Porkchop & Bella, Westland, MI
Hi! I’m Porkchop and this is my sister, Bella! You might’ve heard about us on Facebook but here’s our story.
Back on August 3rd, 2011, something amazing happens. A human, who drives truck to Canada several times a week, noticed a female nursing dog in walking up and down the middle of the street. She was so skinny, so while the human stopped to do his paperwork to cross the border, he got out to feed her part of a sandwich he had. When he got out of his truck, an emaciated male came around the fence of the fallen down building they had been living in. That was me and the female dog was my sister, Bella.
When the human rounded the edge of the fence, he noticed I was wounded. He said that from a distance, he couldn’t tell if I was missing an eye and ear or what, but he knew I was hurt badly. Not sure of how I would react, the human backed off and got back in his truck.
When the human went home that night, he asked his girlfriend how much dog food they had. An odd question in her mind, so she asked him why he wanted to know. The human told her the story about Bella and me. He also told her he wanted to run back down to Detroit and feed them. She said of course they’ll stop and get food to take with them. They even stopped on the way and picked up a small bag of dog food.
When they arrived, they didn’t see us and were afraid we had run off somewhere. The male human picked up some small stones and tossed them at the rubble. He whistled a few times and Bella came out of the ‘burrow” we had made. She had no fear, walked right up and waited to be petted. They dumped out a bit of food and let Bella eat.
While Bella was eating, I came out from behind the fence. The female human gasped and said something like “OMG!” She said I was a sight! Frightening and pitiful at the same time. When I saw that the humans were OK and they meant us no harm, I came closer.
The male human was afraid to get to close, but female human could tell that I wasn’t aggressive from my stance. When I came closer, the humans dumped more food out for me to eat. That’s when they could see my wounds better.
It seemed I had been cut up with some type of blade. At the time, the humans thought it might have been an axe or a long knife. It was a gash down to the bone about 4 inches long on my head, right above my ear. I also had cuts on my face, shoulder and side. I had flies in my wounds and when I would shake my head to rid myself of them, I would yelp in pain. The humans were horrified that anyone would do that to an animal!
They fed us again, almost the whole bag of food. We were drinking water from puddles in the street (the humans hadn’t thought to bring water). Once my belly was full, I walked over sat next to the female human and waited for her to pet me as I licked her hand. The female human was so scared. She looked at the male human and asked, “Where do I pet him without hurting him?”
She finally found a side that wasn’t wounded and stroked and petted me for a while. They knew they had to leave us and Bella cried and tried to climb in the truck with them. The humans decided they couldn’t take us as they didn’t know where Bella’s litter was and couldn’t risk separating them. They had no idea what to do with me. I needed medical care above what they could afford.
The female human cried when they left. Her name is Christine and she immediately thought of a friend of hers who rescues and fosters Miniature Pinschers. She called her and asked where to turn as she knew the Humane Society would put us down immediately — they wouldn’t have the resources to “waste” on a dog in my condition, and with obvious pit bull genetics in me, they wouldn’t hesitate to euthanize! Her friend sprang into action and within 20 minutes, she had a half dozen names and numbers to call or email. She spent 4 hours online that night sending out emails and leaving messages begging for assistance from everyone they could find.
The next day, the male human stopped and fed us again and took water and bowls in the morning. His name is Rick, and both Christine and he went back down to feed us after she left work that night. She spent a ton of time during work checking emails and making calls. She began to lose hope after yet another day and no responses to her pleas for help. They had decided that if they didn’t have help the next day, they would take us themselves and do what they could.
Finally, she received a call from Mary at A Better Place rescue. Mary spent the next 24 hours calling and begging for someone to pick us up as she currently had 23 dogs in a shelter that holds 12. Luckily between her “nagging” and the female human’s frantic emails and phone calls, Detroit Dog Rescue (DDR) answered and said they would go assess the situation and give what help they could since they didn’t have a facility at this time.
Rick met DDR at the site where Bella and I had been hiding out. Once they saw my wounds (the pictures the female human took with her phone didn’t do it justice), they sprang into action and rushed me immediately to VCA Animal Hospital for treatment. They left Bella with Rick until they could return and search for the puppies. Once they had me situated, they returned for Bella and looked everywhere through the rubble with no success. The puppies were not there.
After examining Bella, the vet at VCA also believed she has had 4 litters and she’s only 11 months old. What’s worse, they think she was bred with me. DDR later found out that our puppies were still with our previous owners and looks like they were for sale — a fact that angers Christine to this day. In her opinion, these backyard breeders never should be permitted to ever own an animal again and certainly not profit from the sale of the pups!
Rick and Christine knew from the moment they found us that we were meant to be part of their family. They had considered finding a partner for their dog, Riley, for some time and it seems fate stepped in and gave them Bella and me.
We can never thank DDR and VCA enough for what they did for us. It reassures her faith in humanity to know that within two hours of saving them, Detroit Dog Rescue raised enough funds to take care of both our medical costs — a feat they would never have been able to do.
Christine sat and cried while reading the outpouring of love and support, both emotionally and spiritually, but also financially from people as far as New Zealand and Europe! She knew she was invested but she had witnessed the wounds firsthand and petted us with her own hands…and here were people who only saw pictures and were willing to donate on those alone.
Christine and Rick submitted their application to foster/adopt both of us. In a few weeks, they heard that DDR wanted them to take us! They were thrilled and scared at the same time. To go from one hyperactive pup to three…What were they thinking? But it’s meant to be!
They welcomed Bella into their home in September while I remained at VCA to complete my healing. Bella and Riley bonded instantly and soon became inseparable. They brought me home a month later and I’ve been settling into a home and family life with a minimum of incidents. Of course we’ve had some scuffles, but my parents (Yes! Parents!) view them as growing pains. To all of us, this is not the end of a story but just a happy beginning!!!
My parents can only hope our story can enlighten and educate the public to the gentleness and forgiveness of the breed and how complete a dog’s love truly is.
Thanks for reading!
Porkchop & Bella
Parents: Christine & Rick