The Dogs : Meet Mack and Mowgli

The first rescue dog our family adopted was from the Agoura Hills county shelter when we were young kids. He was a beautiful yellow Labrador standing in his kennel, incessantly dropping and picking up a tennis ball. We learned he was approximately two to four years old and suffering from significant eye, ear, and paw trauma due to whatever deplorable abuse his previous owner bestowed on him before dumping him on the side of the road. Still, for no sensible reason, he did not judge us based on his past human experiences, he did not growl or bite our fingers as we reached toward him through his kennel. He genuinely wanted us to adopt him so that he could love our family for the rest of his life. We brought him home and corrected his eye and ear problems with extensive surgery. He lived out his years playing fetch, swimming in the lake, and serving as an integral part of our family and hearts. This is Mack.

In February 2014, Brie and her husband rescued Mowgli. Mowgli arrived at the Riverside County Animal Shelter with her litter mate, Patrick, at just eight weeks old. The two of them were rescued by a local Riverside dog rescue where Brie and Tom adopted her shortly after. Mowgli was a female Pit Bull Mastiff mix and immediately a part of the family. At the time of adoption, Brie and Tom were made aware that Mowgli had kennel cough and on antibiotics. Within the week however, they found Mowgli was also suffering from untreated ticks and the biggest nightmare of all.... Parvo. Parvo Virus is very common among puppies in the shelter and has a 91% death rate if not treated immediately. It is most closely described as the human flu virus with symptoms including vomiting, loss of appetite, comatose-like sleeping and life-threatening dehydration. Mowgli was saved, against all odds, after spending 6 days on IV fluids and medication in the vet hospital. Because Parvo is highly contagious, Brie notified the rescue immediately that her puppy was infected, but Brie’s message was blatantly ignored and Patrick, as well as all of the foster-care dogs within the organization's care, died of Parvo, leaving Mowgli to be the sole survivor. Mowgli grew to be a healthy and happy dog and proved to be a strong survivor. This is Mowgli.