It’s the come-bark story of the year.
The harrowing saga of nine abused and malnourished puppies rescued from an alleged puppy mill in June has come to a jubilant end. Local residents adopted five puppies at a Gerritsen Beach adoption event on Aug. 1 after four others had found new homes in July.
Rescue City, the animal rescue group that bought the puppies from their alleged abuser for $2,000 and nursed them back to health, organized the event at Bargain Bow Wow pet shop on Gerritsen Avenue.
Labrador retrievers Onyx, Robin, and Trixie are already making themselves at home their new owners, while the adoptions of Micah and Julia are still pending as their prospective owners are vetted — not pun intended.
“It’s very bittersweet,” said Rescue City’s Stella Plit. “You put so much into caring for them, but you’re also very excited that they’re adopted.”
The date of the event was no coincidence, because Aug. 1 — or Dogust 1 — is observed as the symbolic birthday of all shelter and rescue dogs. Plit had originally planned the event for a different date, since Aug. 1 is also her birthday, but the staff at Bargain Bow Wow reminded her of the date’s special significance.
Plit said she had gotten so attached to Onyx — the pup that overcame the worst case of the canine virus Parvo of any of the rescued dogs — that she cried when his new owners took him away. But seeing Onyx’s emotive extremities reassured her that she was doing the right thing for the plucky pup.
“There’s nothing better than seeing a wagging tail,” she said.
