Love comes in many different packages—even in the form of a loveable pet! For Larry and his family, love came in the form of a dog named Oogy. "Everyone who sees him loves him," Larry says. "You'd never know it from his background, but he's overcome tremendous adversity to get here."When he was just a puppy, Larry says Oogy was living in a hell on earth. He was tied to a stake and used as bait for pit bulls in a dogfighting ring. "He'd been thrown in a cage and left to die, and the police raided the facility," Larry says. "He was brought to Ardmore Animal Hospital, and they saved him."Dr. Bianco, a veterinarian, says Oogy was still a puppy when he first treated the dog's severe damage. "He basically had the side of his face ripped off, his jaw was crushed, his skull was damaged," he says. "He's lucky to be alive."Larry and his twin boys were at the vet to drop off their cat when Oogy walked down the hall…and right into their hearts. "He looked like part of him had melted," Larry says. "But he just covered us with kisses. It's like he didn't know that anything bad had happened to him—he was just full of love. He jumped in our arms."When Larry found out the dog didn't belong to anyone, he asked Dr. Bianco if he could adopt him. "I couldn't believe my good luck," Larry says. "That's how I felt about this dog right from the start."Oogy was given a loving home, but he still had an agonizing road to recovery. A second major surgery was necessary to rebuild Oogy's face and put an end to his chronic pain. "I think that every day my family tries to atone for what happened to Oogy. He's been through the worst imaginable horrors, and we feel very lucky because of what he gives back to us—an immeasurable amount of devotion and love."Larry's twin sons, Noah and Dan, have something special in common with Oogy—they were also adopted. " I'm sure when our parents adopted us, I hope it was one of the greatest days of their lives. And I know in my life, my experience when we adopted [Oogy], it was one of the greatest days of my life," Dan says."I think that Oogy symbolizes to people the indomitable survivor that they see in themselves," Larry says. "And that there is love on the other side of adversity."
In order to get to Chicago, Larry drove 15 hours with Oogy so he wouldn't be confined in a crate inside an airplane. "Oogy associates being in a crate with having his ear torn off, and I could not afford to have him endure that," Larry says.The Levin family says he might not be the prettiest dog, but Oogy's brought them more love than they could ever imagine. At first, however, Larry's wife, Jennifer says she was reluctant to bring the dog home. "I was really scared that he would bite, and he had a history of abuse, so I was afraid he would be violent," she says. After hearing Dr. Bianco attest to his good nature, Jennifer allowed Oogy into their home, and he's been a beloved family member ever since.Noah and Dan say Oogy has changed their lives in many different ways. "You don't think you can love just in that way until you meet a dog like Oogy," Noah says.Although Noah and Dan will be off to college soon, Larry plans to make sure Oogy still gets plenty of attention. "One of the things I want to do for Oogy is train him to work with kids and take him to kid's hospitals, because I think he'll be an inspiration to young kids who are facing a lot of adversity," Larry says.
I love OOGY! Oprah now has info on her website about how to adopt dogs in need. Check it out.
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