It was a rainy Sunday afternoon in Quezon City. Stephanie Lim was walking along busy Panay Avenue when she spotted a one-month-old puppy along the sidewalk. The puppy was shivering, drenched in rain and all alone. She asked around for his owner but no one could tell her. She also asked if anyone knew of a dog that had recently given birth in the area, but she got no positive response. She could only surmise that the pup was left there intentionally.
In any case, she had no choice. She could not leave the shivering puppy on the streets so she took him home.
How can anyone abandon such a helpless creature? This was Grover as Stephanie was taking him home after picking him up from the pavement.
Bathed and fed, Grover cleaned up nicely and is resting after a harrowing day (or days) fending for himself in a cruel world.
This was taken just after a visit to the vet, who said Grover was closer to two months old. We can still see some uncertainty over his fate in the sweet pup’s eyes. Don’t you worry, dear Grover, your Ate Steph will make sure you will go to a loving home.
For almost a year, Stephanie and a friend fostered Grover. “As much as I wanted to adopt him, I knew I couldn’t as he needed a lot of space to run around in because he had such a high energy,” says Stephanie. She just kept on posting on social media for a forever home for Grover. In the meantime, Grover grew to become a beautiful lithe dog who enjoyed playing (gently) with cats.
Stephanie’s perseverance paid off. A friend saw one of her posts and introduced her to a chef who runs a beachfront restaurant in La Union.
Chef Denny Antonino of Papa Bear Restaurant is now Grover’s dad. The pup who was abandoned in the rain along Panay Avenue now spends his days frolicking on the beach. Stephanie shares that letting go of Grover was painful at first. In fact, she made sure not to send him off herself as they both might cry. However, when she visited him two weeks later she saw that Grover had become attached already to Chef Denny. Her pup has found his forever home.
Heartwarming, right? Would you like to adopt your own Grover? Click this link.
If you would like to share your own pet rescue or adoption story, share them in the comments!
