Meet Kahlua: a once-starving stray dog up for adoption at weekend 'clear the shelters' event – Prince William Times

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Clear skies. Low 67F. Winds light and variable..
Clear skies. Low 67F. Winds light and variable.
Updated: August 27, 2022 @ 7:21 pm
Kahula, who was on the run for more than three weeks before a Bristow resident captured him in her yard, among the dogs looking for a forever home during the Clear the Shelters event this weekend at the Prince William Animal Shelter.  
A Prince William County police officer captures Kaluhua after he was captured in a Bristow backyard on July 18.

Kahula, who was on the run for more than three weeks before a Bristow resident captured him in her yard, among the dogs looking for a forever home during the Clear the Shelters event this weekend at the Prince William Animal Shelter.  
Once starving and terrified, Kahlua eluded rescuers in Bristow and Nokesville for over three weeks in the heat of July. Emaciated and covered in ticks, Kahlua sought refuge from thunderstorms on covered porches but ran away anytime a human tried to help him. 
After receiving care for over a month at the Prince William Animal Shelter, Kahlua has recovered and is one of over 50 pets up for adoption at Prince William Animal Shelter’s “Clear the Shelters Event” this weekend, Friday, Aug. 26 to Sunday, Aug. 28.
A Prince William County police officer captures Kaluhua after he was captured in a Bristow backyard on July 18.
Shelter Manager Suzette Kapp said that as of early this week, she anticipated the shelter having about 21 dogs and 31 cats available during the three-day Clear the Shelters event this weekend. 
The shelter even has a 3-foot adult ball python snake and a parakeet awaiting new homes. Potential adopters can check out pet listings on the Prince William animal shelter’s Petfinder page, which also shows a few bunnies and two adult guinea pigs.
All of these animals will have discounted adoption fees, and the cats and dogs will be spayed or neutered at no cost to adopters, Kapp said.
“We’re partnering with the Prince William SPCA. They are helping us pay for the reduced adoption fees,” Kapp said, adding that the Prince William Animal Advocates raised money to “cover some of the pre-adoption spays and neuters … so the animals are ready to go home when people adopt this weekend.”
The hunt for Kahlua
Brenda Wilson, 67, of Triangle, who runs Lost and Found Pets of Prince William County, said Kahlua is one of the most deserving pets at the shelter because he’s been through so much in his short life but is “so happy to see people.” 
Wilson said she thinks he’s a hound mix, shelter staff lists him as a Labrador retriever mix, and Kapp said he’s likely a “Heinz 57.”
Wilson said she tracked Kahlua, who she thinks is only about 3 years old, all across Western Prince William starting in early July when she learned he was out on his own and on the run. Wilson said she saw pictures of the dog taken by people who spotted him scrounging for food and “got so upset” because he was “obviously starving” and needed immediate veterinary care.
Wilson was determined to find the “skinny dog,” so she put up 50 lost-dog fliers, posted pictures of him on social media asking people to report sightings and drove around looking for him. Once she received several reports indicating he was staying around the same area, she set out food, humane traps and motion cameras to try to capture him safely. 
Wilson said she got close a few times but only got pictures of the dog. Kahlua is clever and evaded the traps every time, she said.
Wilson said she was “amazed at the dog” because he was spotted peacefully mixing with cows and trotting with horses in pastures in Nokesville as he searched for scraps of food. The dog also survived being chased by a car for 5-miles on Va. 28 and then somehow disappeared in the New Bristow Village neighborhood, she said. 
Finally, Wilson got the call she had been waiting for on July 18. A good Samaritan had been able to capture Kahlua in her gated yard and called the Prince William police. 
Wilson said when she heard the news she was “so ecstatic and just cried.” 
Wilson’s relief was short-lived because when the skeletal dog was covered with hundreds of ticks, flea-infested, and so ill that she was worried he wouldn’t survive.
“He was a rack of bones covered in ticks when he came into the shelter,” said Kapp. Shelter staff named him Kahlua and said it has been a long road nursing him back to health. He received warm baths, flea and tick treatments, several veterinarian visits, blood work and was even hospitalized because “he was sick with a fever that we couldn’t get to break,” Kapp said.
Because Kahlua was emaciated, he’s been eating a modified diet and shelter staff has fed him “numerous small meals a day to put some weight on him,” Kapp said. When he wasn’t feeling well, he stayed in Kapp’s office with her and got some extra attention. 
Kapp said Kahlua “has been through a lot” and has “battled all kinds of things” and the shelter has been careful to minimize his stress. 
Against all odds, Kahlua has recovered, is healthy and ready for his forever family, Kapp said.
Kahlua is heart worm negative but will need follow up veterinary care to check his blood levels and test for tick-borne illnesses in the coming months which is why he is listed as “special needs” on his Petfinder listing, she said. He was neutered just this week in time for the “Clear the Shelters” adoption event.   
Kapp said she gets the feeling that Kahlua is going to “be a one-person dog” and is going to “attach really well” once he finds his person.
“The dog is special. He is a survivor and deserves a good home,” Wilson said.
Wilson said she hopes Kahlua is adopted by someone who has time to spend bonding with him, patience to allow him to “decompress” after his ordeal, lots of love to share and a 6-foot fence.
This will be the first Clear the Shelters event held in the new Prince William County Animal Shelter, located at 14807 Bristow Road in Manassas. The event will be held Friday, Aug. 26 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 27 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday, Aug. 28 from noon to 4 p.m.
The Prince William shelter has participated in the Clear the Shelters event for many years, Kapp said, noting that the nationwide campaign is sponsored by NBC Universal, Telemundo and Hill’s Pet Nutrition. Clear the Shelters started in 2015 in Texas and has helped more than 700,000 pets find homes, according to the campaign’s website.
Reach Cher Muzyk at [email protected]
  

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Great story–Brenda Wilson is a true hero!
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