(Rockwall) November 15, 2012 – No one is more deserving of a visit from Santa Claus than Chuck. He’s had a rough beginning to his young life. Not long after he was born this spring, the puppy suffered the indignation of being tied to a tree. That was the sum of his existence for several weeks. Chuck stood out in the hot summer sun with little to no food or water.
It was torture for a playful and friendly puppy.
Chuck is hoping Santa brings him a home for the holidays.
Relief finally came last month, when Chuck was delivered to an area animal shelter. He was so happy to be out of his abusive relationship that he wagged his tail constantly. He injured his tail in several places by banging it repeatedly against his kennel. But Chuck didn’t care. He was finally happy.
But his worries weren’t over. The shelter added insult to injury by placing Chuck on its kill list. If no one claimed him in a week, he would be killed by the shelter. The poor dog couldn’t catch a break.
Enter Christina Arriaga, a volunteer with Rockwall Pets. She rescued Chuck from the shelter and brought him to her home inRoyseCity. Scared and disoriented, Chuck bolted from the backyard within hours of his arrival. He was alone in a strange area, trying to find a safe place to spend the night.
Kevin Patten rescued Chuck the day after the dog bolted from his foster home.
At noon the next day, Kevin Patten had just seen Chuck’s photo on Facebook when he looked up to see the dog scampering down the street. Kevin became the next hero in Chuck’s life when he rescued the grateful puppy for the second time.
But there’s no happy ending to this story. Not yet. Chuck is still waiting for the thing he wants most: a home for the holidays.
For the first time in his life, he’s ended up in the right place at the right time to make his dream come true. For the second consecutive year, Rockwall Pets is participating in the Iams “Home 4 the Holidays” campaign. More than 1.2 million pets were adopted during the campaign last year, making it one of the most successful pet adoption programs in the world.
Severt Nielsen of Southland Supply and Pam Kitkoski of Rockwall Pets secure a large donation of Iams pet food. Tropical John Thomas and Lakeside Chevrolet assisted in securing the generous donation.
In fact, the Home 4 the Holidays program was responsible for bringing together a coalition ofNorth Texasbusinesses to help feed the dogs and cats of Rockwall Pets. Tropical John Thomas of Rockwall and Southland Supply of Irving teamed up with Lakeside Chevrolet to deliver a huge donation of Iams dog and cat food to Rockwall Pets.
Rockwall Pets is a nonprofit rescue organization dedicated to ending the killing of healthy shelter pets. Shelter killing is the number one cause of death for healthy dogs and cats in theUnited States, according to the American Humane Association. Nearly every pet offered for adoption by Rockwall Pets – like Chuck – was previously in danger of losing its life at an area animal shelter.
And that’s where the Home 4 the Holidays campaign comes in. The holiday season is even more joyous when families share their happiness with their pets. And when the pet is fortunate just to be alive, that dog or cat knows that it has much to be thankful for. After what he’s been through, imagine the gleam in Chuck’s eyes when he spends his first holiday season in the arms of a loving family.
Story and photos by Michael Kitkoski. For more information or to make a donation, visit http://rockwallpets.com, http://iams.com/pet-adoption/home-for-the-holidays.
ADOPTION EVENTS
Adopt a dog from Rockwall Pets from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. every Saturday at the Rowlett PetSmart. Adopt a dog or a cat from 1 to 4 p.m. every Sunday at the Rockwall Petco. Rockwall Pets will host its second annual Black Friday Sale from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. November 23 at the Rockwall Petco. More Home 4 the Holidays events are planned; watch BlueRibbonNews.com for details.
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