Happy ending for neglected Doberman puppy found in Surrey

CLOVERDALE — It was just three months ago that Prudence the Doberman came into the Surrey Animal Resource Centre (SARC) severely underweight and covered in scabs.

Discovered in December on a Whalley street starving, suffering from mange and unable to stand up, the story of Prudence garnered near-universal shock. A clear case of neglect, Prudence has made remarkable strides since that time and after months of treatment and care, she finally went to her forever home earlier this week.

“It’s been really wonderful watching her grow from a puppy that was too weak to even go take a potty break to being a pretty outgoing social girl she is today in a short period of time,” said Alex Young, who fostered Prudence during her recovery. “All she needed was some good love and guidance and she’s gaining more confidence every day.

“She looks like a different dog. She looks like a Doberman now.”

Valerie Barry promises to continue that love and guidance as Prudence’s new owner. As a dog trainer herself and owner of In Partnership with Dogs, Barry said she was touched by Prudence’s story and wanted to make sure she got a good home.

“I like Dobermans and we’re kind of in a spot where we wanted to get another dog and a friend of mine brought her to my attention,” said Barry. “I’ve had quite a few dogs with health issues and we have a very good vet so we’re ready for that. (Prudence) is very sweet but she’s wary of people so it might take some time to warm up to us.”

And although the circumstances by which Prudence came into the shelter’s care certainly were dire, SARC manager Kim Marosevich said the response to it was phenomenal.

“We certainly had a lot of inquiries about her, from Nova Scotia, Alberta, all over Canada, some even international inquiries about how she’s doing and if they could adopt the dog,” said Marosevich. “It’s unfortunate that these things happen but it’s heartening that the vast majority of people respond in such a positive way, so there’s a little bit of a balance there.”

But while Prudence has a happy ending to her story, Marosevich noted that there are many shelter animals that don’t receive the same attention simply because they aren’t an extraordinary case of abuse or neglect.

“Right now we have Waffles, who’s an older pit bull, she’s overweight and, to be honest, she’s not all that attractive,” said Marosevich. “The general public will walk in and we’ve had absolutely zero interest in her – and she’s been here since January. She still has lots of life left but there’s nothing special about her story and at the end of the day that’s the primary challenge for animal shelters in the Lower Mainland. Most of our animals don’t have a story like (Prudence) and they don’t get the same attention and empathy from people wanting to help.”

According to Marosevich, while clear cases of abuse like Prudence’s bring out the best in people, in the middle of that spectrum are so many animals that are simply abandoned or surrendered to the shelter.

“People might not feel it’s as rewarding to adopt a dog from a shelter than something that might be more dramatic, but at the end of the day, there are still animals that have nobody,” she said. “You hear these stories of people who have taken in dogs rescued from the streets of Mexico and that’s great, but what about the dogs in your local shelters that don’t have a backstory? They still don’t have a home.”

For more information on the Surrey Animal Resource Centre, and to help out, go to www.surrey.ca/city-services/11182.aspx or call 604-574-6622.

cpoon@thenownewspaper.com