Easter was super fun for the humans around here, but I think that Paula's pug Chupa had the most fun of all!
She loved the ears and all the attention she was getting because of them 😉 Chup ran around with the kids and hunted eggs. See my uncle's dog Maya in the back? She was sure Chupa was an alien.
The coolest part about watching her have so much fun is that it was all a first for her. Chupa grew up in a puppy mill in AK and lived in a cage for 6 years. She was a baby maker and nothing else. They fed her such bad food that she lost every single one of her teeth, she was never allowed to walk around so she literally could't walk, her fur was falling off her body due to a skin infection, and the bad food also caused her to go blind and develop a thyroid problem.
New Mexico Pug Rescue drove to AK in October and brought home Chupa and 20 some of other pugs from the puppy mill. The man who was going to foster Chup was overwhelmed at her needs and returned her to the rescue less than 24 hours after he picked her up. Somehow I convinced my sister, who didn't even like pugs, to let Chup stay with her.
Not to say Paula wasn't overwhelmed too. The first night she called us crying because she didn't know what to do. The dog smelled so badly, it was like a clump of skin and bones — no muscle tone, couldn't walk on her own, and clearly couldn't see. She looked like the Chupacabra, hence her name, Chupa ;) I have to say that this was the worst case of animal abuse I have ever seen. I already didn't like puppy mills, but this made me hate them.
Within a month Chup was walking, it was so cool, like watching a baby learn to walk. Her fur started to grow back soon after that. Fast forward 6 months and you can hardly what bad shape she was in. I mean, she will never have teeth again and she is on 3 different meds for the rest of her life, but she has a spark to her now, her life finally has a meaning. My mom says Chupa is in love with Paula, I think she sees Paula as her savior. And Paula finally admits to liking pugs now.
See how happy she is with her momma now! Paula adopted her last month which made me so happy because I have become super attached to Chup. She comes with Paula to work everyday at Mimi Green, its like she is out little pug mascot 😉
So that's my story of resurrection, pug style, for this fine Easter day. I hope your day was as special as ours was.
xoxo, Amanda