Some pets have the odds stacked against them — they can come from rough backgrounds or have health issues that give them only a short time to live.
But with a little love and care, some dogs defy the odds and live long and happy lives — like one rescue pup, who was only given six months to live but defied all the odds thanks to her family’s love.
Pipsqueak, a Yorkshire Terrier, began her life in a puppy mill. She was rescued following a raid and placed in a foster home, but her foster later had to give her up after undergoing a lung transplant.
Thankfully, a woman named Kelsey stepped in to take Pipsqueak. “She called me and said we have this special needs little dog and no one to take her,” Kelsey recalled to GeoBeats Animals.
Sadly, she was warned that Pipsqueak might not have much longer to live. Vets estimated that she only had six months left, due to a number of medical issues that resulted from improper breeding at the puppy mill.
“The smaller the dog, the more money they raise,” Kelsey explained. “So they tend to breed the runts with the runts.”
As a result, Pipsqueak, true to her name, is very tiny: she only weighs 1.8 pounds and is the size of a guinea pig. According to the dog’s website, she also has hydrocephalus, a liver shunt, spine and neck issues, and jaw problems that resulted in the loss of all her teeth.
With that grim prognosis, Kelsey and her husband decided to just give Pipsqueak a comfortable loving home for the rest of her short life — but remarkably, Pipsqueak defied the odds.
Months and years went by, and the couple soon realized that Pipsqueak still had plenty of life in her, despite her issues.
“From the beginning she was such a fighter,” Kelsey told GeoBeats. “She never gives up, even when she doesn’t feel good, even when she’s tired she keeps going.”
In fact, Pipsqueak inspired the couple to open their home to even more special needs dogs: they’ve now adopted six more rescue dogs to join Pipsqueak’s pack, all “pipsqueak” size.
Pipsqueak would also delight her family with an adorable and unusual quirk: barking like a duck. “She quacks at us,” Kelsey said.
And Pipsqueak also delighted and inspired others outside her home. She became a therapy dog for the nonprofit Paws & Think, inspiring people who have their own physical and mental issues to defy the odds.
“The way that she can bond with these kids is incredible,” Kelsey told GeoBeats, recalling how the dog inspired a boy in a wheelchair.
Though she was given just months to live, Pipsqueak defied expectations by a stunning eight years. “We never thought we’d get this much time with her so we want to remember every moment,” she said.
“Every single day she inspires me.”
Sadly, Pipsqueak passed away last year, but she will always be remembered for her inspiring story and the joy she brought to others.
“She taught us more in our eight years together than we’ve ever learned from anyone else,” her owners wrote on GoFundMe. “She taught us to be strong. To fight. That no matter your ability or disability, you have worth and value. That anyone can make a positive difference in this world.”
Though Pipsqueak is gone, many of her doggy siblings are still going strong as “The Pipsqueak Pack” in her memory.
Pipsqueak’s life is a reminder of how love and hope can allow a dog to defy all the odds and life a great long life. She’ll be remembered as a true inspiration 
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