“Ohana means family. Family means no one gets left behind or forgotten.” This is one of my favorite quotes from the Lilo and Stitch movie. Not only does it have a deep meaning, but it also resonates really well with Roo, my rescue dog and her family. If you have read my previous post about Roo’s rescue journey, you’ll understand all the hardship she has gone through. I want to elaborate more on Roo’s adopted family and where she lived before living with me.
I talked a little about Roo’s journey and how my mother rescued her from a puppy mill in Hong Kong. She was rescued by an organization and then adopted by my mother. Before Roo, my mom also rescued three other dogs: Donald, LingLing, and Chanel. Since they were all rescued from horrible situations, they have or have developed a lot of health issues. I want to introduce everyone to Roo’s adopted siblings.
MEET DONALD
Donald was found outside a puppy mill. His two back legs are semi-paralyzed. We think he was abused and he ran away and was found by someone. He is also semi-blind and has severe skin allergies and food allergies. Besides all his issues, Donald is a very active dog. He cannot run around but he loves chasing the other dogs around. He has a turtle that he brings with him wherever he goes.
MEET LINGLING
In Chinese, “LingLing” is the sound that a bell makes. She was found next to a garbage dump when rescued. She has skin conditions due to the bacteria that infected her skin. My mom loves dressing her up in cute outfits.
LingLing loves eating and she is quite the acrobat. She can literally jump up anywhere. My mom has tried all things to stop her from jumping up furniture. We think she is a cat!
MEET CHANEL
Chanel is the first dog my mom rescued. She definitely acts like the big sister in the family. Whenever Donald or LingLing misbehaves, Chanel will bark at them. Chanel was also rescued from a mill and she was going to be used to breed smaller dogs. She has asthma and doesn’t like men getting close to her. We think it was due to the abuse when she was a puppy.
My mom officially moved to Canada and flew all four dogs with her. In Canada, the dogs were able to live their life to the fullest. She finally has a yard! Now my mom volunteers with local dog rescue organizations and occasionally foster dogs to help shelters get dogs adopted. My mom would tell me that although she would spend a lot of money and time on rescue dogs, it’s all worth it. All her dogs look at my mom with these eyes of love and gratitude that warms her heart. She tells me she would not trade that feeling for anything else.
