00:00This pity has helped raise more than 500 puppies. Yes, 500.
00:07We always said he was like the mama dog. So if there were two litter mates kind of squabbling,
00:12he would kind of go over, nose them both and be like, hey guys, you got to behave. And they
00:16would
00:16both look at him like, okay, mom. And he was such a wonderful reader of energy. So if there was
00:23a
00:23super excited group, he would match their energy, but in a more appropriate way and teach them how
00:29to play. If there was a more shy group, he would have such a lower energy level and he would
00:34just
00:34sit there with them or lay down and wait for them to approach him. Marissa founded New England Puppy
00:40Rescue and with her background in nutrition, behavior and veterinary care, she has devoted
00:46her life to helping dogs get their fresh start and eventually find forever homes. We always say
00:54that River was the original orphan. His story starts about 13 years ago. One night, the rescue
01:01got a call. Two four-week-old pit bull puppies were found on the side of the road. Yet despite
01:07overseeing the rescue, Marissa had never taken in a puppy as young as River. We say he founded our
01:13orphan program because that's when all the research began. It's kind of amazing when you think about it.
01:18This tiny puppy who needed so much help when he was young would spend the rest of his life
01:23eventually helping hundreds of other puppies. As Marissa cared for River, it eventually became clear
01:29that she wasn't fostering him anymore because he was always home. So he officially became part of her
01:35family. And with so many little foster puppies coming through Marissa's home, he became her co-foster
01:42parent. Then one day, another very special foster puppy arrived through their program.
01:54One thing about this puppy that arrived that I could not stop thinking about. And so we welcomed her as
01:59a
01:59foster into our house. And she stayed forever. When we welcomed Ruthie, I did not know River was
02:07sick. And it was probably about three months later when we got River's diagnosis. And so that was kind
02:11of the serendipity of it all. He raised so many orphan puppies. He also got the opportunity to raise
02:19Ruthie. I feel so lucky that River did raise Ruthie because she started to mirror him. She got to
02:26first-hand see, oh, okay, right? This is now my role model in our house. And this is how he's
02:34acting
02:34with puppies. Those were some pretty big paws to fill. But over time, Ruthie started to find the role
02:40all on her own. I am forever grateful for that. Just to kind of have a piece of him and
02:46his legacy
02:47live on in her and live on in a way that helps other dogs. You know, I think that's one
02:55of the
02:55the things that we could really learn from River's story.
Comments