You might remember last weeks post about Blue Dozer and OJ, the two best friends that anyone could have.
To recap, OJ is a blind 12-year-old Dachshund whose BFF and guide-dog is a pitbull named Blue Dozer. The two were surrendered to a shelter when their owner could no longer care for them. What initially seemed like a happy ending for the best friends was soon to turn into a horror story.
According to The Washington Post, “OJ was brought in to the Shenandoah Valley Animal Services Center near Staunton, Va., by a man who said that he found the dog on the side of a road and that he appeared to be a stray. Blue Dozer was not with him.”
There is still an air of mystery surrounding why OJ was stranded. The woman who adopted the dogs as a pair still had Blue Dozer, and claimed that OJ was ‘being watched by a friend.’ She apparently did not want OJ back. The shelter immediately went into negotiations with the woman, attempting to get Blue Dozer back so the pair could be together again. While she was resistant at first, she eventually relented and gave Blue Dozer back to the shelter for his reunion with OJ.
Christie Chipps Peters, director of the Richmond Animal Care and Control shelter, said she thinks the woman didn’t “fully understand they needed to be together.” The woman told Peters she had received more than 600 death threats on email and social media; Peters believes the woman became afraid. In a response to the threats, the animal shelter stated that they do not condone violence of any kind. They are, however, happy that they could reunite Blue Dozer and OJ.
I am very glad to announce that both OJ and Blue Dozer have just been reunited and are safely back at RACC. Thank you to Shenandoah Valley Animal Services Center and Augusta County Sheriff’s Office – Sheriff Donald L. Smith for their help with this delicate situation. We very much appreciate the outpouring of community support but want to be very clear about a few details. First, we do not support any act of violence or threat of violence towards anyone. Ever. The only thing that matters is these sweet dogs get to stay together-and in the end that is what we have. I will delete posts made on this page that are mean or harmful. Our work is about love and compassion for animals -please extend that kindness to humans
. Second, RACC is an open admission shelter with a 91% save rate and we adopt thousands of animals a year into loving homes without issue. Our practices, adoption policy and choices to make adoptions are done in the best interest of each animal. We can not account for decisions that are made by citizens after adoption and work diligently to keep our open adoption process successful. In the end, we have to trust people-trust them to love the pets we have cared for, and trust them to do what is best. Lastly, we will not be doing anything with OJ & Dozer in the next few days other than snuggling them together. I will keep you posted if and when they are available for adoption. For the thousands of people that shared this incredible story and felt the love we did-thank you! Their story isn’t over and we are grateful that we have an incredible staff that worked hard tonight to ensure these sweet dogs have another chapter. Thank you! #weareyourcityshelter
The dogs are currently chillin’ at the shelter, snuggling each other and relaxing after their harrowing ordeal. They will be available for adoption (together, of course) soon.