppy food), we headed home with that adorable bundle of fur sitting on my lap looking at us with big brown eyes. I said, “what should we call her?” Verbally tossing about a few silly names, the perfect one came to us both simultaneously ….. “Let’s call her Luna!” It all made sense …. we rescued her in the city of Los Lunas on January 16, which happened to be the day/night of a new moon – the darkest phase facing earth, and our little girl is the darkest black we’ve ever seen. To close the loop of coincidences, in Latin “Luna” means “the moon.” Besides, she perked right up when we called her by name!
And the rest is history. Veterinarians have agreed she must be a pity/lab mix, and was probably about 4 months old when joined our family. Today Luna is about 9 years old, still acts like a puppy, sits on the couch, chases squirrels away from the bird feeder, hikes a trail every day with us and alerts us to snakes, loves everybody (including her two cats), always gives us the best kisses, and is the sweetest best friend we’ve ever known!
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Please remember to spay and neuter your pets. Overpopulation is the number one reason shelters exist.
As always, thanks for stopping by!
1 American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
a curious nature 