(Dallas/Rockwall-Sept 12, 2013) Shaggy was about to abandon hope. The seven-month-old terrier mix was completely disoriented when he discovered he was marooned with four similar puppies in the parking lot of a Dallas apartment complex. Some of the dogs, like his friend Thelma, had been stuffed into a dirty recycling bin.
Before they could get their bearings, Shaggy and the rest of the confused young dogs were whisked away to the Dallas animal shelter. Danielle Fry, the shelter’s rescue coordinator, sent out an urgent call for help. She felt the petrified dogs would fare poorly in the shelter environment.
Within minutes, Christina Arriaga, who manages the rescue operation for the nonprofit Rockwall Pets, was busy arranging foster homes for the frightened puppies. Rockwall Pets quickly notified the shelter that it would take Shaggy, Thelma and the other three abandoned dogs.
Just two days later, the smile had returned to Shaggy’s face after he discovered he and his friends were safe. Rockwall Pets is a nonprofit rescue organization dedicated to ending the killing of healthy and treatable shelter pets in north Texas. Shelter killing is the number one cause of death for healthy dogs and cats in the United States, according to the American Humane Association.
After leading local efforts to achieve No Kill status for the Rockwall and Royse City shelters, Rockwall Pets set its sights on saving the lives of shelter pets throughout north Texas, especially in Dallas. The nonprofit estimates an average of 50 healthy and/or treatable dogs and cats are killed every day at the Dallas shelter. Rockwall Pets has saved the lives of nearly 300 pets from the Dallas shelter during the past 12 months.
Dallas Animal Services conducted an investigation into the abandonment of the dogs but could find no leads.
Within a couple of days of his rescue, Shaggy was attending his first Rockwall Pets adoption event. His ever-present smile offered no clue as to the horrors he’d witnessed the previous week. He was a long way from a filthy recycling bin in the middle of a crowded parking lot. For what could be the first time in their lives, Shaggy, Thelma and the rest of their friends are experiencing the love and joy of being a puppy.
More information:
Rockwall Pets: rockwallpets.com
Donations for the abandoned dogs: rockwallpets.com/donate.html
Dallas animal shelter: dallasanimalservices.org
Story and photos by Michael Kitkoski.
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