Original subtitles

[man] She comes from a shelter down south in Georgia.

One of the local animal rights places brought her up.

And her first day in New York, she came back with me.

[woman chuckling]

You're such a pretty...

[woman] Having a dog in New York City is absolutely the best.

She had a broken back,

but I knew I was adopting her.

And, over time, we've taken in other wheelers.

And we love them.

[man] Up.

Sit.

Good girl.

Who's a baby?

Where's my kisses?

I guess you could say that we're a little obsessed with rescues.

It's a whole subculture.

If you're different,

if you're a loner, a straggler,

you can make a home for yourself here.

♪ Spirit comes to me ♪

♪ Free and wild ♪

♪ Love and care for me ♪

♪ Just like your child ♪

♪ No matter how much that I love ♪

♪ You love me more ♪

♪ And I'll keep you always with me ♪

♪ In my heart ♪

♪ You walked with me ♪

♪ All your life ♪

♪ Heavens talk to me ♪

♪ Deep and wise ♪

♪ And I know I'll always keep you ♪

♪ In my heart ♪

♪ In my heart ♪

You can do it.

Come here.

Okay, go!

[laughs]

Yeah, buddy!

Good boy.

[Anna] One of the things that I love about places like New York...

is that we have created this rescue community

to try to help save as many dogs as possible.

[laughs]

I actually have a full-time job, outside of the work that I do

for our rescue organization, Hearts and Bones.

I work at an ad agency...

but animal rescue is my life.

[chuckles]

Lucy, don't eat my plants.

There's a reason those have not bloomed.

I remember going to the shelter when I was in third grade

and picking out this beautiful Siberian husky.

Her name was Holly and she was not an easy dog by any means.

She was dog aggressive, she liked to run away...

but I loved her.

I remember coming home from school one day,

and the first thing I saw when I walked into the house

is that Holly's crate was missing.

My parents had to take her back to the shelter,

and I didn't get to say goodbye to her.

It was a heartbreaking thing to go through as a child.

But I think that put me on course to where I am right now.

My favorite part of rescue is going on rescue missions.

That is absolutely where I get my adrenaline.

What really drives me and motivates me...

it's the faces of those dogs

that you know probably would not have made it out of the shelter alive.

That's what keeps me committed.

-Hey. -Hi.

Happy birthday, darling.

Thank you.

So I've got a sneak peek of some of the dogs that we have coming up.

So this is actually happening in real-time. Whitney...

You know Whitney, my partner in Texas,

she's been at the shelter all day today.

There are so many litters of puppies right now,

and the shelter does not have the resources to care for them.

So we're going to do everything we can to try to save these families.

We are leaving tomorrow.

We are going to be loading up the van on Friday.

-Okay. -The goal is to fit 30 dogs in there.

So, just let me know if you need any help with coordinating,

but we've got all of our fosters lined up

so we can just do the handoff here.

And then if we can do an adoption event,

that would be amazing.

And if you want to foster...

you know who to call.

[laughing]

[woman] Do you want to say hi? You can say hi.

His name is Ichi.

[woman 2] Hey, Ichi.

He's actually adopted.

-[woman 2] I really want one so much. -Yeah?

-Lovely to meet you. -Have a great one.

Come on.

Come on.

Hi.

Aw. You're so cute.

[in Spanish] Look, look, such a beautiful little thing.

Ichi, I'm Kyla.

Nice to meet you guys.

Ichi.

-We live right here. -Oh, wow, okay.

Very nice. I used to live on First.

First and Valerie right there.

So cute.

Goodbye, nice to meet you.

Come on. Bye.

Come on.

Let's go.

Ichi was my first dog that I've ever fostered.

He ran up to me and I said,

"I have to take one home," at least that day.

And he spent a few nights with me and I just...

I couldn't let him go after that.

I've seen so many other dogs

that need homes and rehabilitation.

So I started fostering with Anna from Hearts and Bones.

I think if they're in a shelter,

you don't get to see their potential.

You don't get to see their growth.

You don't get to see them heal.

So I think as a foster, it's really important

to be able to find a dog who needs more than just,

you know, normal care.

I want to be able to foster other dogs,

and give them a chance like I had given Ichi a chance.

[Neal] What was Mickey's favorite thing to do?

Do you remember?

When I was like three or four...

we used to run in the hallway.

You remember that? You'd have hallway races.

I remember.

No, um...

Sometimes I won, but mostly he won, I think.

I remember that.

Do you remember when you were a baby

and you were learning how to eat

and you were taking all your food on your tray

and half of it would fall on the floor.

Who was down there to clean it all up.

-Mickey. -Yeah.

I didn't even have to get the broom or the mop out.

The first day when you came home from the hospital when you were born,

you started crying and he jumped right in your crib

and he put his head on your belly.

He put the side of his head on your belly

and he was going to protect you and guard you.

He wanted nothing bad to happen

to the new baby that was in the house.

And then he did that for another eight years.

Do you remember what Mickey did when we were saying goodbye to him?

He was staring at us?

He was staring at us, yes.

And I think he was telling us

how much he loved us while we went through that, right?

Yeah.

It's been...

sad without our dog,

and...

I spent almost my whole life so far with a dog.

So...

we're adopting a new one...

and I can have that happy feeling again with a dog.

[Neal laughs]

[Neal] About a month after we put Mickey down to rest,

I started actively...

looking at my friends' posts on Facebook and social media,

what kind of dogs they were rescuing, what they had.

But my wife is probably online

every night with my daughter.

Whether it's the cell phone or the tablet and they're looking at...

dog rescues, dog adoption sites and, you know...

And they've probably picked out 200 of them,

in the last month to six weeks. [laughs]

But we...

we really haven't pulled the trigger.

We're ready.

We know we're just about ready.

We know no one's going to replace Mickey.

Mickey will be in our hearts forever.

It's just a separate kind of love,

but we certainly have enough love to bring a dog into our house,

to appreciate and give him a good home.

-[dog barks] -Hey, buddy. How are you?

-This one needs to say hello to everyone. -Of course. I can tell.

He's the king.

[camera clicks]

[Anna] Right now,

we have a lot of work that we have to do

for this rescue trip to Dallas.

Texas is one of the highest kill states in the country.

So that is why we rescue dogs from the Texas market.

And we send them to New York City

to get adopted.

[cell phone rings]

Hello.

You might not be able to see me. I'm going to put the phone here.

[woman] That's fine.

-All right, sweet. -What are you cooking?

Eggs.

I'm about to open a bottle of wine.

-[Whitney] Going strong I see. -Oh, yeah.

Okay. So, I saw the shelter posted Jimmy Buffett,

that adorable Australian Shepherd with the freckles.

And he was listed as rescue only.

Yeah, I know...

I'm looking at the notes here. I'm reading them now.

It looks like he was listed as depressed and hypothermic.

He's obviously going to need a little bit more TLC.

But I mean, I'm going to see if I can get over there

maybe today to do a temperament test to make sure everything is okay.

But, otherwise, I think we can take him. I mean, he seems great.

Have you seen any other dogs at the shelter

that you think we could take on this transport?

It's funny that you say that. I'm headed to go see Justin today.

Justin Timberlake?

Yes, I literally have his post pulled up here.

He was hit by a car.

Seems like he's about four months old and 16 pounds.

So, really, really young.

Yeah, so it looks like he has both a leg and pelvic fractures,

and they listed him as emergency rescue for that reason.

Is he going to be well enough

by the time that I'm driving the van back to New York?

I don't know. It's hard to say.

But I think... We have to make our decision soon

because this is an urgent situation.

Honestly, Whitney, I think we should just tag him.

I will start contacting vets to see who would be able to do a surgery...

If a dog is marked "rescue only,"

that means that they are not available for adoption

from the general public.

So, they have a certain amount of time

for a rescue to step up and take them...

and bring them into their network.

And if that doesn't happen,

then the dog usually ends up being euthanized.

[man sighs]

[Dominic] You know what happens when you pack

is Jason's going to start freaking out.

[Anna] Because they know I'm going somewhere.

There's a good boy. I'm going to miss you.

Come here. [kisses] Yes!

Who's my baby?

Who's my baby?

Yes.

It's a constant struggle, trying to find a true balance.

I can't always prioritize Dominic.

Even when I know...

that he would prefer to have more of my time.

I can't always give him that... and that's hard.

I feel like I'm absolutely missing something.

Deodorant?

Oh, God, I don't have deodorant.

-Can I take yours? -Yeah.

Sorry.

[crowd cheering]

Come.

[Kyla] I just got a phone call from Anna, from Hearts & Bones Rescue,

about a dog who just had leg surgery.

So he's going to need a lot of special care.

[toy squeaks]

[Kyla chuckles]

They're bringing him in from Dallas.

And his name is Justin Timberlake.

[toy squeaks]

-Will that be all for today? -Yes.

And are you going to bring the puppy in to meet us?

I have to see it. I have to meet it.

-Do you wanna see photos of him? -Yes, please.

Oh, my goodness. So, she just sent me photos yesterday

of the cutest little thing.

So sweet.

-Look at that face. -Look at that snout!

Oh, my God. Look at that face.

Just melts my heart.

-Isn't he so cute? -He's adorable.

I love him.

He's so cute.

He's going to be my fifth foster.

Wow, okay, so you're used to this.

But I've never had a dog that needed extra support

and extra care.

I'm just a little bit nervous.

So...

hopefully they'll let me know, once I meet him,

-how to take care of him. -Okay.

I'm excited.

If you have questions, I'm more than happy to help you out

with anything that you need.

All right. I'll see you.

[Kyla] I can't wait to foster again. It's been a while since we fostered a dog.

and I think it's about time for Ichi to have another playmate,

and for me to have another dog to take care of.

So, it's really exciting to have him come through.

[dogs barking]

[Anna] When you walk into a shelter,

you see dozens upon dozens of adoptable dogs.

[Anna] Did any just come in today?

[Anna] But, when they're getting upwards of 200 dogs a day...

they don't have the space.

That is why rescues have to work with the shelters

to get out as many dogs as we can.

We definitely want to check out the medical ward.

The shelter workers usually ask the rescues to prioritize those dogs

because they need immediate medical care.

So...

we are hoping that Justin is fully recovered from his surgery

to travel with us.

All right!

Let's take a look at this kiddo and see how he's doing.

-JT. -This is the real JT.

[laughs] We had a good laugh.

We got to tell everybody we neutered Justin Timberlake.

[all laugh]

[vet] So how's he been doing?

[Anna] No, he's been great.

He's going to New York, huh?

-[Whitney] Yeah. -That's right.

A little Texas dog up to New York.

We're doing a health certificate on you today.

-[Anna] Got to get his passport stamped. -Yeah. [laughs]

[vet] All right, doc, we're ready for our exam.

Hi. Let me take a look at you, bud.

He's the best patient, he really is.

[all laugh]

-He looks at you adoringly. -I know.

[laughter]

So, he's doing well on his leg.

But he's got less muscle than I would expect at this time.

And so when he gets to his destination,

we need to make sure that they get instructions on how to do the PT.

-Some more rehabilitation in New York. -Yep.

But since his range of motion is awesome,

he passed.

-JT is officially going to New York. -All right!

All right. Very good.

Happy life, buddy.

You want to drive shotgun? [chuckles]

Look at that tail wag.

[laughs] He knows.

He knows he passed.

[Anna] You taking the puppies?

-I'm so... And Mama too? -Yeah.

[Anna] I'm so happy.

We've been thinking about her all week.

It's a good day.

[Anna] I have a soft spot for mama dogs.

When a shelter is at capacity

and a mama dog gives birth to a litter of 12 puppies,

that breaks our heart.

So we actually try to rescue as many mama dogs as possible and their litters.

[Anna] Look at these babies.

[gasps] Oh, Mama, looks like you got your hands full.

Are you a little Chihuahua? [kisses]

Hey, Mama, what do you think about a road trip?

We're going to have to come up with names for you guys.

[laughing]

[Whitney] We've got one more. Runaway! We've got a runaway!

-Come on. -[Anna] That's a sassy one.

[Whitney] You're coming to New York.

Look at her. She's like,

-''Where are we going?'' -This is riding in style.

This is the best way to do it. She's already looking around,

like, "Where are we headed?"

Look at you, Mama.

We're coming out of the shelter.

Okay.

[whistling]

[woman] Are you a dog walker?

[man] I'm not a walker. I'm a dog behaviorist.

[typing]

[Neal] Let's go into...

And maybe maximize this.

[Emily] Look at those tails.

Awwwww! Puppy love.

[Emily] Which one do you think is cute?

-[Emily] I like that one. -[Julia] Yoko Uno.

[Neal] I like her too. She's very cool.

We might be able to go see some dogs in a week or two.

Where we may actually, by that point,

have a really solid selection of maybe one, two... I don't know, three.

There might be a couple more dogs that we might be interested in.

Oh, look, here's a new one. Jimmy Buffett.

[Emily] Oh, that's...

That's a new one.

Super cute.

[Neal] Look at the grin on that dog.

[Emily] Cute.

[Neal] He's got soulful eyes.

Who wouldn't want to take him home?

[Julia] Yeah.

[Neal] I like this one.

-[Julia] Yeah. -Yeah.

[barks]

-[Whitney] This fits perfectly here. -[Anna] Yeah.

-[Whitney] And then we could stack this. -[man] Stack this on top?

[Whitney] Yeah. Exactly.

[Anna] I am... super anxious to be leaving

with 30 dogs on this trip

because I've never done a transport trip without help.

So...

just something like letting a dog...

off the van to go to the bathroom is a critical... situation.

Because if you drop the leash,

if they slip out of their collar, that dog is gone.

[Anna] Look at that.

You're ready for the ride.

[laughs]

There we go. Good boy.

[Whitney] Nick? Okay, that's better.

I think he's got to pee.

Ready for the next one?

[Anna] Beyoncé's ready to go.

Come on!

Justin's turn.

You ready to go to New York?

Good boy.

There you go. Good job.

[dogs barking and whining]

[man] Welcome to the process for achieving deep relaxation.

During this deep relaxation technique,

all you need to do is let the sounds wash over you.

[soothing ambient music playing]

[barking and whimpering]

[Anna] Still got a good, say, seven or eight hours left in this trip.

I put out a roll call,

across many states, trying to recruit people

to help along this journey.

So we are going to meet up...

with a couple of folks in Virginia,

and they are going to help us safely walk the dogs.

Hi, babies.

That's Justin Timberlake... [laughs]

These two people are coming to help us.

[Anna] Yeah!

Okay, let's go.

What a regal little boy or girl.

[Anna] It's a boy. That's Jay-Z.

[female volunteer] You are... Cupcake?

-Mick Fleetwood. -Mick Fleetwood.

-Wow! -Okay!

-[woman] Are there more in there? -[Anna] There's a lot more.

I'll trade you.

[man] Wow!

[Anna] Watch out for escape artists, 'cause they're going to come in droves.

Come on.

Okay!

[woman laughs]

-[dogs barking] -[Anna sighs]

-[man] What a crazy ride you've got here. -I know. [chuckles]

It's been pretty entertaining, I have to say.

Hi, my gremlins. [chuckles]

[Anna] They're having so much fun. This is exactly what they needed.

We've got to get back on the road.

Okay. Come on.

We're going to get more doggies.

Thank you, everyone, for helping. [sighs]

[women chuckle] It was really fun!

[Anna] I'm done.

[woman] When are you doing your next shuttle?

-[Anna] Will you drive with me? -Sure. [laughs]

[Anna] Seriously, thank you so much.

-You can do it. -Thanks.

Phew!

[dogs barking]

Hi, babies, I know.

[dogs barking and whining]

[Anna] Even when I get to New York, safely,

it does not end there because

then we have to get all of these dogs into foster homes

while we wait to find people that are willing to adopt them.

[car horns honking]

Hi, girl.

[Anna] Come on in.

[Logan] How are you?

Yeah, so we ended up with 31 dogs.

-[Logan] Oh, my God. -Yeah, it's crazy.

Come on, baby. Lets go this way.

-[man] I'm sorry. -That's okay, no worries.

I feel like I'm, like...

-in a candy shop... -Yeah.

...twiddling my thumbs, like, "Pick me!"

[man laughs]

[Anna] Hi! Thank you so much for fostering,

I'm so excited this is your first foster.

This is Penny.

She was the mama that we met with the four puppies.

[woman] Thank you.

[Anna] Thank you so much for fostering for us again.

[woman] You're welcome.

[Anna] This is fine. Yeah, this is Jay Z.

[Anna] Can I have Justin Timberlake, please?

[chuckling] This is Justin. He just arrived this morning.

He's so sweet.

My God. He's such a good boy.

-Yeah? -Yes.

He still has an injury that's healing. The goal is for him to grow muscle here.

Make sure you walk him with the "Adopt Me" vest,

so that we can get potential applications.

-[Kyla] I got it. -[Anna] Perfect.

[Kyla] I love you. [chuckles] You're going to find a home real quick.

[Kyla] All right, we'll be in touch.

Bye. Good night, guys.

[Anna] Bye, guys.

[sighs]

I love you. You are the biggest mush.

The biggest mush.

And you are too.

No, you're going to be a good dog. They're going to love you.

I carried him home all the way.

He was not utilizing this back leg at all.

And now you can see there's baby steps.

He's starting to...

to carry himself up the couch.

He's starting to use staircases more.

So I think, just trajectory-wise,

he's going to be good, he's going to be fine.

He is one of the fosters that I've really developed to love.

And it's always hard,

because for me...

it's very sad that we won't have him for much longer.

Come on, Jay.

Come on, Ich.

Let's go.

Come on. Let's go home.

Good boy.

Hey.

[chuckles]

[Katherine] Hearts & Bones reached out to me and asked me

to foster Jimmy Buffett.

And to show him around New York, and get him used to the city.

He's definitely a New Yorker at heart

because he loves walking around the streets

and meeting new people, and going to say hi to everyone.

[pots clinking]

Good boy.

Hi.

Hi.

I think Jimmy will be like a best friend

for whoever his new owner is.

He's so sweet.

So I'm excited for whoever gets

to be his new best friend.

[Neal] Here we go.

Come on.

[Julia chuckles]

[Neal laughs]

So, what do you wanna name the dog?

My top three is Brisket,

Charlie and Randy.

What's yours?

Dad!

That's like the same thing for me.

I like those three too.

[Neal] We've decided that we're going to adopt Jimmy Buffett.

Just something tells us that he will be a perfect fit for our family.

You have to wash up, lady. You've got a face full of chocolate.

-It's okay. -Where's the chocolate?

It's on your nose.

-Is it gone? -Right there.

-Right here? -You got it.

-Gone? -Got it.

Okay.

[Anna] So, let's start from the top.

-Mick has not arrived yet. -[woman] Got it.

-[Anna] So they should be here soon. -[woman] Fabulous.

But Justin Timberlake hasn't arrived either.

[woman] So we're in a good place with both of them.

Paul Simon's adopter's here.

So we do have some adopters here, but I know we're waiting on some more.

-[woman] Yes. -[Anna] Penny Lane's here.

Penny, I've got your puppies.

Hi, Penny.

Okay, go on inside, baby.

Okay, so Penny is here.

Here comes Paul.

-[woman] Oh, Paul. -[Anna] Hi, Buddy.

Hi, buddy.

Hi!

[Anna] Okay, amazing. So...

Fiona Apple is here.

We are still waiting for Nina to arrive.

[woman] Got it.

-[Anna] Looks like Jay-Z is here. -[woman] Okay. Jay-Z.

Hi. You here for the adoption event?

-[Neal] Yes. -Awesome.

[woman] Who are you here to see?

-Jimmy Buffett. -Jimmy Buffett?

[woman] One of my favorite artists and favorite pups.

-You are Neal, right? -Yes, I am.

All right. Head on over to the cafe. And then we'll come grab you,

once it's time to meet the pups.

-Thank you. -Yes.

[woman] Isn't that so cute?

-[female adopter] Beautiful. -[boy] Can I hold him?

I want all the puppies.

-[Emily] I do, too. -I want so many.

[Emily] I do to. I want them all. They are all--

-Amazing. -So amazing.

[woman] Okay, who's here for Paul?

[Anna] Have you seen Jimmy Buffett?

-Have you seen him? -I have not yet seen him.

Awwwww! Oh, my God!

-[foster] How has he been doing? -[Kyla] He's really good.

I'm one of the fosters.

Look at the eyebrow.

[Anna] Justin!

I'm going to take him to go meet his potential adopters.

Bye!

Bye, buddy.

[woman chuckling]

[female adopter] Oh, look at you. You're my guy.

How could you not love that face? He's as cute as I thought he'd be.

[Anna] This is his foster.

-You're the foster? -Yes.

-Was he a good guy? -He is absolutely a pleasure.

He is the biggest mush and just a whole bundle of love.

-He's perfection. -He is gonna have a good life.

[adopter] He's perfection. He's gonna be spoiled rotten.

[Emily] Aw! Look at him.

Look at him.

He looks like such a mush-mush.

[Neal] That's Jimmy Buffett. He's ours. Yeah.

[Julia and Neal chuckle]

[Julia] Oh, my gosh.

[Neal] So what's his favorite thing to eat?

On the street, he always finds pizza.

[Neal laughs]

The crust.

[Neal] We love pizza.

He'll fit right in.

-Potty-trained? -Potty-trained.

[Anna] You found the perfect family.

[Emily] Welcome home, pal.

[dogs barking]

[Emily] We needed him as much as he needed us.

We love him.

[Anna] Rescue's all about second chances.

And I think that's what's so beautiful about these dogs.

They can come from horrific conditions,

but they come to New York and find these...

forever homes and their life is completely changed.

[camera shutter clicking]