Huntington , Cabell County , West Virginia

Connie Kirk says, "I love all the dogs." But there was something about a pair of golden retrievers set to be euthanized at the Cabell Wayne Animal shelter that made her give more than a second glance.

Kirk's mother Jackie Smith says, "She said 'no', she looked in their eyes and said 'no, they can't be.'"

The dog's owner brought them in to be put to sleep, citing major health problems with the 13 and 14-year-old girls. Kirk says, "As soon as I saw the card that said "owner surrender-euthanize" I needed to find out more."

She's a regular visitor and volunteer at the shelter, and says, "I don't doubt that they were very loved and very cared for. That's quite obvious. I just knew they weren't ready."

So she and attorney Randy Saunders, who took the case pro-bono with Nelson Mullins Law Firm, set out to stop the euthanasia. Cabell County circuit judge Paul Ferrell ruled that the dogs were healthy enough to be adopted, so Kirk happily adopted them from the shelter. They picked the dogs up on Jackie's birthday! She says it was the best birthday present to have the two companions safe and sound.

Saunders says, "I think this case is a good example of how if everybody works together there can be a happy outcome." He says their firm can take on a few pro-bono cases like this each year, to try to help out a worthy cause.

Kirk and her mom Jackie (and Jackie's dog Molly) are helping take care of the dogs they call their "Golden Girls". They named them Rose and Sophia. Kirk's father is bound to a hospital bed at home, and she says the Golden Girls sleep in their beds right underneath his every night, but during the day, "They run and jump, I don't think they have as much arthritis as my 11 year old lab." She says besides lots of belly rubs and petting, they get, "Senior vitamins, lots of love. I don't know, one day at a time I guess. They weren't ready for the rainbow bridge that's for sure."

Now the golden girls can be content living out their golden years.

Now that the dogs are safe from being put to sleep, Kirk is working to find them the perfect "forever home". She would prefer the girls stay together, and a place with a nice fenced-in yard. Although she says she would love to keep them, she knows she can't keep every dog she rescues! If you're seriously interested in adopting Rose and Sophia, you can contact Connie Kirk by email: Luv2bnan@yahoo.com

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