PHOTO BY NICOLE GOODHUE BOYD
Max checks out the cakes during the first birthday party for 12 puppies and Rags, their mother, Sunday, at Northeast Animal Shelter in Salem. Max is owned by Jen Perez of Lynn.
By BILL BROTHERTON
SALEM — This is a true Rags to riches story.
Rags is the mom and her puppies have enriched the lives of all who have received their affection and wet, sloppy kisses.
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Sunday morning in a fenced-in play area behind Northeast Animal Shelter on Highland Avenue, mama Rags was reunited with 11 of her 12 pups, who were celebrating their first birthday. Each pup, all of whom were adopted from the shelter, got a birthday cake and yummy bone courtesy of New England Dog Biscuit Co.
This is the first reunion of a mom and her pups ever held at the shelter, said Laurie McCannon of the shelter staff. And it’s a miracle this day even happened, considering Rags’ health issues during her pregnancy.
Rags aka Angie lives in Lynn near Goldfish Pond with her adoptive family Linda and Marc Rosenstein and two cats. Marc Rosenstein said Rags came to the Salem shelter from a rescue group in Alabama. When she arrived she had heartworm and other medical issues. Rags started to gain weight. She was brought in for a checkup, and the veterinarian was set to do an emergency spay, said Rosenstein. But first an ultrasound was given. Surprise, Rags was pregnant.
The dogs weren’t separated on the truck drive up and Rags was in heat.
“First, they said she was having six or seven puppies. Then it was nine puppies. Then, no it’s ten. Finally, it’s twelve,” added Rosenstein with a smile.
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Running through the play area and getting reacquainted were Cooper (with owners Brian and David Sandler of Lynn), Frankie (Marina Mac and Don MacIntosh, Mason, N.H.), Ginger (Tara and John McCarthy, Saugus), Harley (Janie Olson and Rob Guillemette, Medford), Luna (Isabel Leon, Dorchester), Max (Fabian and Jen Perez, Lynn), Maya (Marissa Diaz, Boston), Olivia (Vanessa and Sean Merrigan, North Andover), Paisley (The Tom Murphy family, Quincy), Rogue (Andrew Murphy, Boston) and Scout (Sally Shevory, Marblehead). Tuttle (Krystal Duquette) were the only ones unable to attend the party.
It was comical during attempts to snap a group photo. You can imagine how tough it is to keep 12 excited dogs still long enough to snap a picture. Especially after the 30-or-so attendees sang “Happy Birthday” and cake awaited.
Brian Sandler did a DNA test of Cooper. Rags/Angie’s babies are a mix of American Staffordshire terrier, boxer, Chinese shar-pei and weimaraner. The humans say their doggies have a fondness for paper towels and toilet paper. One pup ate her caretaker’s underwear whole!
Foster mom Dawn Woolfork of Ipswich took care of Rags/Angie during her pregnancy right up to the whelping process. “It was intense. She had internal parasites, was emaciated and couldn’t get certain medicines because she was pregnant. She was super. We were worried, … but she made it through labor and delivered 12 beautiful pups.” Woolfork has fostered pregnant dogs for the shelter for more than 20 years.
Isabel Leon said a video posted by Northeast Animal Shelter on its website of six of the pups trying to crawl out of a box sparked the idea for a reunion and led to the creation of a Facebook page, Rag’s Puppies, where the lucky 12 owners can share photos and arrange playdates. “The shelter staff has been so helpful setting this up and letting us use this play area. This is a wonderful place,” she said.
Marina Mac said all the pups “have a sweet temperament, and they are all confident.” She and MacIntosh happily drove the nearly 90-minute trip from New Hampshire so Frankie could frolic with brothers and sisters.
Jen Perez said she and her family stopped by the shelter one day last January just to look at the dogs. “We already had a golden (retriever) at home, but we saw Max and we just fell in love with him. We just had to bring him home.”
David Sandler said Cooper is often joined by Luna, Max and others for pre-arranged romps in Lynn Woods and at the Lynn Dog Park.
Rob Guillemette said his girlfriend Janie Olson, who grew up in Lynn, gave him a dog calendar for Christmas last year. “She and her mom came to the shelter one day to look at puppies. She sent me a picture of a puppy … we brought him home that day. That’s him, Harley, the motley one over there with the blue collar.”
Tom Murphy, watching his daughters Shannen and Caitlin play with the pooches, said “The kids have been looking forward to this for awhile. They are always checking Facebook to see how Paisley’s brothers and sisters are doing.
“We came here from Quincy to adopt a border collie we saw online, but someone had taken it. We came back in January, and the puppies were here. The girls saw Paisley and fell in love. He’s quiet and laid-back. We love him.”
Barb Davis, who travels from Burlington to volunteer at the shelter, smiled through the entire two-hour puppy party. “We see them as puppies, and then they go off with their families. We usually don’t see them after they leave, but we wonder how they’re doing. It’s fun to see them again. They’re having such a good time. I am too.”
Sunday, grand dam Rags/Angie, who is about 3 years old and has graying whiskers, seemed to be having the most fun of all. She sat and watched her babies play and chase each other around the playpen. “We love her so much,” said Linda Rosenstein. “She’s a good dog, a shy dog,” added husband Marc. “And she’s the loudest snorer.”
Bill Brotherton can be reached at [email protected]