Milton, NY Animal Rescue Gains Major Donations After Viral Video

Grab the tissues and get ready for a beautiful story of a Hudson Valley man and his beloved dog, Emily.

Video Goes Viral of a Unique Hudson Valley Pet Photo Find

Recently, a photographer Lindsay Lazare was shopping at a thrift store in Poughkeepsie, New York.

As she thumbed through different photos and prints she stumbled upon a handful of photos of a beautiful golden retriever.

Lazare made a video of her find and wrote "Never have I ever cried at a thrift store...until today."

The photos show the life of a Golden Retriever named Emily. The photos depict everything from Emily's first day home as a puppy, to her splashing around in the water, and photos of the pup acting silly with captions like "What are we doing next, dad?" written on the bottom.

These pictures tell the story of Emily and follow her journey until her precious golden face slowly starts to get peppered with those white and grey whiskers. Grab the tissues and watch below:

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A post shared by Lindsay Lazare (@lindsaylazarephoto)

The video has been shared over 27,00 times and has over 160,000 likes.

Hudson Valley Man Shares His Love with Local Animal Rescue

As Lazare video began to be shared across social media, many recognized the dog due to her unique name. It's not everyday you hear about a Golden Retriever named Emily, right?

After learning the photos were found in a Poughkeepsie thrift store, one commenter identified the dog as Emily DeBlanca, this commenter also worked in the vet office where Emily was a patient.

We're not sure when, but Emily has sadly crossed over the rainbow bridge after what looks like a beautiful life with her family.

We later learned that her owner Joseph DeBlanca passed away in early 2025. In his obituary his family asked "In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in Joseph’s memory may be directed to Take Me Home Pet Rescue in Milton, NY (www.tmhpetrescue.com)."

Viral Thrift Store Find Helps Local Ulster County Animal Rescue

On Instagram, Take Me Home Pet Rescue explains that the timing of this video going viral is when they really needed it.

TMHPR writes "This help is coming at a time when we really need it, with several of our animals needing urgent medical care."

They continue:

Since we’re completely run by volunteers and rely on donations, every bit of kindness makes a huge difference. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for being part of this journey and for sharing these stories with others!

Since the video went viral TMHPR they have received over $7,000 in donations. You can make a donation through the rescues Venmo account.

Lazare has created digital copies of the beautiful photos of Emily and they can be downloaded through her website Lindsay Lazare Photography.