A dog’s life

KAPAA – Melissa Chipman has a puppy that needs a home.

OK, that’s nothing too special. Lots of dogs need homes.

But consider what this girl endured.

First, someone tied a rope tightly around the dog’s neck. Next, they placed the dog in a bag and tied the bag shut. Then, they placed the dog in a shopping cart outside the Safeway store on a sunny Sunday afternoon and left it to die.

But it didn’t.

The puppy survived.

“She’s doing great,” said Chipman, who has temporarily adopted the brown and white pup.

The puppy was found by a vendor, who removed the ropes, took it from the bag and brought the dog into Safeway.

Chipman, one of the store’s managers, was called up.

“I’m a dog lover,” she said.

The puppy, lethargic and droopy, was having difficulty breathing. It was placed in a box and taken into an air conditioned office, where it slowly recovered. Chipman later took the dog to her Lihue home, where she bathed and fed it.

“It was pretty hungry,” she said.

The puppy was bouncing around Monday, happy and playful. Chipman is determined to find a good home for it. She already has one dog and can’t have another, so she wants it to go to someone who will care for it and keep it.

“I don’t want to save it and have it go through the same thing all over again,” she said.

Anyone interested in adopting the puppy can call Chipman at (808) 482-1908.

Penny Cistaro, Kauai Humane Society executive director, said people who can no longer keep a dog can bring it to KHS.

The society asks for a surrender fee. “However, if they can’t afford it we ask what they can afford,” Cistaro wrote. “If they can’t afford anything we take the animal at no charge.”

She said KHS doesn’t want to see unwanted pets suffer, and “will take any animal without a hassle. We do not turn animals away.”

If someone plans to abandon a dog, Cistaro said they can bring it to KHS.

“People can tie the dog to our front door in the middle of the night if they want to be anonymous,” she wrote.