By Janet McAfee
July 13, 2024, started out as an ordinary day at the Loving All Animals shelter in Coachella. The dogs had their breakfast and were happily playing with one another in the two large yards. The phones were starting to ring with calls about stray dogs and cats. Some callers were desperate to rehome animals due to their housing crises or their personal health issues. Others called to find resources to help pets whose owner passed away with no plan for them.
A frantic call came in from the husband of an LAA volunteer who lived nearby. He witnessed a passing car dump 3 dogs outside the shelter and speed away. Briana and a volunteer rushed out and were able to capture the two younger dogs and bring them into one of our vacant yards. The third dog running around the street saw her two puppies inside and then gave up the chase to join them. She was more skidish than her friendly son and daughter. The dogs appeared well fed and had no observable medical issues. They were provided food and water and vaccinated against disease as this was unlikely to have been provided.
The family was kept together for a couple weeks in their own yard. Their stool samples revealed two of them had parasites, common in the drinking water of dogs kept outside. All the dogs were provided medication for this. The mother was named Mulan after the movie “Mulan”. Her brindle coated son was named Mushu after the protective dragon in the same film. Her beautiful brown daughter became Cricket. They went to a veterinarian for a health check, rabies vaccine and spay/neutering.
During the pandemic, lonely people working at home and devoid of contact with friends adopted dogs and cats. News reports showed happy photos of empty rows of kennels at our public shelters. However, 2023 and 2024 saw an unexpected increase in the number of homeless strays and shelter intakes. During the pandemic spaying & neutering were not considered essential services and all the kittens and puppies born then are now giving birth to more animals than there are homes available for. The economy, the housing crisis, the shortage and high costs of veterinarians have created a Sunami for suffering animals and their desperate humans.
This trio were among the lucky ones to be in a no-kill private shelter where volunteers helped to comfort them. LAA contracts half time with expert dog trainer Valerie Masi who works with the dogs on command and leash training. Val is pictured below with volunteer Joyce walking Mushu and Cricket on an outing. Mulan who cowered in fear when anyone picked up a large object like a garden rake was shyer than her friendly youngsters. Most visitors in this region seek small size dogs which made it tougher for medium size dogs to find homes.
However, Mulan won the adoption lottery when a wonderful couple came seeking a larger size dog. Shy Mulan who always held back ran up and kissed them both. Briana and I cried tears of joy and amazement when she ran into one room to say goodbye to Cricket and then ran into the other room to tell her son Mushu goodbye. Knowing their intent she happily rode to her forever home. They report she is “the perfect dog, house trained, smart, loves our other 2 dogs, and is always by our side”.
Mushu is a gorgeous 10-mo-old fellow who will be about 40-lbs full grown. He looks like a Cattle Dog/Lab mix. Mushu and Cricket are smart, calm, eager to please people, and love all humans. Like the protective dragon in the movie, a dog this size will protect his family. Unlike many active young dogs, Mushu reminds me of a wise “old soul” would love to lay happily at your feet. Loving All Animals provides free dog training after you adopt, behavior training classes and individual assistance from Val.
Be the lucky person to adopt Mushu. If you prefer a female, check out Cricket. Call LAA at (760)834-7000 for an appointment to meet a dog. Check out the website www.lovingallanimals.org.
