Rescuing the Miracle Dog – Part 3

Okay, now we return to the adventures of our intrepid attorney/dog rescuer Elie Miller, her trusty co-rescuer Beebee (who says that years ago he worked on a U.S. nuclear submarine, but now is an LA homeless guy), and Milagro, the abandoned, nearly-collar-strangled but smart and personable dog.

(If you haven’t done so already, first read Chapters One and Two.)

When we last left our three friends, Elie had managed to clip off the horrible collar that was gouging a sore into Milagro’s neck, and he seemed to be getting better.

There were ups and downs. Once Milagro’s wound split open again and an infection flared up.

Then on March 28, Elie arrived to find that Milagro wouldn’t eat, his eyes were running, and he acted as if he’d been poisoned. Elie and Beebee—together with one of the vet consultants whom Elie occasionally called for help and advice—determined that the dog had most likely been pepper sprayed by transit police. The next day, however, Milagro seemed to bounce back.

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NOVIA
On March 30, Milagro arrived at the vacant lot with a girlfriend, a smaller black female dog that Elie thought might be part Basenji. When the girlfriend dog stuck around for a week or two, Elie named her Novia.

Now she was feeding two dogs.

Novia was at first standoffish. But shortly she was competing with Milagro for treats and for Elie’s affection, rolling over to have her belly rubbed after meals. And she was playful. It had taken weeks for Elie to get Milagro to play with the tennis balls she would toss for him. “He doesn’t know how to play,” she said. However, Novia played with Elie and the tennis balls nearly from the beginning. Watching her, Milagro too began to chase and play.

Near the end of April, Milagro got injured. His neck opened up and there was a puncture wound in his paw. Elie began dosing him with antibiotics again. She realized she had to make plans to get both dogs away from the lot and to a vet—and then hopefully into new homes.

It was time.

A friend told Elie about a special harness collar he thought might work for the upcoming Milagro capture, since a normal collar and leash would rub intolerably at the dog’s still sore neck. Elie found the harness online and ordered it immediately.

The harness came in the mail on June 1st. Six days later Elie decided it was CD Day—capture the dogs day. The night of the capture she emailed me:

“I put the harness around Milagro’s neck, buckled it around his legs, and leashed him up. Novia was easier to leash. I tugged & pulled Milagro to my truck, coaxing him with milk, and literally lifted & pushed him inside after Novia jumped in.”

Elie drove both dogs to an animal hospital where the vet had agree to treat the animals for a slightly reduced rate.

“Although the vet muzzled them when he examined them” she wrote me, “they were gentle. Even while I lifted and pushed Milagro each step of the way from my truck to the door of the animal hospital, he never once snapped at me.”

Milagro had a round of surgery during which time he was neutered and his neck was cleaned and sutured. It turned out that Novia was already spayed. After Milagro’s was snipped and stitched, both dogs got flea baths and a full compliment of vaccinations.

According to the vet, Milagro is a 68 lb. Shepherd/Rottweiller mix.

Novia is a 41 lb. Jindo or Basenji (she can bark) with some Chow likely mixed in. Both dogs appear to be a year or year-and-half old.

A couple of days after Milagro’s surgery, Elie drove by the vacant lot to say hi to Beebee. She found that the holes in the fence surrounding the lot—holes that had allowed Milagro and Novia, and Elie, if we are to be truthful, to go in and out of the lot at will—had been patched. Elie couldn’t believe it. Entry to the vacant lot was completely and thoroughly blocked.

This meant that, had she delayed moving the dogs by a few days, Milagro might have found himself trapped on the lot, been seen by the workers or others, and subsequently rounded up by animal control and euthanized. Or, alternately, finding himself shut out of his hiding places and home—he and Novia might simply have vanished.

But by luck or serendipity, no such calamity occurred.

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AND SO, ALL HAS ALMOST ENDED WELL FOR MILAGRO AND NOVIA

Almost is the operative word here since both dogs need permanent homes.

Elie is providing a temporary foster home for Novia. And Milagro has been going through a couple of weeks of training with a dog whisperer type who said he would help socialize the once wild dog further.

But now they need permanent homes. Elie already has three dogs, and can’t really take a fourth. I too have a full house of animals, as it is.

However, I’ve met both Milagro and Novia and can attest that they’re winning creatures.

So if you’d like to adopt a delightful, smart, soulful dog (or two), Elie has just the critters for you.

Soon would be good.

Elie may be reached at: sparkarooney@yahoo.com

Please spread the word.

PS: July 6 was Beebee’s birthday. He thinks he just turned 55. Elie visited him and gave him updates on the dogs, as always, since their rescue has always been, emotionally anyway, a joint affair.

After the update, Beebee told Elie that he can’t remember such unusual weather on his birthday in a long time.