The Adventures of Zooming Zip

It was fifteen degrees below zero and snowing in Kansas City, Missouri, as a homeless Welsh corgi was wandering the streets. Pregnant with a litter of puppies and an empty belly, the dog was trying to find food. She should have been seeking shelter, given the harsh conditions, but her growling belly wouldn’t let her rest. She needed to find nourishment for her unborn pups.

As she looked feverishly for food, a pain like she had never felt kicked in. Immediately, she knew what was happening. She was going to have her puppies, and there was no way to stop it.

The mother-to-be had to hurry and find cover. If she gave birth out in the cold, the puppies wouldn’t survive. She wouldn’t survive either. After searching aimlessly for a mile or two, she found herself in a small, quiet neighborhood. She went barking door to door, hoping someone would hear her and let her in. But she had no luck. Exhausted, beaten down by the weather and lack of food, she collapsed in a ditch on the side of a lightly traveled road.

In what seemed like seconds, but was actually two days, the homeless mother woke to the sound of puppies crying. She was in a strange room, in a big bed, with tubes and wires hooked up to her. She also had seven fat puppies nursing on her.

“There she is!” exclaimed an unfamiliar woman. “We thought we were going to lose you, but you pulled through.”

Too tired and too scared to growl, the dog’s attention quickly turned to her pups. Licking them all over and smelling each one, she blinked in disbelief of what was happening.

“You’re probably wondering what happened and where you are,” said the woman softly. “I know you cannot understand me, but I will tell you all about it.”

Unbeknownst to the woman, the dog could understand her. That is the thing about dogs; they know humans better than humans know themselves.

“A man traveling through the snowstorm said a bright light came out of nowhere and distracted him; that’s when he saw you,” continued the woman. “He picked you up from a ditch, wrapped you in his jacket, and rushed you here to the animal hospital. It is a miracle you were found, really.”

The momma dog breathed a sigh of relief and continued cleaning her puppies. She had four boys and three girls.

“I’m the vet who helped save you and your puppies, and I’m going to make sure you all stay safe and healthy,” the woman said cheerfully as she went to check on some of the other animals at the hospital. “This storm is really keeping us busy, but I’ll be back to check on you.”

All of the puppies had survived the ordeal, and boy, they sure were some funny-looking creatures—half Welsh corgi and half rat terrier. They were the final reminder of their father, who had been locked up in the pound for trying to “borrow” a ham sandwich from someone’s lunch box. That someone just happened to be the local dogcatcher, and he locked the thieving dog up for good.

Without tags or a microchip, the momma dog and her pups were soon put up for adoption. The vet hospital could not afford to keep feeding all the homeless, hungry mouths that came its way, but the staff waited the eight weeks necessary to be sure the pups were healthy and strong.

As the days went by, each of the pups were adopted—all except for one. Some went as pairs, and some as singles. Even the momma dog found a home with one of her pups. But one pup remained.

Finally, when all hope seemed to be lost for the orphaned pup, a man who said he was traveling to Robinson County stopped by the animal hospital and asked if it had any puppies up for adoption.

The vet was concerned at first but happy that the final pup from the snowstorm might finally have a home. “Yes,” she said. “I think I have the perfect pup for you. You’ll never find another one like him.”

The man paid the twenty dollars for the adoption fee, signed the paperwork, and in a hurry was on his way out the door with the pup. “Thank you. This little guy will be perfect for the display. I mean the kids,” the man muttered as he slipped out the door and into his car.

And just like that, the orphaned pup was off to his new life. And oh, what a life it was going to be.