An Abandoned Dog’s Best Friend

When hikers discovered a litter of abandoned German shepherd-mix puppies in remote Irvine Mesa two weeks ago, they didn’t hesitate to act. They called Sherry Meddick, a longtime Silverado Canyon resident and community activist.

Meddick in turn called an Orange County firefighter who for years has helped in animal rescues. They climbed into his four-wheel-drive and headed up the rutted, nearly impassible road into the mesa.

They found three of the puppies, all females, cowering inside the rotted shell of an abandoned trailer without food or water. The dogs’ thick fur was crawling with fleas.

One week later, two of the 8-week-old puppies bounced playfully in Meddick’s kitchen. The third was adopted through Arroyo Pet Clinic, where the puppies were taken to recuperate.

Abandonment of animals in the county’s remote canyons is a too-common occurrence, said Meddick, who has three dogs of her own, two from a litter of seven she rescued last year.

“It’s a real death sentence to leave animals out here,” she said. “Where the hikers found the puppies, it’s called Cougar Mesa, and that’s for a reason. There are raccoons, bobcats, feral dogs out here. We’ve had dogs squashed by cars, eaten by animals. People have dropped off blind dogs. The worst thing you can do is drop off a defenseless animal.”

Abandoning an animal is more than cruel. It’s a crime, punishable by jail, fines or even prison.

Anyone with unwanted animals should call the animal shelter, which will take one or more animals for a $15 fee, said Mark McDorman, chief of field operations for Orange County Animal Control.

“Puppies usually get adopted pretty quickly because they’re cute and cuddly and still trainable,” McDorman said. “The last thing you want to do is just let them loose.”

Meddick said she has a probable home for one of the puppies and needs to find one for the other.

“I want these dogs to be foot-warmers, to be loaded in the family car for trips and get a lot of love and attention,” she said.