Scooby-Roo has been in Hollywood for less than a year and he’s already pals with Demi Moore and Alyssa Milano. Scooby was born without front legs and dumped in South Central LA along with his sister Sophie. The tiny dogs were found living in a wrecked, abandoned car near a freeway on-ramp. Roo was covered in blood from scooting around on the asphalt.
The dogs were taken to Sheila Choi, who runs Fuzzy Dog and Cat Rescue, Inc., in Santa Monica, California. While many shelters might have euthanized the crippled dog, Choi started looking for donations and support to help him. She found both when Demi Moore tweeted about little Roo. Soon Shannon Elizabeth was sending money and tweeting to her followers as well, and Alyssa Milano was calling Choi, wanting to be the dog’s “godmother.”
The dog, named for his Scooby-Doo coloring and his characteristic kangaroo hop, is getting therapy to help deal with his difficult childhood, a personal trainer to learn how to us his $2,000 dollar custom wheel runner, hydrotherapy, massages and possibly even acupuncture. In between treatments he’s had photo shoots with his celebrity friends and a lot of love from his adopted mom, Choi.
Los Angeles has so many stray dogs that it has recently passed an ordinance that requires dog owners to spay their dogs and have them implanted with microchip identification tags. Many other cities around the country are implementing similar policies.
Adopting shelter animals is a great way to find a new pet, but animal activists urge adopters to be just as careful in considering which dog will be a good match as they would be if they were buying an expensive pure-breed. Coat type, energy level, personality, sociability, aggressiveness and size are all important factors.
