Picture this: George Stephanopoulos from Good Morning America—a guy used to tough news, political wrangling—gets hit with something nobody could spin into a sound‑bite.
His family’s longtime dog, Cooper, passed away from cancer last May. They mourn, pull through the darkness… and then?
They walk into a rescue shelter.
They meet Fig, a 12-week-old golden retriever puppy, eyes full of hope, tail already wagging a rhythm of rescue and redemption.
Ali Wentworth, George’s wife, puts it like this: “I thought I wanted a boy… yet this little girl just caught my eye.”
That moment—that click—became a lifeline.
Fig wasn’t just another pooch. She was a salvation incarnate.
This wasn’t about fame or fluffy TV moments.
They met with five golden retrievers and two mixes, but Fig? She stole their hearts.
As Ali said, if she hadn’t rescued Fig, the pup “probably would have spent her life in a cage as a breeder”
So now Fig’s part of the family.
She’s living her best life, loved and cherished.
And the Stephanopoulos household?
They found laughter and softness again—a break from the news, thanks to puppy kisses and muddy paws.
That’s the power of rescue: we heal them, they heal us. Makes you want to adopt, doesn’t it?