

On the day Baby was scheduled to be euthanized, because she had gotten to old to breed, she was rescued by a passing stranger who was dubbed the "Drive by Angel" Department store heiress Jana Kohl rescued Baby from the puppy mill. Baby was locked in a small cage for 24 hours a day and as a result developed osteoporosis and had to have one of her legs amputated. Jana Kohl, wrote A Rare Breed of Love, which chronicles her pet adoption experience. She was inspired to tell the world about her ordeal and hopefully reform this cruel industry. Jana quickly found support among distinguished leaders and celebrities. Years ago, Kohl asked the then Senator Obama to pose with Baby for her book. She chose the Lincoln Memorial as the back ground for the picture because legend has it that Abraham Lincoln actually rescued a dog from drowning.
Obama was so taken with the toy poodle that he's since commented that he's been inspired to adopt a shelter dog for his young daughters Malia and Sasha. He said; "Our preference would be to get a shelter dog, but obviously a lot of shelter dogs are mutts like me."
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Straight from a Puppy Mill Cage
Hello, My name is Baby, maybe you’ve seen me on TV, I was on the Oprah Winfrey Show. I told Oprah my story now I’d like to tell you. I was born in a filthy wire cage three foot wide and three foot deep. My cage was third on the bottom in a double row of thirty cages. In the cage on the right of me was a puppy named Max, a sweetTerrier Pit Bull, on the left was Daisy, a Labrador Retriever and above me was a tiny Pekingese named Ty. The three of us became good friends and we would complain to each other about the cruel way were treated by the man called our master.
After a few months they moved me to another cage way down at the end of the line. They started using me for breeding. They’d bring in male poodles to sire my puppies, oh, by the way, I’m a Toy Poodle. Anyway, they let me mother my babies for about six weeks and then take them away. I’d never see them again.
I lived nine years in this house-of-horror where I was locked in cage 24 hours a day. There wasn’t a single day go by that I didn’t get a beating.
My cage was seldom cleaned, it was always filled with my own pee and poop, pardon me I meant to say feces and urine. The dogs in the cages above me would urinate through the wire mesh floors so I always smelt like a distressed outhouse. One day I barked because I was thirsty and hungry and the next day a drunken vet cut out my vocal cords. After having my first liter I was tattooed with the month, day and year across my belly. I don’t know how I kept from going bonkers.
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I have a wall to wall TV and all five of my dogs like to stretch out in front of the set and watch the shows. The screen is right across the room from where I do all my writing. Even though I keep the TV on all the time I seldom watch it because I am totally involved writing and taking care of business on my computer. My dogs, well that’s another story, the only thing better then watching TV is their dinner.
I love to write animal stories Whenever I hear an unusual story about animals my writers instinct flurries. Sweetheart my little Bull Terrier came over to my desk and tugged on my pant leg to let me know there was something of interest on TV, she wanted me to watch. Oprah Winfrey who was featuring a story about a white disfigured Bull Dog named Oogy. She had the family that adopted Oogy on her show along with Oogy.
This is their story; When Oogy was just a puppy his owners raised fighting Bulls. Oogy was a runt and couldn’t be used as a fighter so his owners tied him to a stake and used him as bait for the pit bulls in the fighting ring. The fighting Bulls injured him so bad that his owners threw him in a cage and left him to die. Thank God the police raided the place or he would have died. The police took him to Ardmore Animal Hospital, where he was saved by Dr. Bianco, the hospital veterinarian. He was treated for a severely damage face, the whole side of his face was ripped off, his jaw was crushed and his skull was badly damaged, it was a miracle that he was still alive.
Larry and his twin boys were at the Ardmore Animal Hospital to drop off their cat when Oogy walked down the hall and right into their hearts. Larry said; "He looked like part of him had melted and he just covered us with kisses. It's like he didn't know that anything bad had happened to him, he was so full of love, he jumped right up in our arms."
Oogy had found a new family and he adopted them immediately. It was love at first sight for all of them.
Oogy had found a loving home, but he still had an agonizing road to recovery. A second major surgery was necessary to rebuild Oogy's face and put an end to his chronic pain.
Larry said; "I think that every day my family tries to atone for what happened to Oogy. He's been through the worst imaginable horrors, and we feel very lucky because of what he gives back, he gives us an immeasurable amount of devotion and love."
Larry continues; "I think that Oogy symbolizes to people the indomitable survivor that they see in themselves and that there is love on the other side of adversity."
Larry and Jennifer Levin, Noah and Dan the Levin twins and Oogy are now a happy family. Oogy might not be the prettiest dog, but Oogy's brought everyone more love than anyone can imagine. The twins Noah and Dan say their lives have changed in many different ways all because a dog named Oogy joined their family.
Although Noah and Dan will be off to college soon, Larry plans to make sure Oogy still gets plenty of attention. "One of the things I want to do for Oogy is train him to work with kids and take him to kid's hospitals, because I think he'll be an inspiration to young kids who are facing a lot of adversity."
If your heart's been touched this Valentine's Day and you'd like a little Oogy of your own, there are animals available for adoption in shelters all across this country.



























