[ART FILLED RESCUES]
Finding a happy ending for animals
Ninna Lopez, owner of Ninna’s Road to Rescue in Benton, La., has been in the business of rescuing animals for 11 years. “My favorite part of my job is seeing a dog in horrible shape blossom once they are rescued,” Lopez said.
One such rescued puppy is Opie, a black-and-white Chihuahua who was one of many dogs saved from a hoarder seizure in 2014. “Opie wasn’t initially expected to live after the rescue,” Lopez said. “One of his ears was torn, he had a hip wound, a long overbite, was older in age and heartworm positive – not to mention terrified of humans and aloof.”
Meanwhile, Joe and Mary Bluhm were looking for a dog to rescue, and when they stopped by, something told Ninna they would be the perfect match for Opie.
Joe Bluhm, an artist and designer working in books, animation and advertising, moved to Shreveport nine years ago from New York. He collaborated on projects with William Joyce, working as the art lead at Moonbot Studios. Now he works primarily from his home studio alongside his wife, under the name Sweet Cloud Studios.
Bluhm claims he’s always been a dog person. “My wife had a small Chihuahua- Dachshund mix named Wild Bill,” Bluhm said. “Just before I met her, there was a freak electrical fire in her house, and she tragically lost her smallest friend. Once we renovated and redesigned her house, we decided to look for a small dog that needed a home, as a way to commemorate the house now becoming ours together.”
“The Bluhms wanted to adopt a dog that no one else wanted,” Lopez said. “I asked to introduce them to Opie, with no pressure, and as soon as I handed his tiny body over to Mary, I could just tell they were going to be his new owners. Soon after, they adopted little Opie, and he’s been a light in their life ever since.”
“Ninna’s intuitive way of listening and understanding our needs, as well as her dogs’ needs, led to us meeting a tiny shy dog named Opie,” Bluhm said.
“It was love at first snuggle,” Lopez declared.
Opie is now not only thriving in his new home with his loving owners, but he’s even gracing the February 28 cover of The Forum.
“Opie tends to climb into this little bed and turn to us, looking wistfully over his shoulder,” Bluhm said. “My wife and I both are familiar with Johannes Vermeer’s work, and, of course, ‘Girl With a Pearl Earring’ is what came to mind immediately.
It’s just one of those jokes that we laugh at and make often, so I decided to paint him as such.”
“Opie was all but forgotten in the adoption realm, but he was drawn to Mary, and Mary was drawn to him,” Blum said. “The best part of living with Opie is seeing him very slowly open up and blossom over time. We’ve been with him for over two and a half years, and he still shows more signs of happiness and confidence every day.”
Opie loves treats, crinkly sounds and burying himself in pillows.
“Joe and Mary are the epitome of the true success stories of not passing up the dog that might not look perfect,” Ninna said. “Sometimes dogs look older or may be shy, but giving them a loving home gives you so much in return.”
“As a rescue, we have huge financial and emotional attachments to each dog or cat we rescue,” Lopez said. “As a result, we have certain standards that adopters must meet in order to adopt from our rescue.”
Some of these prerequisites include responsible ownership history, excellent vet reference. “We also require all current pets in the home to be spayed/neutered, up to date on vaccinations and all dogs on heartworm prevention.”
“I can’t say enough about Ninna’s Road to Rescue,” Bluhm said. “Donating time or money there is something anyone who loves dogs or cats should do. They are amazing!” Ninna’s Road to Rescue is a 501c3 nonprofit, small-breed dog rescue, specializing in rescued small-breed dogs, to include small senior and puppy mill breeder dogs. They have about 15-20 dogs in need of rescue at any given time.
For more information, visit their website:
www.RoadtoRescueLA.org.
