‘Suitcase 6’ settle in at area foster home
Progress of mama dog, pups as clear as black-and-white fur
4/16/2012
Two of the bulldog mix puppies play with a toy at their foster home. All of the puppies have been given names, but the name of their foster family is being kept confidential.
The Blade/Amy E. Voigt
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Maddie, the mother bulldog mix, is surrounded by her puppies — the ‘Suitcase Six’ — at her new foster home in Holland. She sports hot-pink toenails these days, thanks to her new foster mom.
Maddie, the mother bulldog mix abandoned next to her six puppies zipped inside a suitcase in a Toledo alley, has come a long way in a short period of time.
She’s now sporting hot pink toenails, thanks to the handiwork of her new foster mom. Her foster family in Holland wishes to remain anonymous to avoid media attention and the hundreds of phone calls they probably would get from people worldwide who are interested in adopting one of the roly-poly black-and-white puppies.
“I’m telling people that they are in the witness protection program,” said John Dinon, executive director of the Toledo Area Humane Society, the agency which investigated the incident.
The Blade was allowed exclusive access over the weekend to the foster couple. The couple said they were thrilled to be chosen to foster the dog and puppies. “The people at the humane society were thanking me for taking them, and I felt like I should be thanking them,” she said. “I absolutely love animals. You don’t have to twist my arm to help.”
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Her husband’s mother owns bulldogs, and he long has thought about adopting one himself. “I’m always on the lookout for a bulldog for myself, so when I saw the picture of these guys in the paper, I immediately called my wife,” he said. The couple are considering adopting one of the puppies or the mom dog after they finish fostering them, which will be at least four weeks.
The six puppies were happily running around the ranch home, which is on a quiet rural street. They have lots of toys to play with, and Maddie was gnawing on a knuckle bone while lying on a blanket.
Two of the bulldog mix puppies play with a toy at their foster home. All of the puppies have been given names, but the name of their foster family is being kept confidential.
- Moe, with an oval black spot on his head that looks like a Mohawk;
- Jimmy Hart, named for the wrestler also known as “The Mouth of the South,” because he is the most vocal of the puppies;
- Casper, a boy, who is all white;
- Mickey, a girl who has black ears that look like Mickey Mouse’s;
- Petey, a girl who has a brindle patch over one eye and resembles the dog of the same name from the Little Rascals movies;
- Kevina, a girl who is the favorite puppy of the foster couple’s son, Kevin.
The Suitcase Six are eating puppy food, both canned and dry, and are going through lots of newspaper, puppy potty pads, and paper towels. The humane society, 1920 Indian Wood Circle, Maumee, OH 43537, is accepting donations of those items as well as money donations to help pay for the care of the puppies and other animals in foster care and at the shelter.
The humane society is in desperate need of new foster volunteers, particularly those willing to take kittens into their homes and care for them until they are healthy and old enough to go up for adoption, Mr. Dinon said.
The Toledo man accused of abandoning the dog and puppies is facing three misdemeanor charges.
Maddie and her pups have lots of toys at their new home. Donations of puppy food and more are needed.
Mr. Davis is to enter his plea on that charge April 23 before Judge Timothy Kuhlman. He is to be in court for a pretrial hearing on the abandonment charges at the same time.
Mr. Davis is accused of putting the puppies into a canvas suitcase, zipping it up, and leaving them with the pups’ mother, who was tied to a large trash container, in the alley behind 3442 Stickney Ave., about a quarter mile from the house from which he was moving.
He remains free on his own recognizance. All three charges are second-degree misdemeanors and carry up to 90 days in jail and a $750 maximum fine upon conviction.
Contact Tanya Irwin at: tirwin@theblade.com or 419-724-6066.