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When I was 11, my dad got a job as the on-site manager at a home for adults with special needs. We moved to the Bombay Hills in New Zealand and we had 10 acres, so we could get some sheep, cows and pigs (which I loved). However, this was a huge change for me, and a month after we moved, my parents said we could get a dog.

On December 2, we went to the SPCA to look at dogs. Dad said he wanted an older dog who was calm and smart and the dog was to stay outside all the time. We came back with Missy. She was about 6-months-old and was terrified of everything. She had never walked on a lead, and she was terrified of going in the car.

Dad wasn't happy, but Mum and I loved her. Eventually, he did, too, and Missy ended up inside and on the couch. However, Missy wasn't just ours, she became a friend to the adults who lived at the home. She was a friend, a counselor, a shoulder to cry on and a pet to all who met her.

One of my favourite memories is one of the guys named Jack (I've changed his name) lying on the gravel driveway with Missy talking to her and pointing to himself saying "Jack", then at her saying "Missy" as if she would talk back.

We no longer live there and we still have Missy, who is now 14. She has arthritis, which has made moving very painful, and my family has made the decision to get her put down before winter as the cold makes her stiffer.

I wanted to share her story because now at 25, I can see how much she did for those guys and for me. I am going to miss Missy, but she really was a rescue who rescued.

Story submitted by Kaycia Johnston from Waikato, New Zealand.

This story was originally shared on The Animal Rescue Site. Share your very own rescue story here!