People Line Up in Hope of Winning Puppy Love

Some of the humans’ tales were as woeful as those of the abandoned puppies they had hoped to adopt.

One man still agonizes over the memory of the dog he had in sixth grade, strangled to death by his own leash. A 5-year-old boy misses the pup he left behind when his family moved from Haiti to Costa Mesa earlier this year. And one woman stays up into the night to hold her whimpering Labrador who still mourns the death of his mixed-breed playmate in March.

They were among more than 50 people who lined up outside the gate of the Mission Viejo Animal Services Center on Saturday to fill out applications to adopt one of the 11 puppies abandoned in Laguna Niguel last month. The Labrador-mix puppies, only a few days old, were found with their eyes still closed next to a trash bin at an apartment complex.

“The fact that something so sweet and innocent can be left in a box next to a dumpster on such a cold and rainy day has touched the hearts of people,” said Sharon Cody, former mayor of Mission Viejo, who will help select the new owners of the puppies. The 11 lucky families will be notified by Monday.

To prevent the puppies from being “over-pawed,” shelter officials did not have them available for viewing. Applicants therefore had to base their decisions on color photos of the wide-eyed canines taped on a white poster board.

“They just look so cute,” gushed 13-year-old Allison Nasser of Mission Viejo, who had her heart set on either Pepsi or Darla. “They just look like they need a lot of love, and I’m certainly ready to give it to them.”

Just what shelter officials wanted to hear. Based upon written statements made by the loving families, Cody said, the selection process will be quite tough. The new owners will be required to pay a $60 adoption fee to the shelter.

There were no specific criteria, but shelter officials said they prefer homes with good-sized yards.

Jeri Haus, 40, told Cody she has both indoor and outdoor accommodations. “Whatever the puppy wants, it gets. I have a lot of love to give,” said Haus who drove from Walnut to fill out the application.

Haus has a Labrador, Gunner, which has been “lost,” she said, since his playmate, Casey, died in March. She has been doing the best she can to fill in, she said, but her veterinarian advises that Gunner get a companion that is more his type.

Even Gunner weighed in, sending a letter to the shelter via Haus.

“I have a few friends close by, but it’s just not the same as having a brother or sister of my own,” according to a letter Haus submitted on his behalf with her application. “My mom would be a great dog, she rolls in the grass with me, throws my tennis ball and takes me around the block. But, it’s not the same, you know.”

Five-year-old J.J. Amo has a story just as touching. When his family moved to Costa Mesa from Haiti several months ago, his parents explained to him that his dog, Prince, couldn’t go with them.

“And I miss him Prince very much,” J.J. said at the end of the story. “He has a nice curly tail.”

Not everyone who applied sought to replace a lost pet.

Tony Colarossi, 34, of Laguna Hills, wants to give his fiancee a cuddly Christmas gift. So while she went shopping, he stood in line to appeal to the shelter employees’ sense of romance.

His fiancee “thinks I’m studying right now,” Colarossi said. “I just want to surprise her.”

Whichever puppy they get, Colarossi and others promised, would be loved and nurtured.