Category: Stories

Meredith, Bucky, Ty and Tora are an American family of four who decided to abandon their conventional life in favor of a simpler, more deliberate life in the South Pacific. It hasn’t been smooth sailing for the family these last few weeks. The following is an honest account of what it’s like to love, and lose, a pet in American Samoa. Original post from Chasing Abandon.

Continue reading “Todd’s Tale” →

After two of our Coconut Mutts volunteers lost their battle to save a kitten they had rescued, the stumbled upon another animal in need of rescuing. He was sick, emaciated and abandoned. Our volunteers didn’t hesitate to help…

Continue reading “Matai’s Rescue Story – Chapter 1” →

This is the story of Tuto and Maya – two puppies in American Samoa who were pulled from the brink. They endured the scorching sun and unforgiving jungle until island resident Mareike Sudek rescued them and gave them their forever home.

Continue reading “From Lost to Found” →

From lost in a hurricane to finding his forever home, Coconut Mutts Tuni’s life changed the day Board Member Alanna Olear scooped him off a cliff. And Alanna would say her life changed as well.

Continue reading “Finding Love in the South Pacific” →

“I could feel every bone in the kitten’s body. I could not only feel the raised bumps of her spine, but the individual rounds of each vertebrae. The kitten’s head was too big for her body, a sign of malnourishment. She also had the most beautiful blue-green eyes I had ever seen. But, they were coated with so much pus and goop that she could barely open them.”

Read Coconut Mutts Founder/Director Kelsey Johnson’s bittersweet account of a tiny kitten that sparked a big idea.

Continue reading “How a Kitten Created a Cause” →

Dr. Kristen runs the veterinarian clinic that serves the entire territory of American Samoa. No hot water. Inadequate sewage. Island politics. At times it seems like everything from weather to people are against the clinic and its patients. Here is her description of some of the challenges the team faces serving American Samoa. 

Continue reading “The Doctor is in (the jungle)” →