Cricket and Marla

Little Walter, Cricket and Mia - We were trapping puppies behind a convenience store on Pearce Lane when we heard barking at the top of a hill behind a trashed-out trailer, where toys and toilets littered the hillside. There was a dog pen filled with tall, parched grass and 3 dogs. That’s where we first saw Walter the pug. He looked like a giant bug peering through spectacles.  All the dogs were shamelessly friendly and pleading for attention.

The owner had returned to Thailand and left the 3 dogs behind. The pen contained a rickety storage shed which provided little more than shelter from the rain. There was no bedding and the winter nights were freezing. Once a month, a caretaker refilled water buckets and threw a large bag of cheap dog food into the shed. He gave us the dogs just to be rid of them.

Walter was the perfect dog, polite and loving. He chugged around his foster home, soaking in the comforts of indoor living and naps on the couch. Walter was treated for heartworms and adopted by an older woman who appreciated his perfection.


The lab and pit were both females, so we rushed them to the vet to be spayed since they were probably pregnant. Cricket, the sleek lab mix, was athletic and sweet. She found a lovely foster named Marla, a triathlete, who treated Cricket for heartworms and mange. Recently losing her aged Aussie to cancer, Marla had an empty spot in her heart. She adopted Cricket and they are often seen running in Austin.

One night, we met a potential foster person at a local rest stop. Annette, the foster, was willing to foster a “project dog.” While we sat with Annette and Mia, the pit mix, we sensed the temporary relationship might be permanent. The mangy dog needed lots of love and medical care. Mia got both and a great home for life!

Walter