Rescue Me

When Nicole Miller went to work one fateful Monday morning last October, the last thing on her mind was adopting a dog. She was a working single mother, raising three young girls, ages three through eight. She had her hands full. Part of her job was reading and responding to her boss’s emails. One subject line caught her eye: “Check out the cute Pug.”  She opened the email and saw an adorable Pug, with no eyes, standing in front of a pot of flowers and wearing a blue bandana with the words “Adopt Me” written on it. Nicole fell instantly in love. Something told her she had to adopt this dog.

She went to the Peace of Mind Dog Rescue (POMDR) website to read more about Missy, the Pug, and watched a YouTube video of her hunting for treats purely with her sense of smell. She got around remarkably well. What Nicole learned was that Missy had been found as a stray in Bakersfield two years earlier. She was emaciated and covered with ticks, and her eyes were bulging and goopy from untreated glaucoma and eye infections. She was taken in by POMDR and nursed back to health.

Over the course of two years, even with treatment for the glaucoma, her eyesight failed and complications from the glaucoma made it necessary to have both her eyes removed.  After having her eyes removed, Missy became less and less trusting of living with other dogs. She felt vulnerable and began picking fights with the other dogs in her foster home. She was moved to another foster home, and then another, and another. She was on her fifth foster home by the time Nicole inquired about her.

Nicole filled out an adoption application and went to meet Missy before she told her children about her. After meeting her, she knew it was meant to be. She told the girls, who were very excited. Emma (9 years old), Hannah (8 years old), and Keira (3 years old) went shopping with their mom and bought Missy a shirt and a collar the day before they got to meet her.

The next day, a POMDR volunteer brought Missy to the house. The girls took to her immediately. Hannah carried her around and didn’t put her down all night. Missy adored the children and all the attention. She was not overwhelmed at all. She soaked it all in, as content as can be. She was in heaven. Missy would have all the love, hugs, and kisses she needed for the rest of her life.

What have the challenges been? Nicole says there have been none! Missy is excellent with the children, she finds her way around the house, and she sits on the couch with the family while they watch TV—and never falls off. She knows just where the edge is and politely barks when she wants down. She is feisty and playful and loves to get out and about. She goes for walks every day, went to the Butterfly Parade in Pacific Grove, goes to work with Nicole every day, loves to play dress up with the girls, and enjoys riding in the stroller with little Keira.

Hannah said that when she first met Missy she thought she was beautiful. She says, “Missy loves us even though she can't see us. Just because she’s different doesn't mean she can’t be loved or love back.”

Emma says Missy is a special dog who needs to be taken extra special care of. She would like other people to know that “it is worth having a blind dog. She taught me that it’s ok to love someone that is different.”

When I asked Nicole why she would want to adopt a 10-year-old dog who was not only blind, but had no eyes at all and was deaf, her first response was, “Why not?”
She went on to say that she was grateful to Missy for instilling the quality of unconditional love in her growing children.

Nicole has been snapping photos of Missy since day one. She posts the adorable shots of Missy on Missy’s own Facebook page and to her Instagram account. The photos will melt your heart. To date, Missy has over 200 Facebook likes and over 800 Instagram followers.

Missy is a special dog who found a family as special as she is to share her life with! Nicole is engaged to be married, so Missy will soon have two new children joining her family, and she’ll have a devoted Dad too!

“Like” Missy at On Facebook
Visit Missy’s Instagram Page