Gabriel Finds His Angels

Gabriel could have been just one more old dog who appeared to be reaching his end. But with your help and DDAF's grant, Peppertree Rescue helped Gabriel want to live again.

When he was picked up by New York City Animal Control in 2011 and placed in a kennel in the shelter, he was lethargic, unresponsive, and could not be induced to leave a spot that must have seemed restful after his days on the street. Perhaps 12 years old, nearly blind and hard of hearing, Gabriel had an eyelid cyst requiring surgery, needed to be neutered to reduce his enlarged prostate that made housebreaking difficult, needed antibiotics for some serious dental work, and needed some good food with vitamins for old joints.

Perhaps more importantly, Gabriel needed some place of his own where someone cared what happened to him, because Peppertree thought they were taking in an old dog for hospice. But Gabriel fooled everybody, and in less than a month began putting on weight, growing thicker and glossier fur, and went from being a 30-pound weakling to a robust 40 pounds! He even enjoyed woodland hikes with his foster mom and their three dogs.

Amazingly, Gabriel caught the eye of two remarkable women who have made it their life’s work to adopt older, special needs dogs. In less than a day then, Gabriel’s angels took him home to become the man of the house and friend to their two senior female dogs. As one of his adopters said, “It goes to prove that the spirit and love of life has little to do with age!”