Tino, my black poodle, passed away on June 12, 2011. Just 2 days after my birthday. I only had him for 1 year bc I adopted him at 12 years of age. That is how I met Dr Nulton and Kimberly bc Kimberly was fostering Tino and nobody wanted him bc of his age. But that one year changed my life: I am now vegan and an animal activist.

I wasn’t looking to replace him immediately and was happy to have some free time volunteering for different shelters. That is when I met Clara and Ruby.

When I first saw them, they wanted to be touched, but would scamper away bc it was clear they had been abused. They were gorgeous so it was hard not to touch them. I thought “they are not for me” but welcomed the thought of a bonded pair of poodles. When I went back to the shelter the second day, I saw Ruby being walked outside. She seemed fine so I stopped. The woman walking her said Clara was crying when she took Ruby away. At that moment, I knew I had to adopt them both. If I didn’t, I was afraid someone would separate them. Poodles bond and that bond must be respected.

Clara and Ruby are adopted from ARF in the Hamptons. They were rescued from Best Friends from a puppy mill in the Midwest. I had heard of puppy mills but didn’t know what that meant. What I came to realize that it meant these wonderful animals were abused daily and didn’t even know how to be dogs. Year after year, they bred puppies for dog stores like the ones in NYC. The girls have it the worse bc their bodies are treated like property for profit. Clara and Ruby are 5 years old, so they could have had 2 litters a year. Clearly, I don’t believe in buying dogs from pet stores or breeders because 5 million (yes, million) animals are killed each year bc there are no homes for them. Just imagine, that is 15,000 animals killed every hour.

The 3 of us live in the West Village on Morton Street. Everyone on the street has seen their miraculous recovery. They now get groomed into puffy poodles, love vegan pumpkin treats, and sleep on a furry rug. Clara likes to eat Ruby’s food and loves other dogs. Ruby likes to nibble on my hands and jump on Clara. It warms my heart on a daily basis to watch them grow into the dogs the universe had intended. They wrestle with each other and curl up at night and snuggle. Clara snores.

Clara and Ruby (and Tino) are the best advertisement for adopting older dogs who are not wanted. I wouldn’t have it any other way. When I look into their soulful brown eyes, I still see some sadness and fear, but I tell them every day that I will take care of them forever.