Not long ago, Picasso and Pablo were on a shelter’s kill list. The two dogs are brothers — one with a smile unlike any other. And instead of their story ending in a back room of a shelter, Luvable Dog Rescue took them in and changed their lives forever.
Liesl Wilhardt is executive director of Luvable Dog Rescue, where lucky dogs stay in special cottages (instead of kennels) until they are adopted.
In mid-February, Liesl learned about two 10-month-old dogs who had been brought to a very busy California shelter because their owner had been unable to sell them. The short-legged pups were scheduled to die.
Liesl often takes in animals from the shelter, and that’s how she found out about the dog with the twisted jaw who, without some immediate help, wouldn’t be alive much longer.
Liesl said yes to the dog now known as Picasso, whose name is a nod to the artist’s creativity with human and animal forms. Then there was Picasso’s brother, Pablo. The two had been together since birth, and Pablo needed saving just as much as Picasso. “I said I’d take them both,” Liesl says. “I couldn’t imagine leaving a family member behind.”
When the pair arrived in Oregon a couple of weeks ago, Liesl put their photos and videos online. People immediately and overwhelmingly fell in love with them.
Since arriving at Luvable Dog Rescue, Pablo and Picasso have become acclimated to their great new environment. They live in a cottage with two other friendly dogs. They play and hike on snow-covered trails. They are learning to walk on leashes.
“They’re both loving, wonderful, trusting dogs,” says Liesl. “They’ve blossomed since they’ve been here.” Remarkably, both dogs are healthy — though Picasso will need surgery to fix a tooth that, due to the twisted jaw, has pushed a hole into the bottom of his mouth.
After that, Liesl will start considering the thousands of adoption applications that have already been filed by people who want to give these brothers a home — together, of course.
These brothers could very well not be alive right now, had things gone a little differently. Instead, they are blissfully happy in Oregon, while utterly unaware of how popular they’ve become on the internet, and even the local news. “I think they know that they’re loved,” says Liesl. “And that’s all that matters to them.”
