Sometimes you wonder, “Why does God bother with humans.”
Then other times, you meet someone who explains why He does. One of those people for me is one of our SUPERdopters, Pam Maanum. A ‘SUPERdopter’ is someone who adopts from our no-kill shelter, gives a wonderful home to the cat(s) or dog(s) they’ve adopted, and helps us to save more lives after that. SUPERdopters help in so many ways. In Pam’s case, she has donated un-needed shoes to our year-round shoe drive fundraiser, she’s a monthly sponsor, and she often donates extra amounts out of the blue, from the goodness of her heart. She also boards her dogs with us, which also helps us to stay afloat.
Pam. who has one of the most loving hearts I’ve ever experienced, gives me hope for the human race. Pam has adopted dogs from us before, and gives them lives that any dog would dream of, if they dream of amazing lives. She has our ‘Munchkin,’ a boxer girl who was found being shot at by ranchers, in the desert outside Carrizozo. Why? She and her presumed breeding partner, Mo, were supposedly a threat to goats. Maybe they were. They were emaciated, wormy, covered in fleas, and starving, dehydrated in 100 degree plus heat. They both had blisters on their paws, and we were so grateful that Barbara Culler, with Miracles for Paws, called us to rescue them! (Barbara is another of those humans who give me hope for the human race.)
Both of the wonderful dogs quickly healed, put on weight, and were adopted. Amazingly, Munchkin, then Allie, was returned to us. Luckily, we re-adopted her, to Pam Maanum, who loves dogs with funny teeth. Lucky Munchkin!
With long daily walks, excellent nutrition, and being in one of those home where the dogs’s needs are everything, Munchkin had landed in her, ‘forever’ home for sure. But then, Pam adopted another dog from Animal Village NM, Devo, a beautiful Catahoula Leopard Dog. He had a wonderful life also, until he was tragically killed by a rattlesnake, on one of their hikes. Pam (and everyone here) was heartbroken.
Meanwhile, when Pam has to leave town, she boards Munchkin at Animal Village NM, where she knows that Munchkin is happy, comfortable, and gets those trail walks she loves, as well as playtimes in the park. Pam knows that these affordable boarding fees help us to care for the homeless pets waiting here for homes, as Munchkin once was.
Recently, through a series of inhumane events, Pam learned about a dog, a wonderful abused Staffordshire Terrier blend dog, who needed a home, like FAST. Problem was, he was in Hawaii. Pam’s in New Mexico. Long story short (but you can imagine the red tape and expense), ‘Coconuts,’ as Pam named him, is now part of Pam’s family, here in Tularosa.
But wait, there’s more. One of Pam’s neighbors had a dog who was not in a good home, another young Staffordshire Terrier blend teenager, who is now named, “Mr. Peabody.” Pam couldn’t adopt another dog, but she wanted to rescue Peabody...fast. Unfortunately, Coconuts didn’t like having a young boisterous pup around. Pam wasn’t going to give up. She boarded him with Animal Village NM. When we told her that if he was trained, he’d have a better chance of being adopted, she contacted our recommended trainer, Lukas, with PHD, Pets and Helping Dogs who trains not only support and service dogs, but also does ‘pack building’ and in home canine training in New Mexico.
At Lukas’s suggestion, she boarded her beloved dogs with us, and started working on Mr. Peabody’s youthful, ‘rough edges.’
What a difference a loving human can make. Mr. Peabody is so smart, so willing to please, so affectionate, and now, with a little professional training help from *Lukas, he now has a wonderful chance of being adopted to a committed forever home.
Do YOU know someone? If so, please forward this email to them (in fact, please forward it to everyone you know!), so that they will also have (and forward) Mr. Peabody’s adoption information.
As Pam restores our faith in human nature, Mr. Peabody will restore anyone’s faith in dogs, and love, and giving a shelter dog what they all deserve- a humanE human. Like Pam Maanum.
God Bless You, Pam!
Check out Young Mr. Peabody at AnimalVillageNM.org!
Learn more about Lukas, and Pets and Helping Dogs, to improve your life and relationship with your dog(s) by using this link:
