Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Joy Bond and Mr. Magoo, Mamacita and Dahlia


By PATTI MURPHY

Dhalia, Mamacita and Mr. Magoo keep Joy Bond are shining examples of what a little TLC can do for what once were maltreated pups rescued from the streets and shelters.

Mr. Magoo, Mamacita and Dahlia are just three dogs in a long line of castaways that Joy Bond has picked up off the street, taken home and cared for during the past 26 years. The dogs that Bond loves are blind, beaten, sick, old, toothless, crippled or dying. From the streets of New York to the alleys of Mexico, she has rescued the most hopeless of animals.

Why?

"Just to give them a good home at the end of their lives. That's what we all want, isn't it?" she asks.

Many may recognize Bond from the animal shelter's Pet of the Week show on Plum TV. She's a retired actor who says she now has the time, the means and the passion to help.

Mr. Magoo is a 10-year-old Cockapoo from the local shelter who Bond recently took to Boise at 10 p.m. for emergency eye surgery. In her haste to get to the veterinarian, she received a $140 speeding ticket, which she couldn't convince the officer to rescind, even after showing him the dog's collapsed eye.

"The good thing was that the vet was so sweet she didn't charge me for the surgery, which lasted until midnight," Bond recalls.

Mamacita is an 8-year-old miniature poodle from Mexico, and Dahlia, who also is from Mexico, is a 1-and-a-half-year-old "little of this and a little of that." Bond says that Dahlia was "at death's door" with heartworm when she brought her home.

"She had been tied up with a rope in an alley when we found her," she says.

One time Bond drove cross-country with five rescued dogs in the car, some of which she found homes for and others she kept. Some of her new companions last only a few years because of their problems, but she says, "I try to give them a bit of hospice and a good life."

Bond works with volunteers in Mexico who vaccinate and neuter street dogs, and belongs to Noah's Wish, an organization that helps during a disaster by collecting and caring for animals until the evacuated owners can come for them. When she receives a phone call from the Maltese rescue group in New York, she will travel there to adopt one of the little dogs.

"I believe everyone is here for a reason and mine is to try to help animals," she says. "Just look in their eyes. They are so pure in heart."




 Local Weather 
Search archives:


Copyright © 2024 Express Publishing Inc.   Terms of Use   Privacy Policy
All Rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Express Publishing Inc. is prohibited. 

The Idaho Mountain Express is distributed free to residents and guests throughout the Sun Valley, Idaho resort area community. Subscribers to the Idaho Mountain Express will read these stories and others in this week's issue.