Before I knew of the Life is Hope Foundation (LHF), Formosan MountainDogs, and was only vaguely aware of international adoptions, I offeredto babysit a little black dog named Charlie for a week while his momhad surgery. Charlie was quirky, funny, self-contained, and adaptable,and I only learned he was a Formosan Mountain Dog mix after falling inlove with him. He, my dogs, and my family had a great week. So beganmy love for the street dog breed, and I knew I would rescue one in thefuture. Who knew I would have one myself less than a year later? Early this year, my old dog finally succumbed to her slow-growingcancer. As devastating as that was, I knew I would always honor thespecies by getting a second dog. But I was going to wait, just wait, afew more months. Then my daughter texts me a webpage. “Mom,” she said. You’ve got to read this puppy’s story. She’s aTaiwan dog like Charlie! ” “Too soon,” I thought, but I looked anyway out of curiosity. And there was “Cupcake,” the most adorable puppy in the history ofpuppies. She had such a tale of woe, but her bright, forgiving energyburst through all her photos. I knew…
