Here at Lollypop Farm, we know that all pets are special and unique in their own way. Lucy, puppy born at Lollypop Farm in October, just happened to catch the eye of our community, and the world!
In October of 2016, an emaciated, flea-ridden pit bull came to Lollypop Farm as a stray. Our staff decided that she should be called “Daisy.” Daisy was so thin that it wasn’t readily apparent that she was carrying puppies, and she gave birth just days later. The evening Daisy had her puppies was a frigidly cold one in Rochester with heavy snowfall. Needless to say, we were sad to see Daisy in the condition she was in, but so grateful that she and her newborn puppies had made it to Lollypop Farm where they were safe and warm.
Each and every one of Daisy’s puppies were checked out by our veterinary team, evaluated by our behavior department, and put up for adoption. Lucy, a small black and white female puppy, was listed on www.lollypop.org/dogs and her adoption photo started to draw some attention. We received an email from a member of the community stating that there was a mirror image of Lucy’s face on her ear – which believe it or not, no one at the shelter had even noticed! We snapped a few more photos of Lucy and shared her story on our Facebook page.
When Lucy’s photo started to draw more attention than we had anticipated, we decided to send her story to The Dodo, a website for animal lovers that curates cute, heartwarming, and emotional animal content across the internet and social media. The Dodo got in touch with us almost immediately and wanted to run the story. They took a few quotes, asked for a few more photos, and by the evening, Lucy had gone viral!
Lucy, now known as the puppy with a selfie on her ear, was featured on Inside Edition, discussed on the Australian Today Show, displayed on the front page of Yahoo News for almost two days, picked up by Ripley’s Believe-It-Or-Not children’s book series, was printed in a Taiwanese newspaper, and was even shared on George Take’s Facebook page. (Try Googling “Lucy selfie puppy,” you’ll be surprised!)
Of course, by the time Lucy reached world-wide audiences she had already found a happy home in the Rochester community. Lucy’s mother Daisy and all of her puppies, some with adorable and unique markings of their own, found happy homes in the Rochester area. We hope that the exposure Lucy’s special ear brought for Lollypop Farm, and all shelter pets, opened eyes to the plight of homeless animals everywhere.
Click here to meet our adoptable dogs.
Click here to read Lucy’s story on The Dodo.
