LITTER REUNITES FOR PLAYDATE — Three local college students adopted puppies from the Jefferson County Humane Society in June. The puppies, which came from the same litter, were rescued from a condemned home in Toronto. Humane agents seized the 28 dogs being hoarded in the dwelling in May. The students, who all attend different universities, unknowingly adopted their puppies for the purpose of being a support animal. The final dog from the hoarding case was adopted in July. Meeting for their first reunion and playdate since being separated, were, from left, Sydnee Kirkpatrick and Harlow, Gabi Sunyoger and Max and Gracie Phillips and Noodles. -- Julie Stenger

Make life seem OK once again.

They are, after all, “man’s best friend.”

And perhaps no one knows that better than three local college students.

Strangers … who each rescued a puppy from the same litter.

KEEPING ONE ANOTHER COMPANY — Max, left, had the opportunity to meet his sister, Noodles, during a reunion held at the Jefferson County Humane Society in Wintersville. He also met his other sister, Harlow, during this special, arranged playdate. The puppies were rescued from a hoarding situation in May and adopted by three college students for the purpose of being their support animal. -- Julie Stenger

And for the same reason.

The young women thought of what they would be able to give these special canines who had already been through so much. They could offer love, a stable home environment and security like they never knew before.

What they didn’t consider, however, was what the puppies would in turn, give back to them.

But first, we have to go back to where it all began.

On approximately April 3, a litter of four puppies was born.

THE CHASE — Max, top, chased his sister, Harlow, through the field at the Jefferson County Humane Society during their reunion. The dogs had not seen one another for more than two months since being adopted out by three college students. -- Julie Stenger

Their surroundings were, to say the least, deplorable.

The quadruplets took their very first breaths inside a condemned home in the Toronto area.

In addition to the four newborns and their mother, an additional 23 dogs resided in a place that was deemed unfit and dangerous for people — let alone 28 helpless animals.

It wasn’t until a month later, when the people staying in the dilapidated structure were told to leave, that the more-than two dozen dogs were rescued by humane agents and taken to the Jefferson County Humane Society in Wintersville.

Brandi DeNoon-Damewood remembers that hoarding situation all too-well.

The shelter’s development manager recalls the day the dogs were brought to the facility.

“The dogs were living in filthy and unhealthy conditions,” she began. “It was overcrowded and just the worst possible scenario you could imagine.”

The dogs were each given the procedural care all animals that are rescued receive at the shelter.

In addition to being checked for such things as injuries and worms, they are given shots and are spayed or neutered prior to being adopted.

DeNoon-Damewood explained the hoarding rescue occurred in May when the puppies were just 1-month old.

They entered the facility during a time in which the humane society was already nearing capacity and making a plea for the community to look within their hearts and adopt an animal.

Simultaneously adding an additional 28 dogs is never an easy feat — especially in the shelter’s current situation. The total was now at 120 dogs, puppies, cats and kittens, with an additional 119 animals already placed and waiting in foster care households.

But officials and volunteers at the nonprofit made it work. Again. And by July, all of the rescued canines had been adopted.

DeNoon-Damewood’s daughter, Gabi Sunyoger instantly fell in love with one of the puppies from the litter. The part chihuahua, part Jack Russell terrier mix was the only male of the four and Sunyoger immediately held him in her arms and never let him go.

Sunyoger explained her family has always adopted animals from the shelter, as it is hard to work or volunteer there, as she sometimes does, and not fall in love with its residents.

However, this particular dog was different.

Somehow.

Sunyoger said she has had a dog in her life since she can remember.

But in January, she had to put down her 19-year-old chihuahua. And it broke her heart.

She was simply going through the motions.

A sophomore studying clinical psychology at Robert Morris University, Sunyoger struggled to stay on campus. She would go to her classes and then either sleep or return home until it was evening and she had to return to her dorm.

She would wake up, go to class and then leave school again.

“Staying on campus last year was really hard for me,” she stated. “I would come home after class and then just stay home until nighttime and then go to bed.”

Sunyoger stated her psychiatrist suggested she get a comfort animal to help with what she was going through.

Being as how she had seen service dogs on campus, Sunyoger decided she would try it and began fostering the puppy she named Max on June 1.

She legally adopted him June 28.

Their time together has so far, been more than she could have even asked for.

Max is her certified emotional support animal, calming her when she is anxious and giving her something to look forward to now.

He stays in her dorm room while she attends classes. The university has rules against comfort animals being in class, she explained.

“While I am gone, he is never bored,” she stated. “He gets enrichment puzzles when I leave and he is potty trained so he doesn’t have accidents when I am gone.”

“I have something to rely on now,” Sunyoger said. “We go on walks and he helps me study. It’s been really nice.”

“Everyone just loves him,” Sunyoger continued. “There is always someone who is more than willing to help take care of him for me. Anytime anyone is around this dog, you can’t help but smile. And you can’t get mad at him because he is just so goofy.”

DeNoon-Damewood interjected, saying that when her daughter was sick and lying on the bathroom floor all morning, Max never left her side.

“He laid on her head and right by her side the entire time,” she stated. “Being part Jack Russell terrier and a puppy — for him to completely lay there with her all day — that is so out of character. He is such a good dog.”

Plus, he is the perfect icebreaker for meeting people, DeNoon-Damewood said.

Sunyoger agreed, saying she has met so many students at the school by having Max, adding that life is so much better now. At first, she was worried about this new environment for him, being in a school setting.

“But it has all worked out and we are both really happy,” she concluded.

Before college, Sunyoger had attended the same high school as Muskingum University senior Gracie Phillips.

Phillips is a few years older than Sunyoger, so the two never really had an opportunity to meet and become friends.

All that has changed, however, as the Muskingum student who is enrolled in the school’s nursing program, also adopted one of the pups in the litter of four. A female she calls, Noodles.

Brother and sister.

Noodles is the last of the 28 dogs from the hoarding rescue to be adopted — a momentous day for those at the humane society.

When asked why she selected the name, Phillips responded her first choice had been Luna, but the puppy “was so lengthy,” she thought it would be a better fit.

DeNoon-Damewood noted Noodles “looks like a maccaroni noodle when she curls up into a ‘C’ formation,” so it was the perfect choice.

A perfect name for a perfect dog.

Although the two girls never actually met, they would discover years later they actually have a lot in common.

Phillips said she wanted to adopt Noodles because she, too, needed support.

She commented she was nervous in the beginning, knowing what the puppy had been through the first couple months of its life.

“But any place you come from — even people — you can always change. It just matters who you are with and who you surround yourself with,” Phillips said. “I knew she would be good with me.”

She recalled several instances in which she has suffered from anxiety. As a result, panic attacks have ensued because of the stress.

Sometimes, life can become just too overwhelming.

Enter Noodles. Now considered to be a psychiatric service animal, who nudges her owner when she is about to have one of her panic attacks.

Phillips put her puppy through the necessary training in order to become a service animal for this exact reason.

She explained her parents thought it would be a wonderful idea for her to adopt a service dog to assist with her medical conditions.

And Phillips knew the moment she saw a photo of Noodles on the humane society’s Facebook page, that this was the dog meant for her.

Noodles now helps her owner on a daily basis.

She attends classes with her, as she is permitted to go wherever Phillips goes since having had the training to be a service dog.

She said she could not be more happy with her newfound best friend.

“It’s been great for my mental health too, because there are days when you don’t really want to go outside, or do anything,” Phillips concluded. “You just want to sit inside. But you know, she’s got to go potty and she has to go for a walk, so she kind of gets you up and moving, which is definitely great for me.”

So, what are the chances that a third college student would adopt one of the 28 animals rescued from the hoarding situation?

And what are the odds that puppy would again, be from the same litter of four?

Moreover, what is the likelihood that student would be in need of an emotional support animal, too?

Ask 19-year-old West Liberty University student Sydnee Kirkpatrick.

The odds are pretty good.

Kirkpatrick is an elementary education major who has volunteered at the humane society for years. Her mother, Christi, serves on its board of directors.

So, she, too, has grown up in a family which adopts dogs from the shelter.

In fact, Christi Kirkpatrick adopted the fourth puppy from the litter, her daughter announced.

Harlow was the name selected by Kirkpatrick, who is thrilled to have the opportunity to adopt a dog.

The West Liberty sophomore said her mother fostered the three females after they arrived at the shelter, as Sunyoger had already wanted to foster Max.

Fortunately, Sydnee was able to adopt Harlow and now has a dog of her own. She provides her with the emotional support Kirkpatrick needs, as she, also, needs an emotional support animal.

Kirkpatrick said she transferred after her first semester and life was becoming chaotic.

“It was just a lot and I needed a dog for my mental health,” she said.

“A dog would be a really good responsibility for me living on my own,” Kirkpatrick said. “Becoming an adult and living without my parents, having to juggle 20 credit hours, it can become overwhelming.”

Enter Harlow … and all that changed.

“I don’t like thinking of where she came from because she shows nothing of what she came from,” Kirkpatrick, said. “And she is so much better now than whatever she was in before. She’s my little girl and I love her. She really has made a great impact on going to school and class. She is there all the time for me and I absolutely love it.”

“Our experience at West Lib has actually been really good,” she stated.

Kirkpatrick explained Harlow must be kept in a cage in her dorm room, as the school’s policy on dogs. However, there are several students and friends who volunteer to take care of her while she is in class and walk her or play with her.

“These girls have done such an honorable thing,” DeNoon-Damewood said, noting it is remarkable to see how today’s younger generation can relate to the need to help with the overpopulation of animals.

The three college students were in need of someone to help in dealing with their emotions.

Each reached out to a dog. A dog who had a difficult start in life.

As it turned out, the dogs needed them perhaps more than the girls needed them.

Either way, the situation turned out better than anyone could have expected.

Even DeNoon-Damewood.

“Being able to take an animal from such a dire situation and give it a beautiful, brand-new life, is incredible in itself,” she concluded. “But then, being able to change two lives at the same time … it is one of the best things we can hope for in the world of rescue.”