A young puppy that was recently found along an on-ramp heading toward Interstate 93 in Boston, Massachusetts, did not take long to find a new place to call home.Mike DeFina, media relations manager for the Animal Rescue League of Boston, said Sunday that the 10-week-old Chihuahua named Sparkle was first spotted about a week and a half ago.DeFina said a person who lives at the Pine Street Inn saw Sparkle wandering the Neponset Circle area for a couple of days before they spotted the dog wandering up an on-ramp for the part of I-93. The road is known as the Southeast Expressway.Given that Sparkle weighs just 3 pounds and is an all-black dog, it would have been very hard for drivers to spot her on the highway. The good Samaritan was able to scoop her up and brought her back to the Pine Street Inn, where the staff then took her to the ARL’s Boston Animal Care and Adoption Center.”With Sparkle, I think it’s always a wonderful thing to see people stopping what they’re doing and have the consideration and the compassion when they see an animal in need to take action and do something about it,” DeFina said. “That’s why Sparkle is here today. I think if she would have found her way onto the Expressway, the outcome for her probably would not have been good. So we really, really want to thank both the resident of Pine Street Inn and their staff for taking her off the street and bringing her to us.”DeFina said the ARL does not know exactly how Sparkle ended up near the highway or how long she had been living on the streets, but they believe she was likely abandoned.Sparkle was a bit frightened when she was brought to the ARL facility, had a bit of an abnormal gait, and was on a seven-day stray weight, but she was determined to be in good overall health for her age, according to DeFina.DeFina said the ARL then contacted Boston Animal Control and other outlets that deal with lost animals, but no one stepped up to claim Sparkle as their dog. After doing the due diligence, the ARL put Sparkle up for adoption on Sunday — and that’s where Joe and Tesla Chafins come in.Joe Chafins works for the Pine Street Inn, which is a nonprofit organization that provides services for people experiencing homelessness. One of Joe’s co-workers and friends had told him and his wife about how Sparkle was found by one of the center’s residents and that the dog would need a new home.”My birthday was Friday and we were just kind of celebrating my birthday and she started telling my wife and I the story, showing us some photos she had of her,” Chafins said. “We just heard the story and we’re like: ‘We’ve got to go meet her.’ So we’ve been trying to call since and they said she was here today, so we’re here to meet her and take her home.”The couple already has three cats, including one that they adopted from the ARL of Boston seven years ago, as well as a few lizards.”Our friends kind of make fun of us because we are huge animal lovers,” Tesla Chafins said.”We have a little bit of everything. We’ve got a zoo at home,” Joe Chafins said. “This will be our first dog, though, but we’re excited to take her and to give her the best life that we can possibly give her.”So thanks to the Pine Street Inn, ARL of Boston and Chafins family, Sparkle now has a new forever home. Meet Sparkle and her family in the video player above.
A young puppy that was recently found along an on-ramp heading toward Interstate 93 in Boston, Massachusetts, did not take long to find a new place to call home.
Mike DeFina, media relations manager for the Animal Rescue League of Boston, said Sunday that the 10-week-old Chihuahua named Sparkle was first spotted about a week and a half ago.
DeFina said a person who lives at the Pine Street Inn saw Sparkle wandering the Neponset Circle area for a couple of days before they spotted the dog wandering up an on-ramp for the part of I-93. The road is known as the Southeast Expressway.
Given that Sparkle weighs just 3 pounds and is an all-black dog, it would have been very hard for drivers to spot her on the highway. The good Samaritan was able to scoop her up and brought her back to the Pine Street Inn, where the staff then took her to the ARL’s Boston Animal Care and Adoption Center.
“With Sparkle, I think it’s always a wonderful thing to see people stopping what they’re doing and have the consideration and the compassion when they see an animal in need to take action and do something about it,” DeFina said. “That’s why Sparkle is here today. I think if she would have found her way onto the Expressway, the outcome for her probably would not have been good. So we really, really want to thank both the resident of Pine Street Inn and their staff for taking her off the street and bringing her to us.”
DeFina said the ARL does not know exactly how Sparkle ended up near the highway or how long she had been living on the streets, but they believe she was likely abandoned.
Sparkle was a bit frightened when she was brought to the ARL facility, had a bit of an abnormal gait, and was on a seven-day stray weight, but she was determined to be in good overall health for her age, according to DeFina.
DeFina said the ARL then contacted Boston Animal Control and other outlets that deal with lost animals, but no one stepped up to claim Sparkle as their dog. After doing the due diligence, the ARL put Sparkle up for adoption on Sunday — and that’s where Joe and Tesla Chafins come in.
Joe Chafins works for the Pine Street Inn, which is a nonprofit organization that provides services for people experiencing homelessness. One of Joe’s co-workers and friends had told him and his wife about how Sparkle was found by one of the center’s residents and that the dog would need a new home.
“My birthday was Friday and we were just kind of celebrating my birthday and she started telling my wife and I the story, showing us some photos she had of her,” Chafins said. “We just heard the story and we’re like: ‘We’ve got to go meet her.’ So we’ve been trying to call since and they said she was here today, so we’re here to meet her and take her home.”
The couple already has three cats, including one that they adopted from the ARL of Boston seven years ago, as well as a few lizards.
“Our friends kind of make fun of us because we are huge animal lovers,” Tesla Chafins said.
“We have a little bit of everything. We’ve got a zoo at home,” Joe Chafins said. “This will be our first dog, though, but we’re excited to take her and to give her the best life that we can possibly give her.”
So thanks to the Pine Street Inn, ARL of Boston and Chafins family, Sparkle now has a new forever home.
Meet Sparkle and her family in the video player above.
