Roly-poly, snuggle
buns. Irresistible. Yet, it hasn’t been easy finding homes for the eight rescue
puppies and their mom. My son and his girlfriend, Laura, took them in 10 weeks
ago and have cared for them, fed them, cleaned up their poop, had them
vaccinated and dewormed, and rescued several who fell into the pool.
Laura and I took three of the
puppies to the international school where I used to teach, invited by the Save
the Strays Club in the high school. It was Spirit Week and we headed to the
soccer field where the students were competing in games. As soon as some kids spotted
the puppies, they rushed over to us. “Oh! Puppies!” They all wanted to pet,
cuddle and snap photos of the puppies. “They’re looking for homes,” we told
them. Their responses were all variations of: “Oh, I wish I could, but we already have two
dogs.” Or “My mom won’t let me.”
We walked to the other end of the field where there were some
parents and teachers. More kids gathered around us and the puppies. A mom and a
teacher showed interest, but nothing definite. After two hours in the hot sun
and being passed around, the puppies looked as though they had enough. To reach
our car, we had to walk the length of the school campus. We felt like two Pied
Pipers, kids following us and the puppies, wanting to cuddle them.
Needless to say, the puppies fell into a deep sleep on the trip
home, where their mommy dog was overjoyed to see them. We wondered: do dogs
miss their puppies when they’re taken away?
This has been a country beleaguered by stray dogs. The congress just
passed a badly-needed responsible pet owner law requiring owners to have a
microchip implanted and leash their dogs while outside. The law also promotes
educational programs promoting responsible pet ownership, but a change in
mentality is a long way off.
In the park I often see posters with photos of lost neighborhood
dogs with pleas to call the distraught owner’s phone number. Over a dozen
websites exist here in the city to attempt to meet the needs of lost dogs and
strays.
Caring for the puppies and their mom has been a time-consuming job
for my son and Laura, but the satisfactions are have been great. The puppies
follow them everywhere, wanting to be cuddled and offer love and loyalty in
return.
But it’s time for each of them to go to a loving home.
