Two adopted friends filling homes with love

Some families are a little larger these days, but their bundles of joy are pampered with things like treats, chew toys and scratching posts. Since we began our Pet Pals segment more than two years ago, we have featured nearly than a hundred cats and dogs. Wednesday, we are catching up with a couple of them who have become "fur-ever friends." Abby is the queen of the castle in Shirley and John Lyons' Hampstead home. It is hard to believe she was a stray we highlighted during a Pet Pals segment. That morning, Shirley was watching Good Morning Carolina. “She didn't try to go to your desk or up on him, she just laid very calmly. I said that cat will fit in our family. I said, ‘John, that's the cat we should get,’ and he goes, ‘yeah ok’,” Shirley recalled. The following night, they loaded up on pet supplies and brought Abby home. The retired couple said this furry feline fills the void in their empty nest. “She fit right in here, they said she'd probably hide under the bed for about a week or so. Never. She's got a corner spot, she goes and lays, she doesn't hide besides sleeping in the bed or on our head. I think she's almost taken over the house, but we love her, and it's like we'd have never had her had it not been for the show,” said Shirley and John. Another success story features Gracie, a Welsh Corgi mix, and a little girl named Sarah. “I thought she'd be a great dog for my family because she's like, the perfect size,” said Sarah Bradley. Kimberly Bradley wanted a dog for her daughter, saw Gracie, and realized it was now or never. “You can't bring them all home, nobody can do that, it was just the fact, she didn't have any time left,” said Kimberly. “But she looked at us, her paws went up, looked at Sarah and started licking right through the gate.” Gracie is protective of her new family and seems to know just what to do when they're feeling blue. Sarah and Kimberly said, “When I start crying she runs over and starts licking your face.” Proving that Gracie really is a Pet Pal. Two pets, once without homes, now filling homes with love and laughter.