We will never know the bad part of this tiny puppy’s story, but that doesn’t matter because that part is behind her and she’s on the road to love and happiness now.
It all started when a boy in Washington DC saw something scurry underneath a fence towards her. At first, the boy thought it was a rat and he jumped on the fence to get away, but then he realized it was a tiny, sick puppy.
Eventually named Pumpkin, the puppy wouldn’t have made it much longer on her own. The boy’s family took her in, but couldn’t keep her for long. They started to text friends to see if anyone would take her in. I wish they had texted me, look how dang cute little Pumpkin is!
Alicia Mathis was the person to answer the call for help for Pumpkin and once she saw pictures of her, she knew her and her husband needed to see the tiny puppy.
She told The Dodo:
“When we got there, and we both saw her, we were shocked at how small she was. I was expecting a normal-ish size puppy, but she was literally the size of a rat. She just buried herself into me with all her might, and I knew she was never going to the shelter and she would always be by my side as long as she lived.”
I don’t know about you but if you haven’t had one of these experiences, it’s one of the best feelings in the world. When you know, you know, and Mathis knew that Pumpkin belonged in her life.
The couple brought Pumpkin home, but she was very very sick and they knew they needed to do something to save her. Mathis said that, “She was just this tiny helpless creature who had been abandoned and left to die in a freezing cold alley, and I didn’t want her to feel fear or loneliness ever again.”
They worked on getting Pumpkin to the vet as soon as possible, and the prognosis was that she was very malnourished, and only weighed 3.9 pounds. She also had many parasites that needed to be taken care of.
The vet continued to say that if they hadn’t found her the day they did, Pumpkin might have not lasted much longer. Once they got her the proper medicine she needed and fed her heartedly, she began to regain strength. She was also assisted by her big sister Laila, a boxer (I’m really hoping they named her after Laila Ali because of the boxer correlation).
Mathis continued onto say:
“Laila was very gentle and patient with her at first. I think she could tell she was sickly and in need of nurturing. Pumpkin LOVED Laila (still does) and completely latched onto her. Because she was so young — too young to be separated from her mom and littermates — Laila took the place of both.”
Mathis concluded with:
“I think having Pumpkin has inspired me to do more to advocate for animal welfare, especially the welfare of pit bulls who are widely misunderstood and disproportionately treated.”
Are you still feeling all warm and fuzzy from Pumpkin’s adoption story?! Well head on over to ASPCA’s (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) site and find out how to adopt your own four-legged friend!
