NEWS FLASH: We were just notified by Serenity Animal Hospital that Piglet on Sept. 8 tested negative for heartworm disease.The Proud Graduate
Piglet, the white pit bull gracing the cover of the just-released Best Friends book,
Not Left Behind, has graduated from obedience school. She’s also past her second heartworm treatment. And those two things, her caregivers say, give her a good chance at finding a permanent home.
“She’s very smart,” said Jessica Muzzarelli, an assistant at the Serenity Animal Hospital where Piglet has been cared for since she left the Gulf region last fall. “She now knows her sit and down positions, and she rolls over. I think she already knew that. She also shakes paws.”
During graduation from the intermediate class, Piglet went into the sit position, to the down position and back up to sit six times in a minute during a race with the other dogs, Jessica said. In another test she needed to stay in a sit position for two minutes. “She did that too,” Jessica said.
“We are very proud of her,” said Devene Godau, who works at the Woofology.com training center that Piglet attended. "Piglet was lucky enough to go through class with our president, Lisa Laney. One of the biggest things for Piglet was just to learn to be calm around the other dogs and people."
"I have been lucky enough to meet Piglet on several occasions," Devene continued, "and I was totally charmed by her. If I didn't have a full house already, she would so be here."
Piglet, who is between 2 and 3 years old, also successfully completed her second round of heartworm treatment and is doing fine.
“She’s done really well with the heartworm treatment,” Jessica said. “When she was going through her treatment, I was here several times in the middle of the night to check on her.”
She’s back taking walks outside the clinic with caregivers.
“She goes absolutely nuts at the end of the leash,” Jessica said. “She goes into play bows and runs in circles. She loves to walk. We take her for walks in the woods behind our building. I take her out on a 30-foot leash so she has room to run. You can see the smile on her face when she’s out there. She enjoys it.”
Jessica said Piglet will make someone a wonderful pet. “I spend the most time with her, so she absolutely loves me,” she said. “She’s my baby. I wish I could take her home, but I have cats and other dogs.”
While she’s great with people, Piglet can be picky about the company she keeps when it comes to her canine friends, Jessica pointed out, so anyone interested in adopting her, if they have another dog, would first need to introduce theirs to Piglet, to see if they get along. “She was rescued with another Pit Bull, so we know she lived with a dog at one time,” Jessica noted.
Piglet was found last September 8 with a brindle-and-white male pit bull from a boat that was barely afloat. She was fostered a month and a half later by volunteer veterinarian Karen Michalski, who drove her from Tylertown to Serenity Animal Hospital in Sterling Heights, Michigan.
Piglet is ready to go home, Jessica said. Anyone interested may contact the Serenity clinic by e-mailing serenityvet@ameritech.net or by calling 586-264-8387.
Pictured, top, Piglet on cover of Not Left Behind
, and, middle, with clinic employee Mary Werner.
Story by Cathy Scott. Book cover by Troy Snow. Photo of Piglet compliments of Serenity Animal Hospital.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To read more about the book, go to:click here