Oprah and I

Ok, this is kind of funny. Some of you know that about 3 or so years ago, I ended up rescuing Dobbie, a minature pinscher from a puppy mill in North Carolina. The poor dog had lived in a cage for 6 years. He didn't know how to relate to humans. He was really skinny, only about 7 pounds. He was terrified of everything. He was used as a stud dog. He didn't make eye contact. He was afraid of his reflection in the metal garbage can. He didn't know what a toy was. He still doesn't really know how to play with toys, but he will snuggle with the stuffed toys in his bed.
Anyway, when they rescued the animals from the place where he was, there were over 500 dogs. They had to put down over 200 because they were in such bad shape. It was a small rural area and they couldn't accomodate all the rest of the animals. He was in a shelter there for awhile.
Minpin Haven, here in Phoenix, took some of them in to find them homes here. Part of the problem was that, until the case was settled, you could only be a foster parent. And while you were responsible for their medical care and all, you couldn't get them neutered or spay until after the court case was settled because they were evidence for the case. It took around 2 years. Meanwhile, this poor dog who had lived in a cage and was afraid of his shadow, was peeing all over my house. It was awful. And it was hard to discipline a dog with that many issues. Finally, I was able to get him neutered and it made a dramatic improvement. He still sometimes peed in my bedroom and of course that was the only place that I had carpet. It was awful.
I could never get it all the way out and it reeked. So. Just this week, I had the remaining carpet in my house ripped out and pergo put in like in the front of my house. It's wonderful. And he was terrified of the new floor and has been very good. While he has made a lot of progress, he will never be a "normal" dog. And he has gotten quite tubby. We are working on that.
So with all that going on, I got a call a couple of days ago from Pat Daigle who runs MinPin Haven. She asked how Dobbie was doing. I told her. Then she said that because the Woodley case was such a big and important animal rights case, there was a magazine that wanted to do a followup article about 3 of the families that adopted some of the dogs. She said they wanted to come and interview me and see Dobbie next Tuesday. I said I had to go to work. She asked if I could go in late to work. So we kind of worked through that. After we got that all figured out, she said, oh by the way, the magazine is Oprah! (O). How fun is that! I love that magazine and have a subscription.
So I am not quite sure what they will write about my fat dog that ruined my carpeting, but it should be in the June issue! I'll keep you posted.