Justin Silver

Justin Silver

In the fall of 2005 after a year of going to dog parks and stopping to pet every dog on the street, Justin Silver finally decided that he was ready for a dog of his own. While searching the Petfinder website he came across a picture of an adorable, five month old pup. She was a patchwork of white and brindle with black spotted ears. She was at a shelter called Paws All Around Animal Rescue, which is located in a low-income neighborhood in Bronx, N.Y. 

When Justin arrived at the shelter, didn’t see an animal shelter, just a run-down house with a barking Pitbull on the roof: their version of a doorbell. Justin was shocked by what he saw in the house, there were dogs and cats everywhere. 

The house itself had definitely seen better days. To use the owner Robin’s words, “It had gone to the dogs.” Justin was overwhelmed by Robin’s family’s willingness to turn their home into a place where animals with nowhere to go could find the love and care they deserved.  sThere were cigarette burns and broken bones suffered from years of cruelty. Despite the abuse they had suffered, they were still sweet, trusting, and eager to meet me. Such is the spirit of animals!

The dog Justin had seen on the Internet was a sassy little Pitbull /Border Collie mix. She had been thrown over Robin’s fence by a couple of punk teenagers who had a wire hanger wrapped around her neck for a collar, today she is the love of his life along with his two adopted cats and the other dogs he has since adopted, Pacino and Shakes.

Going through the rehabilitation process with the animals has been the most rewarding experience of Justin’s life. They have a wonderful life now full of dogs and people who love them, car rides with their heads out the window, weekends at the beach, and day trips to Central Park.

 

Funny For Fido