‘Lazarus’ puppy for sale

Black and white terrier mix is up for adoption after coming back to life, wagging its tail The animal shelter in Sulphur, Oklahoma, suffers from the under-funding and overcrowding all-too familiar in small town America. So when five scrawny puppies were abandoned outside its door last month it took the regrettable but inevitable decision to put them all to sleep. They were given injections in the limbs and heart, tested with a stethoscope to check they were dead, and then their bodies put out for disposal in the shelter’s rubbish bin. But the following morning something astonishing happened. An animal control officer who inspected the bin found that one of the puppies had apparently come back to life and was jumping around the container, tail wagging. News of the “resurrected puppy” began to spread locally. A girl dubbed the black and white terrier mix Wall-E after the animated robot from the film of the same name who was also a last survivor. A veterinarian technician, Amanda Kloski, arranged to care for the dog and arrange for his adoption. When she posted the details on Facebook, interest went crazy. The shelter, which normally has to battle against indifference towards abandoned animals, found its phonelines clogged with 3,000 callers begging to be allowed to give Wall-E a home. It has also had to make clear it will neuter Wall-E before the adoption is made to discourage unscrupulous dealers who plan to breed from him and market his offspring as the progeny of the “miracle dog”. More than $1,000 (£620) has been donated from across the country to the cash-starved shelter, and the puppy has been flown to New York to star on Good Morning America. “In Sulphur we never had the problem, or blessing, of more than one family wishing to adopt a dog so we are new to this concept,” the shelter said on a Petfinder page . “Most of our dogs do not get this chance or opportunity even once it is amazing!” United States Animal welfare Animals Ed Pilkington guardian.co.uk

Posted by on March 17, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.