Mabel’s Tale: A story of perseverance

THE WOODLANDS, Texas – Too often the headlines are littered with story after story of man’s inhumanity to man. The trend to focus on the worst news is enough to discourage anyone living from believing there is any good news. Priyanka Johri, however, begs to disagree. Johri, who is president and CEO of Woodlands Eco Realty, a local real estate firm and brokerage based in The Woodlands, recently talked of Mabel, who survived a horrifying car accident – losing a leg in the process – but learned to adapt and ended up with a new purpose in life helping homeless puppies.

“After the auto accident she was involved in, and losing one of her legs, Mabel had every excuse to just give up on hope, on life, on everything,” said Johri. “I can think of many people who might have just given up after such a traumatic event, but Mabel is a special breed. She hung in there throughout the entire ordeal.”

In the accident, Mabel’s hips and leg had been shattered. She was so injured that her heart stopped during the surgery, but dedicated medical personnel revived her. Because of the nature of her injuries, the difficult decision was made to amputate her shattered leg. “I can only imagine how terrifying it must be to be rescued after a major accident, only to wake up from surgery to find your leg had been amputated,” said Johri.

It was Johri’s active community involvement that brought the two of them together. Mabel found herself undergoing extensive and exhaustive rehabilitative therapy to cope with the loss of one of her limbs. For two months, she was unable to walk, and required help with even the most basic of daily activities.

Again, Johri expected her to give up and not overcome the terrible lot she had been given. But Mabel surprised everyone by adapting to her handicap. Additionally, as she and Johri spent more time together, they embraced their mutual love of animals in need. Soon, Mabel actually allowed her own motherly instincts to come out – despite her young age – and she decided to dedicate a good portion of her life in taking care of the numerous puppies at Pure Mutts Animal Sanctuary, a private sanctuary that Johri owns.

It rapidly became clear that Mabel had a new mission in life: to find homes for the droves of puppies at the sanctuary. “The effect the puppies and Mabel had on each other was magical,” said Johri. “It can’t be denied that Mabel decided to continue her physical therapy so that she could adequately foster the puppies out of sheer love for them. Within three months of her surgery where she lost her leg, she had become an active ‘co-parent’ and guardian of these young residents of Pure Mutts. To this day, she is a stalwart, daily presence at the sanctuary, doing everything she can to ensure all these puppies are well taken care of.”

There is an ironic twist to Mabel’s story of overcoming adversity and loss to find a new purpose in life. For all of the humanity she has demonstrated, Mabel is a dog.

More specifically, she is a two-year-old boxer/terrier mix. “In her short life so far, she has shown more compassion, more unconditional love, more dedication than many humans I see on the news every single day,” said Johri. “She is an invaluable resource to Pure Mutts Animal Sanctuary, and I am blessed to have her.”

Pure Mutts Animal Sanctuary – a 3,000-square-foot home on two acres – was founded by Johri to fill the need of providing special care for old, seriously sick and injured animals that ordinary shelters can’t provide due to lack of resources. These special-needs animals come to the closed sanctuary from other shelters, rescuers, and volunteers, such as the woman who rescued Mabel from a roadside three days after she had been hit by a car. Seven animal shelters turned away Mabel before Johri was contacted and agreed to take her in to her sanctuary.

Pure Mutts serves as hospice for older and terminally ill animals, a long-term foster home for animals in long-term recovery, a vacation home for healthy animals, and a temporary home for puppies looking to be adopted into forever homes. It is a private sanctuary – as opposed to a public shelter – and does not receive any state or federal funding; in fact, Johri provides a significant portion of its funding by donating 30% of all money earned from her realty business.

Because of the limited resources available, Pure Mutts Animal Sanctuary is closed to those members of the general public wishing to drop off stray animals (instead she encourages those animals be either taken into the finders’ homes or brought to a no-kill animal shelter). However, Johri hosts open houses of the sanctuary. She is hosting the next Pure Mutt Open House on Sunday, June 14, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., and invites interested members of the public to come by to tour the facility and perhaps be inspired to adopt a puppy or special-needs adult dog.

“To look into the eyes of these dogs is to look into the face of unconditional love,” said Johri. “Mabel’s tale is but one of many of the beautiful stories of how these animals overcome significant hardships and end up showing more humanity than some humans. I invite you to pay them a visit on June 14.”

For more information on Pure Mutts Animal Sanctuary, or to schedule an appointment for the open house, call 832-277-3577 or visit www.puremuttsanimalsanctuary.com.