rescuing princesses leia & rey

Puppy Princesses Leia and Rey were cruelly abandoned in a rural wooded area. Left on their own to survive until kind strangers came to their rescue.

Leia and Rey are two puppies that were found abandoned in the woods by Amanda Ziegler and friends. The group were out on their ATV in the woods, when they saw some type of animals running towards them.  Amanda said, “At first, we thought they might have been hogs or foxes but as they got closer, we realized they were puppies.”

Amanda and her friends scooped up the puppies into their ATV and searched the area for anyone missing their puppies. They found no one in the area, so they took the puppies back to their campsite. Rey and Leia stuck to them like clue. Amanda contacted the local Animal Control Services where they were camping for help determining what to do for the puppies. Watch Amanda’s video of rescuing the puppies.

What happened next . . .

Amanda contacted the county’s Animal Control Services. They determined that since the puppies were found without any identification, rabies tags, or microchip, and no signs of ownership, Amanda could surrender the puppies or could keep them.  She chose to bring the puppies home. Amanda wanted to make sure that Leia and Rey were well cared for and found the perfect home!

Rey and Leia were in pretty bad shape, being very underweight and suffering from skin infections. After caring for the puppies for a few days, Amanda reached out to HSP to see if we could help. Could we take the puppies in, nurse them back to health and find them a happy home.  You can hear Amanda tell Rey & Leia’s story in her own words here.

Puppies arrive at Humane Society of Pinellas

We took the puppies in on July 14^th and immediately began medical care to resolve their skin infections, bring them back to a healthy weight, and of course give them love and comfort! From the start, the puppies were favorites of HSP staffers and our community alike. Both girls are named after Star War Princesses. Leia and Rey received a lot of interest from potential adopters from the moment they arrived at HSP. We appreciate everyone who contacted us expressing an interest in adopting these beautiful girls!

Adoption Day!

Leia was the first one ready for adoption. Rey still needed a little more time to clear up her skin infection and be healthy enough to be spayed. Because the puppies are so bonded to each other, we were looking for an adopter who would be able to take both puppies. The Princesses’ mom Sydney was the first in line for adoption when Leia was posted to our website. All of our adoptions are first come, first served. Sydney has officially adopted Leia and will foster/pre-adopt Rey until she is cleared to be spayed, then her adoption will become official.

“We are so beyond happy these girls made it home with us. They are doing so well. They are a little nervous of new places in the house (they do not like stairs) and the car, but slowly getting acclimated. They sleep in the bed with us and stay snuggling the whole night until we wake up and they give us lots of love. They keep each other occupied and play all day and then nap together once they’re tired. They are pretty much synchronized and have to be touching at all times. We feel like this was meant to be. 🤍“

– Sydney, Leia and Rey’s mom

We recently checked in with Sydney to see how the puppies were doing, and how they were adjusting to their new home and family. She sent us the sweet message above and lots of photos of the puppies settling in. As you can see, these Princesses were meant to spend their lives together!

We’re so thankful for Amanda and her friends’ big hearts in rescuing Leia and Rey that day. And for trusting us to nurse them back to health and find them their perfect forever home. We’re incredibly happy that Princess Leia and Rey went from abandoned to beloved family members in just a few short weeks.