A reader alerted us to this story about Nico, a six-year-old dogo argentino who was discovered in a South Los Angeles shelter last July by members of an animal-rescue group who were visiting to transfer other dogs.
When the picture on the left was taken, Nico was homeless, friendless, abused, unnamed, and scared — like thousands of bully-breed dogs that end up in animal shelters every year in this country. After his picture was posted on Facebook, dedicated rescuers began working to save him. He was pulled from the shelter and spent time in the hospital before being trained in foster care. By Christmas he had moved into his forever home in Indiana, touching and inspiring a small army of volunteers along the way.
Nico was also untrained and deaf. How likely would he have been to pass AWLA’s behavior evaluation? Yet a rescue organization was able to foster, train, and find a forever home for him.
Nico represents what’s possible for the abused and abandoned dogs that find themselves confined in small kennels, awaiting a death sentence. The biggest obstacle dogs like Nico face is the combination of prejudice, lack of compassion, and lack of effort embodied in the managers of animal shelters that prefer to keep on killing innocent dogs.
I’ve been following this blog for a few months now, and I find much of what I read disturbing. I haven’t commented before, because I don’t live in Arlington, so I don’t know if I have a voice here. However, I wanted to let you know how much I love this story! I’m so sorry for the neglect and abuse Nico suffered. What an amazing transformation! And what a magnificent dog! I think about dogs, like those you previously wrote about, and what might have been, had they been given a chance to become the wonderful dogs they had the potential to be.