“As soon as she walked into the firehouse, her tail was wagging, and she was licking and greeting everybody.”

Ashley’s previous owners hardly fed her, barely took her outdoors, and eventually abandoned her. Fortunately, Erica Mahnken, the co-founder of No More Pain Rescue, and her fiance, Michael Favor, rescued the one-year-old pitbull in January 2017.

“Someone informed us that there was a couple living in an abandoned house. They didn’t have heat or power, and they had a dog “Soon after the rescue, Mahnken told The Dodo. The couple probably left when it snowed. “I think they went looking for somewhere warm to stay and left the dog behind,” Mahnken speculated. “So as soon as we got the phone call, we raced over to get her.”

Favor ordered Mahnken to stay in the car, and he went in and looked for the dog. Later, he’d tell Mahnken how horrible it was. “There was no power in the home – it was frigid,” Mahnken explained. “She had no food or drink. The house was a shambles. The windows were shattered, and there was excrement everywhere.”

Ashley, on the other hand, was undamaged, and she appeared to be the happiest dog as Favor led her out. “She came racing down, overjoyed,” Mahnken explained. “She ran right into my car.” Ashley was underweight and emaciated. “Her ribs were all you could see since she was so thin. And the vet eventually informed her that she was 25 pounds underweight.”

Ashley also had cigarette burns on the top of her head, which they observed. Since No More Pain Rescue does not have a physical shelter, Mahnken and Favor need to place Ashley in a foster family immediately. They had acquaintances at the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) and knew that there used to be a dog at the Fort Pitt station. So, Mahnken and Favor asked the firemen if they could keep Ashley until they could find her a suitable home.

Ashley seems to be content with this arrangement. “Her tail was wagging as soon as she stepped into the firehouse, and she was kissing and welcoming everyone,” Mahnken added. “She was overjoyed. You wouldn’t anticipate it given where she came from. You’d think she’d be a bit nervous, but she wasn’t at all.”

Not unexpectedly, the firefighting crew phoned Mahnken a few days later, requesting that Ashley be kept. “‘We’re going to adopt her,’ they said. We are really smitten by her. ‘She feels at ease here,’ “Mahnken explained. “So I was overjoyed. And as soon as I walked her in there, I knew she belonged there.” Shley now works full-time at the firehouse.

“She’s always on the go — she goes on little runs with them, she rides on the fire truck with them,” Mahnken explained. “They take her for walks around 30 times a day. They take her up to the roof to play. She is always in the kitchen, watching them eat. She has an inexhaustible supply of sweets. She’s had a good life over there.”

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