This is Cannoli's story, submitted by his mom, Megan C. 

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    Chris and I had been talking about getting a puppy since we moved into together late last year. I had Marley, my sweet little Shih Tzu rescue, but we wanted a dog that would be both of ours. For the last nine years, I’ve taken care of Marley, and while Chris loves him and they have their bonding moments, he isn’t both of ours. We weren’t in any rush, but we kept our eyes open whenever BARCS posted new dogs available for adoption. We also started following a few other rescue organizations.  

    While I was visiting my parents in early June, I was scrolling through my Facebook newsfeed while lying out at the pool and came across a posting of a three legged, Westie/Maltese mix named Garlic that needed a home. She was being fostered by Wings of Love, Kuwait and needed a permanent home. I immediately took a screenshot of the post and sent it to Chris who was away on business. He gave me the green light and I reached out to Wings of Love, Kuwait to ask them about the adoption process.

We met Garlic and her foster Mom at the park that week and we were amazed at how well Garlic did with only three legs. We asked how Garlic lost her leg and learned a lot about how dogs are treated in Kuwait and why Jennifer and Patricia started Wings of Love, Kuwait.

    Garlic’s story is very sad. Her Kuwaiti family had children who played too roughly with her and injured her leg. As soon as she was injured, the family no longer wanted her and threw her out into the streets. This is a very common practice in Kuwait. Many Kuwaitis purchase expensive dogs and then decide they don’t want them if they get sick or if the family goes away on a vacation. Many Kuwaitis get rid of their pets when they go on vacation because they don’t feel like finding a place for the dog to stay while they are away. The stories were so sad, and learning about why Wings of Love, Kuwait does what it does, made us want to adopt a dog from this organization.

     We took Garlic home for our two-week trial period, and it turned out that she wasn’t a good fit for our family. Garlic was a bit too energetic and playful for our nine-year-old Marley, so we met with Patricia. We told her that, while we wanted a dog, Garlic wasn’t the one for us. Immediately upon hearing what we were looking, for she recommended Dean, a young Japanese Spitz.  

    I was weary. We weren’t looking for a dog just to have a dog; we wanted one that would choose us and we weren’t sure that was even a realistic goal. We agreed to meet Dean and see if he would suit our lifestyle and us. We met Dean and his foster family at the dog park in their community. As we approached the park, he ran up to the fence and stood on his hind legs, whining for us to give him attention. He ran straight to us when we walked into the park and snuggled into us when we held him. We knew immediately that this was our dog. He had chosen us! 

    We took Dean home for the two-week trial period to make sure that he and Marley got along. Four days into the trial period, we signed the paperwork and made Dean, now Cannoli, ours forever.  

I can’t express enough how thankful I am to all of the individuals who touched his life and brought him safely to America to join our family. It’s so incredibly hard for me to imagine someone abusing or abandoning this sweet angel. Thankfully, Wings of Love, Kuwait stepped in and saved him. We can’t imagine our lives without him. If you are looking to foster or adopt a dog, please consider Wings of Love, Kuwait.

    You can follow Cannoli’s adventures on Instagram at @cannoli_pupperoni