Penelope, American Bulldog Mix

Meet Penelope! This sweet puppy was scheduled to be euthanized because she had Mange, until M.A.I.N. stepped in to save her life.

After just a few minutes, this girl went from scared and alone in a kennel, to wagging her tail and playing like a puppy! She has an amazing spirit and we are happy to be able to help her along her journey towards health and her fur-ever home. As always, we will keep you updated on her progress!

From Don: Heather and I decided to pull an e-list pup out of the west valley shelter this afternoon. Its’ a gloomy and depressing place to spend an afternoon, but I had an empty dog bed waiting for a new foster pup and Heather had the afternoon off of work.

“Come over here and look at her..” Heather said, and I hit the record button on my way over to where she was knelt down at a kennel. What we saw was a little Boxer Mix pup in the outdoor part of her enclosure. She was scared and alone, and apprehensive about coming inside to see either of us. She was so curious, though and we could tell that she really wanted to greet us in a much more enthusiastic way, so only she knows why she hesitated the way she did.

The shelter is a loud and confusing place for any dog, and for Penelope – it was unbearable.  Her environment, combined with the Demodectic Mange and Distichia in her eyes meant that this pup has had very little peace since she was brought to this place as a stray.  She was honestly terrified at all of it, and we couldn’t wait to get her out of there and into the hospital.

A note about Distichia:

“Left untreated, distichiae will continue to cause irritation and pain, and the irritation may lead to severe corneal ulcers and secondary bacterial infections.  These may lead to blindness or loss of the eye. The dog may further irritate the eye by scratching or rubbing at it.”

The transformation of Penelope from the first part of the video to the end is typical with dogs that are labeled “fearful.”  It’s rewarding to watch the life fill her eyes (and her tail) when she realizes that someone cares enough to get her out.

We chose ‘Nicest Thing’ by Kate Nash as the music behind the video.  It felt to us like Penelope looked at Heather and thought “all I know is that you’re the nicest thing I’ve ever seen.”  Welcome to the family, Penelope!

Penelope’s Updates:

Penelope’s foster dad has officially adopted her! He’s been with her from day one and just couldn’t bear the thought of giving her up. Congrats to Penelope and her fur-ever dad!

(click the photo above to see Penelope’s latest photos – or click here!)

January 7th, 2013: Penelope had her checkup with Dr. Melissa today, and for the first time since she’s been rescued (back in October) she is MANGE FREE!!!  We celebrated with a McDonald’s hamburger and her first trip to the dog park (where she was instantly the “M.A.I.N. Focus”).. take a look!

Penelope is doing wonderful in her foster home while she recovers from Mange. This sweet puppy gets along with other dogs, loves to play and loves to cuddle with her humans!

October 21st, 2012: Penelope is such a sweet pup and she loves her foster buddies at Casa de Perro (even though she’s a little big for Scout, the resident 4 lb. Yorkie). Aside from the other pups, toys and beds are her two faves right now, but the baths are fun, too (especially the drying off part)…

10-15-2012: Best house puppy EVER… She gets along with all of the pups and has only had a handful of accidents.  Her Mange is beginning to clear up, too – and she’s such a happy puppy.  She’s discovered (see photo above) that the couch is one of her favorite spots in the house to catch a nap – and if I have the TV turned on, she sits and watches with this happy curiosity that’s just about the cutest thing you’ll ever see…

10-6-2012:  What a love bug… Night #2 and she slept through with NO accidents (I didn’t mention the one she had last night).  Got up this morning and went right outside to go potty.  She LOVES her fluffy bed!

12-15-2012: Here’s a video that I took to find this wayward puppy a home (she already found one, too.. yay!) but, she’s playing with Penelope in it, so I thought I’d share it on her page…

Penelope is a fixture at our MAIN photo shoots, since Don is her foster…this girl loves the camera and it loves HER!