Woman Launches Rescue Designed for Special-Needs Dogs: ‘These Dogs Inspire Me’

A woman in Raleigh, North Carolina, recently made it her mission to save dogs with special needs and find them loving homes.

Nearly seven years ago, Nicole Kincaid took in a puppy named Keena whose hind leg was amputated when she was six months old. She also adopted a blind pup named Magoo, according to WRAL.

When Kincaid met another dog named Ferris recently who cannot use his back legs, he gave her the idea to launch Perfectly Imperfect Pups (PIPs), a nonprofit rescue designed just for special-needs dogs.

The rescue shared a video of Ferris to its Instagram page on Saturday:

View this post on Instagram

What a great way to start the weekend with a FERRIS UPDATE! He is doing amazing, our vet confirmed that he is unable to walk due to a spinal injury and unfortunately no surgery can be had. But as you can see in his video, that doesn't stop this mighty man. He scoots, plays and now that he has wheels, he is on the go-go-go!We have made him available for adoption. If you are interested in learning more about him and his care, please submit an application at https://pipsrescue.org/adoptable-pips or send us a message. HUGE thank you to everyone who donated, purchased supplies for him and all the well wishes to him. #pipssqueaks #perfectlyimperfectpups #pipableddogrescue #Possibilitiesnotdisabilities #imperfectionisperfection #pipabled

A post shared by PIPs | DOG RESCUE (@pipsrescue) on Oct 3, 2020 at 9:52am PDT

“It’s just amazing seeing their perseverance. If we lost a leg or went blind, we would be crippled for months, but these guys are like, ‘Oh, alright, cool, how are we gonna work this?’ It’s just inspiring,” Kincaid said of the rescue dogs.

Many special needs pups have only a limited amount of time in a shelter, she noted.

“If a rescue doesn’t come in between 24 and 72 hours, they may be humanely euthanized. That is not me putting down the shelter — they literally don’t have the capacity to be able to care for these dogs,” Kincaid explained.

However, she and PIPs volunteer foster parents are working hard to save as many of them as possible.

“It’s just one of those things that I’m not sure I could be satisfied in life if I didn’t do it,” Kincaid noted. “These dogs inspire me on a daily basis.”

The rescue’s founder also has a full-time job and cares for her three children.

“I live and breathe rescue, but it doesn’t pay the bills,” she said, adding that she has put a lot of her own funds into the nonprofit.

“I do what I can with Perfectly Imperfect Pups in between my day job, and thankfully my job supports me in what I do,” Kincaid noted.