Last updated: 2:59 am
January 11, 2009
Posted: 2:58 am
January 11, 2009
IN AUGUST, I introduced you to a pretty pit bull named Pippin, one of two dogs left alone and homeless when their owner died in her Upper East Side apartment. Pippin's friend Tyson got fostered and adopted, but no one stepped up for his girlfriend.
Luckily, North Shore Animal League America took her in. Shelter vets healed Pippin's skin infection, the result of stress caused by seeing her owner die.
North Shore spokesperson Beth Ostrosky Stern took Pippin under her wing, taking her for spins on the shelter treadmill and showering her with kisses. But still nobody adopted sad-eyed Pippin - until the day after Christmas, when Long Islander Dawn Marie Prudente took her daughter Kaitlin, 20, to visit North Shore to choose her first dog.
"I always wanted a dog," Kaitlin says. "I saw Pippin sitting in her cage, so I started petting her and fell in love with her instantly. She looks really sad at first, but when you pet her she gets a little smile that's so cute."
When Kaitlin's around, Pippin barely notices anyone else. "She sits on the couch with me, sleeps with me in bed and won't leave my side," Kaitlin says. "I stubbed my toe and she came over to lick my face. When someone says 'Here Pippin,' she looks at me like, 'Is it OK if I go over there?' If I ever change her name, I'd change it to Shadow because she follows me everywhere."
Kaitlin noticed that Pippin watches her while she's sleeping - probably because her previous owner passed away in her sleep and she fears the worst. But Pippin needn't worry: "I can see us together 10 years from now," Kaitlin says. "She's a sweetheart."
Meanwhile, to prevent what happened to Pippin and Tyson, make a resolution to protect your pets. ItsMyLife.com offers a "Pets Letter of Wishes" that sets out in writing, for courts and executors, exactly who gets an animal in case the owner dies. From now until Feb. 14, the normally $19.95 service is available for free.
js@pet-reporter.com
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