Besides Dogster, Dog Milk is my favorite site about dogs. While we here at Dogster tend to focus more on dog tips, training, and news, Dog Milk is more interested in the design and lifestyle aspect of having a canine friend. But one thing we all agree on is that dogs are awesome.
Dog Milk Managing Editor Capree Kimball and I have become Internet friends since I began my job at Dogster. She’s got a wicked sense of style and humor, and I need to seriously just buy my plane tickets to go visit her. She has two dog friends — Wrigley, whom we’ve mentioned here before, and a little Shih Tzu named Smash.
Lately I’ve become enamored with Smash, fondly known as Space Pig (or The Space Pig). He’s sort of consistently bewildered and hapless, adorably confused, and second banana to Wrigley. Anytime Capree posts a video of Smash on Instagram, I have to watch it because I love seeing him interact with the world like a little kid.
However, the reason why Smash is our Monday Miracle is not just because he’s adorable. If the stars hadn’t aligned just so, there may be no Instagram videos of Smash at all!
Smash was picked up as a stray in a part of Salt Lake City right on the border of a barren wasteland. The city shelter scanned him for a chip, found one, and contacted the owners, who didn’t want him back. Though Smash can’t tell his story, Capree thinks he may have been dumped in the desert left to fend for himself. He was pulled from the city shelter by Friends of Animals Utah on the day he was scheduled to be euthanized, and that’s how Capree ended up finding him — named Howie at the time — on the Furburbia Facebook page. After two weeks of watching him online, Capree and her husband went out to see him, and she fell in love. She didn’t care that his days on the streets left him with limited eyesight in one eye. Capree could see his radiant personality shining through.
It took Smash a few months to acclimate to his loving forever home after being so carelessly discarded — he didn’t like being held and he was often found hiding under the furniture. However, with patience and compassion, Smash is now a regular snuggler. And I think we’re all glad for it.
And since it’s the season of giving (and receiving), here’s Smash’s gift wishlist:
- Smash loves a good cozy nap (who doesn’t?), and catching a few Z’s on this luxury sheepskin sleeping rug from Houndworthy would bring him the utmost joy.
- The way to a Space Pig’s heart is through his stomach, naturally. Homemade treats made with his own custom cookie cutter from Name That Cookie are definitely on his wishlist this year.
- Smash loves being cozy (whether asleep or not), so a fancy sweater from Dusen Dusen would make him feel pretty sharp and keep his belly warm: Win-win!
- If it squeaks, Smash wants it. These recycled canvas toys from ORE fit the bill quite nicely.
- And finally, a Space Pig needs some alone time every now and then, ya know? Smash would love to retreat into a Pyramid House by LoveThyBeast when he needs to decompress after a hard day of napping and eating.
See more of Smash (and Wrigley) over at Dog Milk.
Read more Monday Miracles on Dogster:
- How Daisy, an Underdog with an Underbite, Made a Difference
- Dexter the Senior Dog Was Used for Bait; Now He Has a Bucket List
- Our Monday Miracle Is Dobby, an Italian Greyhound Rescued from a Puppy Mill
About Liz Acosta: Dogster’s former Cuteness Correspondent, Liz still manages the site’s daily “Awws,” only now she also wrangles Dogster’s social media. That’s why she wants you to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and — her personal favorite — Instagram. See ya there!
