Dying Shelter Dog Goes Home With Valley Hospital Employee On Thanksgiving Eve

By Cecilia Levine From Daily Voice

When Ingrid Santucci lost her 10-year-old Great Dane last spring, another dog just miles away was beginning her own fight.

Piper, an elderly Cane Corso mix, had been brought to the Bergen County Animal Shelter after she was found in Englewood vomiting up trash. Veterinarians discovered staples in her stomach, and staff said the masses and calluses on her body suggested years spent living on concrete.

She had survived, but she hadn’t lived.

In the months that followed, Piper needed time to recover. And Santucci, grieving the loss of her Great Dane, needed time too. She even visited the shelter and met another Great Dane, but, she said, "it was too soon." She wasn't ready.

And in a way, neither was Piper. One was learning how to let go; the other was learning how to feel safe. Both were healing. Separately, quietly, without knowing their paths were inching toward each other.

Then, in October, Santucci read Piper’s story in the Daily Voice and went in to meet Piper the very next day.

“I haven’t stopped thinking about her since the first time I met her,” Santucci said.

She was approved to take Piper home, but the dog came down with kennel cough just before pickup. 

“I was devastated,” said Santucci, a paramedic by trade and manager of Valley Hospital’s emergency services department.

Piper was quarantined for two weeks, then needed another week to recover. Still, Santucci and her husband visited her faithfully. “We brought treats with us and some toys,” she said.

On Tuesday, Nov. 25, Santucci finally got the update she had been hoping for: "Piper's looking good!" the text message from a shelter official read.

On Wednesday, Nov. 26, the day before Thanksgiving, Santucci brought a leash to work, finished her shift, and drove straight to the Bergen County Animal Shelter to get her girl.

Moments after walking into her house with Piper, Santucci described the scene to the Daily Voice. 

"I walk around when I'm on the phone, and she's been following me back and forth," Santucci said. "She checked out the back yard, she’s just checking everything out. I’ve been giving her treats to make her feel safe. She’s just good."

Santucci, who fostered for Cheryl’s Den in West Milford, said she plans to give Piper the gentle ending she deserves.

“I want to give her the best life possible. I want to spoil her with treats and make her last days memorable. I think every dog just like every person should be loved,” she said.

This Thanksgiving, Piper isn’t lying on concrete. She’s home.