November 4 2018 Pups of the Week: Trip and Lily

Thankfully, we have had a quiet week here at the Bridge.  My blogger friends let me know a buddy of theirs, Dennis the Vizsla, had crossed.  We had never barked at one another but have common friends, so I made sure Dennis was brought to the village that borders Doggyspace, Blogville, so he could meet all the friends that preceded him to the Bridge and learn how to visit his parents and try to ease their pain.
Once Dennis was settled I searched for dogs to be named Pup of the Week who should be recognized for their bravery, perseverance, and most importantly, love.

First is Trip.  This poor baby spent nine years in dog prison forced to breed to make puppies for his “owner” to sell.  I know there are hundreds of frat boys who heard this story and said “locked up and forced to have sex, score!” but dogs are not made for such a life, and hopefully no one is driving the frat boys to vote Tuesday, although it probably won’t matter, because they would just write in “me” on every line and wait for their cool new job.

Sorry, I digressed.   Trip and many other dogs were pulled from their puppy mill hell by the National Mill Dog Rescue.  The confused, but grateful pups were put in a van and driven to one of National Mill Dog’s facilities.  No one knew why Trip only had three legs, but that did not slow him down a bit. He enjoyed every moment of his new burst of freedom and charmed the Rescue’s workers.

Trip did have his down moments.  He had to get a bath and a brush.  There were lots of shots and even an operation to have him neutered. Trip was grateful for the surgery.  After nine years enough with the sex!

Trip was adopted shortly before Halloween and is now living like a prince getting all the love and attention he was cruelly denied.  I hope he has lots of years to make memories with his new family, so the bad memories fade away forever.

Rescue groups do a great deal of good work, but I also know a lot of parents who have got lost in the bureaucracy rescuing dogs create.  In Houston that almost led to a pug and her mom, who was suffering from cancer, being permanently separated.

The hero of our story, Lily, was in her Houston Texas backyard in August when she saw an opening in the fence and decided to explore the neighborhood. Before she could find her way home, a concerned citizen found her wandering the streets and turned her over to Animal Control.  Lily knew she had made a horrible mistake. She did not have tags or a chip and could not tell the people at Animal Control where she belonged. She was then given to the Rescue Group PugHearts.

Her frantic owner Rhina Cantu, who was undergoing chemotherapy at the time, searched for Lily.  By the time she called Animal Control Lily had been surrendered to PugHearts. China contacted PugHearts, and they said the Rescue required proof of ownership before they would turn over Lily.  Rhina had not got a license for Lily and did not have a sales receipt. PugHearts would not turn return Lily until they were sure Rhina was not trying to swindle them.

Rhina brought them pictures of her and Lily, but PugHearts told her they still were not proof of ownership.  Rhina asked to see Lily, knowing the dog would respond to her. But PugHearts refused. When Rhina hired a lawyer, PugHearts said Lily had been adopted by a family in Illinois.

Lily had not been rehomed. Last week a happy Lily was reunited with Rhina when the rescue decided not to contest the lawsuit.  Lily gave her mom 1,000 kisses and danced happily, just as Rhina said she would. Rhina knew the Rescue was doing its best to makes sure her baby was not put in a bad home.  She just wished she could have met with Lily weeks before and the Rescue could see how the little Pug reacted when she saw her mom.


There was a lot of unhappiness for Lily and Trip, but the important thing is that they are in their forever home with their loving parents.