STANWOOD, Wash. — Cheyenne is adorable but deaf.
Ghost has a misaligned jaw that causes his tongue to hang out of his mouth and flop about.
They're just two of the more than 1,000 boxers saved by MustLuvBoxers Rescue over the past 12 years.
But those days may be numbered as organizers face a daunting challenge.
"It's hard to even talk about," said founder Holly Adams, fighting back tears. "It chokes me up."
Adams said she needs to raise a quarter of a million dollars by Dec. 31 to save the rescue.
Operators had a two-year "lease to buy" deal but have not been able to raise the money needed to purchase the property.
Rescue volunteers focus on dogs deemed "unadoptable" because of their age or medical conditions.
Now, those volunteers fear they will have to close unless they can find a lot of money quickly, or a qualified co-signer.
"It's going to take a Christmas miracle or someone to realize how important this is and how much we need it," Adams said.
Many shelters are already overcrowded and forced to turn animals away. Others are shutting down entirely. Rescues like MustLuvBoxers are where animals go when no one else can take them.
Without MustLuvBoxers, the futures of countless dogs are very uncertain.
"If they can't go to a center and all of the foster homes are full, and we aren't taking any more in, where those dogs end up we don't know," said longtime volunteer Janae Mantz.
But Adams is not giving up. She's still hoping for that holiday miracle.
"As the weeks get closer to Dec. 31, it gets very hard, but I'm gonna go until I can't go anymore," Adams said.