What’s worse than winding up in an animal shelter? How about winding up there twice? And what’s worse than that? Being tossed back into that cold, unfamiliar place while blind. And that’s exactly what happened to OJ, a blind, twelve-year-old dachshund. Good thing OJ’s best bud Blue Dozer has his back.
A Sad Twist of Fate
Image is a Facebook Screenshot. Source: Facebook.
It’s getting more and more common in these tough economic times. Someone suffers an unexpected financial setback. A job loss. A personal tragedy. A medical emergency. And then suddenly they’re homeless. And what happens to their pets? A lot of them, like Blue Dozer and OJ, end up in animal shelters.
Blue and OJ had a wonderful home with their owner, who loved them very much. After a series of personal setbacks left her, and her pups, living in her car, their owner decided that she owed it to her beloved pets to give them a chance at a better life. So she surrendered them to Richmond Animal Care and Control in Richmond, Virginia. Their owner also wanted them to stay together. Not only is Blue Dozer OJ’s best friend in the world, after all, he is also OJ’s seeing-eye dog.
An Unbreakable Bond
Christie Chipps Peters, director of Richmond Animal Care and Control, told the Dodo,
“We don’t see a combination like this very often. It’s so comical and sweet. Blue is like this super tough muscular guy, then OJ is a teeny, tiny dachshund. Seeing them together is super cute.”
But more than cute, the dogs depend on each other.
Peters said, “When we’d go outside, it was like OJ was Blue’s little shadow.”
Things Were Looking Up
It only took two days for a family to turn up, wanting to adopt the pair. And the shelter finalized the adoption immediately.
But then something terrible happened.
A man out driving spotted blind little OJ wandering the streets. Alone, some one hundred miles from where he was adopted.
The man brought OJ to the Shenandoah Valley Animal Services Center. There, staff found a microchip that the RACC had given OJ. The RACC contacted the dogs’ adopter.
The adopter initially said that someone had been watching OJ for her, even though Blue was still with her. Page Hearn of Paws for Pits started a dialogue with the adopter, about returning Blue. The adopter sent OJ back to the RACC but wanted to keep Blue. Hearn posted about the negotiations on social media. Someone identified the adopter, and this led to death threats against her.
In the end, the adopter returned Blue Dozer to the RACC, and the friends were reunited.
Now What?
Image is a Facebook Screenshot. Source: Facebook.
Now Blue Dozer and OJ are back together again at Richmond Animal Care and Control, getting some much needed TLC. Also, the RACC is considering adding language to adoption paperwork, to ensure that people who adopt bonded pairs pledge to keep them together.
But this bonded pair still needs a home — a home that will recognize the special relationship between these two best friends and helpmates. A home that will fulfill their adoption agreement, and give both dogs a loving forever home.
Can you help these best friends? Even if you’re too far away to adopt Blue Dozer and OJ, you can still save a life by adopting in your area. And even if you’re not in a position to adopt an animal, you can donate to the RACC to help the animals in their care. Including OJ and Blue.
Featured Image is CC0, via Maxpixel.
Upvote Downvote
Total votes: 12
Upvotes: 12
Upvotes percentage: 100.000000%
Downvotes: 0
Downvotes percentage: 0.000000%