When Elsa came to Pet Friends animal shelter in Westmoreland Country two years ago, she had been through hell. Her former owners had kept her in a filthy outdoor cage, with barely any food or water to keep her alive. She was thoroughly neglected even in the most extreme weather conditions. Most of the time during the winter she did not get any food, and the water she had in her cage was frozen with cold. The officers who rescued Elsa told how affectionately she cuddled into them in the car, showing how grateful she was to be somewhere warm with kind people.
Under the care of amazing volunteers and employees at Pet Friends, Elsa blossomed into the beautiful queen she is, just like her Disney namesake. She was no longer afraid of the snow and the winter. She bravely overcame her many anxieties around people that she had developed due to the unfortunate early years she had spent around her cruel former owners. However, while many of her dog friends got adopted by loving families, she did not get any applications for close to two years. Due to the trauma that she had been through, Pet Friends shelter was adamant to only give her to a kind and quiet home where she would not have to share the love of her new parents with other pets.
During the holiday season, WTAE-TV Pittsburgh saw the story of Elsa on the Facebook page of Pet Friends and did a feel-good Christmas story about her with an open appeal to adopt her. Following her TV feature, many inquiries and applications poured in, and just in time for the New Year, Elsa found her forever home with two amazing new parents with so much love to give her. Congratulations, Elsa!