LIVE: Pet Connection: Meet Karen Filippelli

FARGO — When Karen Filippelli the Chihuahua mix came into the 4 Luv of Dog rescue about a month ago, odds for her speedy adoption did not look promising.

She was elderly, at 8 and a half years old, with what foster volunteer Aleyna Leibfried describes as an impressive case of “dragon breath” from a significant number of rotten teeth, and was shy around new humans.

She’d also been left outdoors for extended periods of time, never a great thing for a Chihuahua in our climate.

And after her much-needed tooth extraction surgery, the little old lady dog was left with a grand total of four teeth in her entire head.

That’s why she’s such a great example of the power of foster work for pets, because Karen got herself a “furever” family late the night before her scheduled Pet Connection appearance.

It’s always a bit of a magical feeling seeing pets match up with the right family, but it’s practically a holiday miracle when it happens to an older dog who’s been through some things in life.

Foster families are critical in rescue animal work, because shelter space is always tight, and because being locked in a shelter kennel alone is hard on pets, especially dogs.

If you foster with 4 Luv, they’ll pay for the animal’s food and medical care and any other needs it has.

All you provide is a warm, safe home, and the socialization it needs so when the right family comes along, it’ll be ready.

If you want to find out more about fostering a dog, and being there for when these little miracles happen and an adoption occurs, check out the link below:

And for more on Karen: