Oprah's present to herself: Springer spaniel pups
January 31, 2010 6:09 PM Chicago Tribune
Winfrey gave herself a birthday present Friday when she adopted two springer spaniel puppies from a Chicago shelter, according to her Web site and shelter officials.
In keeping with the background of their high profile new owner, the puppies, 14-week-old sisters Sunny and Lauren, already made their first television appearance, on the Oprah Winfrey Show on Friday evening.
A littermate of the pups, Trent, which was going to a friend of a friend of Oprah's, also appeared.
Winfrey contacted shelter officials about six months ago asking them to be on the lookout for springer spaniel pups, said Paula Fasseas, founder and chair of PAWS, a Chicago-based no-kill shelter at 1997 N. Clybourn Avenue.
She said that while she is just happy that the dogs were saved, she is particularly excited with them going to Oprah because of her ability to put focus on saving shelter animals.
"What's really wonderful about Oprah adopting is that she educates the world and the message is to go to a shelter,'' said Fasseas. "She's really directed so much attention to this terrible problem we have with homeless pets.''
Fasseas said Winfrey has been a generous donor to the shelter and has previously adopted a cocker spaniel from there. She also featured dogs and the shelter in her magazine.
Fasseas said shelter officials search the city pound in an effort to save animals from being euthanized and to find them homes. She said the siblings were part of a litter turned over to the pound by an owner. Because they were turned over by the owner, the shelter could have euthanized them immediately, she said.
She said she did not know the circumstances behind the owner's turning them in but said often animals are brought to the pound by people who may have lost their homes or just don't have the means to care for the animals.
Fasseas said she had only told shelter workers to keep an eye out for a springer spaniel. She kept Oprah's identity secret and only told them that a "donor" was interested.
When the dogs were located, a picture was sent to Winfrey's assistants and Fasseas was surprised to hear Oprah's voice on her telephone.
"I like those, I want to see those spaniels," Fasseas recalled Oprah saying.
After seeing the dogs in person, she decided to adopt them, Fasseas said.
Fasseas said the dogs were being kept with a foster family to ensure that they were healthy until the adoption could be finalized. She said the dogs will stay in the foster home until they are old enough to join Oprah's other dogs. A previous dog of Oprah's had died of a highly contagious disease.
By coincidence, the adoptions of the black-and-white pups came the same day that Winfrey turned 56, according to her site.
"I did decide, though, to get myself a little birthday gift this year. Actually, I thought I'd get myself two," she says on her site. "They just arrived in time for my birthday."
-- Carlos Sadovi
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