Marcia Chambers Photo
Burban and Chiroli family
Prancer was going home. So was Christmas. So was Clarice. Dancer was waiting to be picked up. And Cupid … well, we will tell you about Cupid soon.
Their beaming new families arrived at the Dan Cosgrove Animal Shelter just before noon Saturday, roughly two months after the puppies were rescued by the Branford police. More than 60 families offered homes for the puppies. Fourteen were selected.
The first eight pups were found stuffed in a cooler on a frigid night on Route 1 across the street from the Branford Motel, where they had been abandoned. Had police not rescued them at 2 a.m., they would have perished by Christmas Day.
They had been born to Cali, a black lab about 10 years old. Police later learned that Cali was also the mother of Chewie and Jazz, sisters, age 7. They, too, had just given birth, bringing the number to 14. They lived with their owner in a room at the motel. He later signed the dogs over to the Animal Shelter. In all 15 pups would be born to the three females within hours of each other in the same motel room. One died at the New Haven Central Hospital for Veterinary Medicine, where police took the pups and their mom on Dec. 24. One was born there as well.
Marcia Chambers
The Gilman family
Prancer is now Toby. At the shelter Linda Vetro Gilman, Toby’s new mom, said Toby stands for “God is Good” in Greek and Hebrew. “God is Good because he saved these pups and he led us to find him,” she said. “We are on our way to our next adventure.” This was the first puppy for her daughters, Morgan, 11 and Kacey, 8. He is a mixed breed.
Toby, now ten pounds, is her third dog. When she returned home with Toby she said she was thinking about the dogs in her life. Nikki, her 15 year-old Golden Retriever, died on Dec. 4. She still thinks about him a lot. “We waited to adopt. We said we would do it when it right. Then we heard about these puppies.”
Mrs. Gilman reflected on the lives of dogs. “They give you unconditional love, companionship, loyalty. And they help to measure our lives. We will be with Toby for the next 15 years. And we plan to be outdoors a lot. Dogs give you a chance to get outside and exercise. We know a few of the families who are adopting these pups. We want to get together, find a dog friendly park and have a gathering. It will have to a big place.”
Morgan is a longtime fan of the animal shelter. When she was eight she decided to give the funds she would have received for her birthday to the animal shelter for animal beds and tags.
The 14 puppies were born to three different mothers within 24 hours of one another and since they were mutts of one sort of another, it wasn’t easy to figure out just what they were.
That mystery was solved when Dr. Deborah Yarrow at the Millpond Veterinary Hospital offered to help by arranging a DNA analysis. It showed that the puppies had a bit of everything. Everything includes a bit of Chow, Boxer, Italian Greyhound, Dogue de Bordeaux and Akita.
The scene in the waiting room at the animal center was hectic.
A few feet from the Gilmans, the Chiroli family (photo at top) was welcoming Clarice, soon to be Molly, to their family. John, his wife, Cheryl, Cassandra, 9 and Landon 7, were taking their new puppy back to Killingworth where they live. She will join a gaggle of ducks, chicken, hamsters, birds, fish and a little pug.
The family learned of the Christmas Eve puppy rescue on the news.
“So we stopped down here and we decided to adopt. We are very happy,” Chiroli said.
Marcia Chambers Photo
The Gargamelli family
As the Chirolis and the Gilmans were about to leave, in came Mike Gargamelli with his daughters, Daniele, 16 and Mia, 12. They came for “Christmas.”
“This is our first dog. We have been talking about this for years now. We have a cat and we have fish. I wanted to rescue a dog,” Gargamelli said as Daniele held Christmas, whose new name is Bailey.
There were two more puppies left at the shelter. Another family would soon arrive to pick up Dancer.
The last puppy, all black after her mother Cali, is the quiet type, a little shy, a little timid, said Laura Burban, the director of the animal shelter.
Marcia Chambers Photo
Laura Burban and Cupid
Burban is beaming as she reveals the owner of the 14th puppy.
“I couldn’t resist,” she said smiling.
And so the last of the Christmas puppies will go home with Burban. This pup will become a therapy dog who will work at the shelter. She is already playing with the shelter’s cats and the ferret and the Macaw.
Her name is Cupid.
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A very life affirming story. It reflects on the goodness of human nature in spite of the occasional incidents of this kind. The puppies will have good lives and bring much happiness to those families.