When Alex M. went for a jog one day, he came across a group of ASPCA dogs on a walk and was inspired to check our website to see who might be available for adoption. Little did he know, this thought would soon change the life of one sweet little dog who was in need of a second chance.
While browsing online, Alex and his wife Heather came across Maeve, a 3-year-old Chihuahua who was wearing a costume dinosaur hood in one of her photos.
“We thought there’s no harm in calling the ASPCA; there’s no commitment for us to have the phone call,” remembered Alex. “So, Heather and I were out at lunch, and we had a phone call with a representative from the ASPCA who told us about Maeve’s backstory – which we had no idea about. It went from, ‘Oh there’s no commitment when you just have a phone call,” to immediately having our hearts melted and thinking, ‘We need to meet this girl and hopefully bring her into our lives.’”
A Painful Past
Early in August 2024, the NYPD found Maeve abandoned with severe and suspicious burns covering her back, arms, shoulders and chest. For such a small dog, these burns covered most of her body, and our teams knew she needed immediate care.
“Maeve was in a lot of pain when she came to us, so she required several days in our intensive care unit (ICU) just for pain management,” remembered Erica Barbot, director of the ASPCA Animal Recovery Center (ARC), a facility located in New York City which is dedicated to providing lifesaving veterinary care, behavioral assessments and treatments for dogs and cats, many of whom are victims of neglect or cruelty. “Her wounds were quite severe, and she was really hesitant to being handled at all because of the pain she was experiencing.”
Maeve was not only enduring severe pain from her burns but was displaying what our team refers to as “anticipatory pain.”
“She had associated handling with pain at this point because of the severity of her wounds,” said Erica. “She was giving us all the signs of saying, ‘I’m in pain, please don’t touch me. Please don’t hurt me anymore.’”
Our medical staff got to work immediately on Maeve, covering her in bandages and changing them multiple times a day to heal her wounds.
“Little by little she started to form bonds with the folks who were delivering her primary care and started to change her associations with touch from pain to more friendly associations instead,” explained Erica. “Our medical and ICU teams started being able to do more with her without her reacting so severely and without her crying out in pain. Over time her friend group grew, and she allowed more people to handle her more consistently.”
After nearly two weeks, Maeve no longer required extensive pain management and was finally cleared to be moved from our ICU to our shelter environment at ARC. Here, she was housed in Erica’s office as she needed a bigger space to settle in.
“I knew she was a sensitive girl who needed a little bit of time to make friends, so she came into my office, and I ignored her,” Erica laughed. “I let her approach me and did some baby talk. I was really happy to see that she approached me right away and nudged my hand for pets and when I’d stop, she’d continue to nudge my hand for pets. She was giving me all the signs to say that she was comfortable with me touching her and handling her. She had come such a long way already.”
Once Maeve had mostly healed from her wounds, it was determined that she wasn’t going to have much hair growth in the affected area. That skin would now need additional sun protection during walks and while in direct or indirect sunlight.
“We ordered her a UV shirt that she had to wear,” Erica told us. “She wasn’t a fan of it at first. That type of shirt is made to go over Maeve’s head and for her, that was scary.”
Wearing the shirt would now be a lifetime requirement for her skin condition, so our behavior team at ARC worked hard with Maeve to desensitize her from having the shirt put on.
“It was critical to her next step in moving to foster and then into adoption,” said Erica.
With time, patience, lots of treats and dedicated staff, Maeve became a pro at getting her shirt on, giving confidence to Erica and the rest of the ARC staff that she was ready to move into a foster home.
For Maeve, the goal of going into a foster home was to see if she could form bonds with new people and allow those people to help her with daily tasks, like putting on her UV shirt and applying ointments.
Thankfully, we found just the person to help.
A Dedicated Foster Caregiver
Carly M. has always loved dogs and being able to give back to the community, and while she’s not at the stage in her life where she can adopt a dog, she finds that fostering is the perfect solution.
“Knowing that there’s an opportunity to give a dog a temporary home and to create a loving environment so that wherever they end up next it’s an easy transition and they can go be someone else’s dog for life – it’s really rewarding and makes me want to continue fostering,” said Carly. “It brings me joy.”
Carly M. and Maeve as they reunited at the ASPCA Adoption Center following Maeve’s adoption.
Carly came across Maeve in an ASPCA email stating that she was looking for a foster home where she could heal.
“I had read about her injuries, but it wasn’t until I came to the Adoption Center, and they let her off the leash to run around the room that I saw the extent of her burns,” remembered Carly. “But I didn’t care. For me, I just wanted to cuddle her and pick her up.”
Leaving our facilities was a big, scary change for Maeve, who sadly shook during the whole ride home. Fortunately, things began to turn around quickly.
“As soon as we got home and I let her off her lead — she still had her UV shirt on she didn’t even let me take it off — she just raced around the apartment, got into every little corner, sniffed it all out and then just jumped right up on the bed and made herself at home. She laid on her back asking for belly rubs,” Carly told us.
That day Maeve became “queen of the castle,” taking majority spot on the bed and guarding the door.
“Any sound and she’d race to the door to be on protector mode. That was interesting because it was almost as if she was the protector even though I felt like I was the one who needed to protect her. She has a very big, bold personality and isn’t fearful of anything,” said Carly.
Within just two short weeks together, Maeve once again made impressive progress and proved to be ready to find a home to call her own. Just two days after being made available for adoption Alex and Heather inquired about Maeve.
A Family of Her Own
In late October, after a few emails and a Zoom call, Alex, Heather and their resident dog, Buttercup, headed to the Adoption Center to meet Maeve.
“It was kind of like meeting a celebrity that day because we had seen her photos online and were talking about her for a couple of days,” recalled Alex. “I remember seeing her in the lobby with Carly and thinking, ‘Oh my goodness that’s her!’ It really was like a celebrity sighting.”
After a great first meeting, Alex and Heather were able to bring Maeve home that same day, where they finally introduced her to their sons who had been begging for another dog.
Many pet parents choose to change their pet’s name after adoption, but Alex and Heather decided to stick with the name Maeve.
“When we looked up the meaning, it means like fierce warrior queen, and we just thought it suited her,” said Heather.
When Maeve arrived at her new home, she fit in seamlessly, quickly showing off her big personality.
“She totally has little sister energy,” said Heather. “When she first came in our other dog was a little territorial but then very quickly Maeve was like, ‘I own the place.’ She is the queen of the castle for sure. She’s super sweet but if I’m petting Buttercup she’ll come over and growl for attention.”
Despite being the classic younger sister, Maeve and Buttercup are best friends and spend most of their days curled up on the bed sleeping. However, when it comes to eating, Maeve once again shows her bossy personality.
The couple feed both their dogs at the same time but have to feed Maeve in her crate.
“It’s the only way to ensure that Buttercup gets a full meal because Maeve will scarf down her food,” laughed Alex.
“Maeve will run over, and Buttercup will just step aside and let her have whatever Maeve wants,” adds Heather.
Not only is Maeve best friends with Buttercup, but she’s friendly with all other dogs.
“She’s very easy to take on walks because she’s so friendly with everyone that walks by,” said Alex. “Since she has to wear a covering regardless of the weather, people are always noticing and commenting on her outfits.”
To date, Maeve has nearly 30 sweaters and shirts, and special holiday outfits too!
In addition to her coverings, Alex and Heather apply doggy sunscreen to Maeve’s skin in order to keep it healthy.
When looking to adopt a dog, it never crossed the family’s minds that they would adopt a dog with medical conditions like Maeve.
“But we just adored her right away and were like, ‘Well, this is what she’s coming to the table with, and we’ll take care of her!’” Heather told us. “I can’t imagine not having her and it’s been really wonderful to see our boys really grow to love Maeve so quickly,” she adds. “They’re so sweet with her. She’s really completed our family — although now our younger son is asking for one more.”
Help More Animals Like Maeve This ASPCA Giving Day!
In honor of ASPCA Giving Day, which is coming up on April 10 and will mark 159 years of saving lives at the ASPCA, we invited Maeve, Alex, Heather, Carly, Erica and all of the other ASPCA staff who had a hand in Maeve’s journey to come together for a reunion at our Adoption Center.
During this heartfelt meetup, Maeve was running around to see all her old friends, with everyone sharing stories about Maeve. It was also an opportunity for Alex and Heather to hear even more about Maeve’s time in our care – and finally get the photo of Maeve in her costume dinosaur hood sent to them!
A reunion for the books! From left to right, top to bottom, Carly M, Erica Barbot, Dr. Aubrey Crowley, a veterinarian at ARC, Alex, Heather, Susan Lee, a licensed veterinary technician at ARC, and Stacey Rozell, an admissions & placement specialist at the Adoption Center, come together in honor of the upcoming ASPCA Giving Day!
“I almost wanted to cry because Maeve has come so far from having just one or two friends that she trusted because she was so fearful and in so much pain, to realizing that so many of us loved her and wanted her to do well,” Erica told us. “We see so many animals that come through that it can be easy to move onto the next case but to have the opportunity to see her and her family, it was emotional.”
“So many folks helped Maeve, from behavior to medical to our operations and direct care staff and her foster,” added Erica. “And then she moved onto the Adoption Center team who made a great match for Maeve and her adopters. It’s just a testament to all of the work that goes into bringing just one dog from intake through recovery and to adoption.”
But it’s not just our staff that makes our work possible, its fosters like Carly, adopters like Alex and Heather and the unwavering support from people like you that keep our mission moving.
“Lots of animals come through our doors every year and Maeve is just one story,” said Erica. “There are so many more animals who need our help out there.”
ASPCA Giving Day is a day we celebrate annually for our community of supporters and animals lovers to make a difference in the lives of vulnerable animals just like Maeve and join an ever-growing community fueled by compassion. This ASPCA Giving Day, help us celebrate by joining in to give countless neglected, abused or homeless animals a future like Maeve’s, filled with kindness, family and love.
“The ASPCA has made it possible for us to bring Maeve into our lives, which has made our lives richer,” said Alex. “She’s a new presence and a new family member for us to love. It has brought a lot of joy and love into our family.”
This Giving Day, you can support animals like Maeve through their recovery and journey to a loving home. Check out our ASPCA Giving Day page to learn more about this special day of giving and the difference you can make for animals in need.
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