I often get nostalgic and think back on the work we did in the past. One of my all-time favorite rescues was a dog named Puppy. He belonged to a local here in Malibu and had gotten in trouble so many times that Animal Control eventually took the dog and would not give him back to the owner. I couldn’t really blame animal control for their decision, but we strongly disagreed on what should happen to Puppy. My position was, let me take him and re-home him, there’s was, “lets kill him.” Yes, he had bitten a few people and created some havoc in the neighborhood, but if a human allows this (even by ignorance) I don’t find it the dog’s fault. We punish the dog, rarely the people.
This disagreement caused a long and costly court battle here in Malibu, nearly 14 months. I got involved at about 8 months in when the situation grew hopeless. The dog was to be destroyed and I was his last hope. Well, after a long battle and not too many words minced we were victorious and Puppy went into the custody of Bound Angels. We flew him to a sanctuary in Texas, Smiling Dog Farms, and the rest is history.
Puppy eventually died of old age under the care of Jay and Ricki at Smiling Dog Farms. He died on their bed surrounded by love. Puppy was a good dog, and I always said, Angels Walked with Him. Puppy is one of my great inspirations for the work I do.
Puppy is one of the dogs that I got involved in a legal battle for, there have been a few, but Puppy was a big memory. Shannon Keith was a huge help and always a great friend in particular during this time. We teamed up on several other dangerous dog cases and thus far have always won. I’m grateful to her help in this and know I could not have done it without her help. Also, Ricky and Jay at Smiling Dog Farms who gave Puppy an amazing life and loved him till he took his last breath. Puppy is buried on their farm, as is a part of my heart.
Please watch the video below for Puppy’s Story:
[av_video src=’https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Wg7YQDCVeg’ format=’16-9′ width=’16’ height=’9′]The message here is simple, it comes down to an owner who was not responsible for his animal. The animal almost died. Imagine how many other dogs are killed every day because people are not responsible. This is where our problem lies.