Mutt makes his way to Puppy Bowl, new home
Mango the dog, who washed out in this year’s Puppy Bowl, won something more important than a football game.
Mango the dog won a home.
The story of Mango the dog, a street mutt who could be the most famous puppy in the history of Santa Rosa after being picked to star in television’s annual puppy blowout, goes to the heart of the man’s-best-friend thing.
“Mango was a puppy with no future, living a miserable life of struggle,” said Christi Camblor, co-founder of Compassion Without Borders, a Santa Rosa foundation that rescues pets from foreign countries and finds them new homes in the U.S.
Months ago, Camblor went to the shelter’s affiliate in Puerto Penasco, Mexico, and spotted Mango, a 6week-old puppy that had been dumped at the shelter in a cardboard box He was scrawny, scaly and sick. But Camblor saw potential.
“He had a charming personality,” Camblor said. “Gentle. Sweet. Loving. A well-rounded puppy.”
Just the dog, Camblor said, for the Puppy Bowl, whose organizers had contacted Camblor because they wanted to feature an international dog for the first time in the show’s 14-year history. In previous years, all of the puppies featured on the annual Animal Planet show have come from U.S. shelters.
After some R&R at the Santa Rosa shelter, Camblor said Mango was ready for the big time. Off to New York they flew. During his first airplane ride, Mango sat on his benefactor’s lap, ate treats and tried to behave so as not to be stowed in his box under the seat.
In New York, Mango was one of three dozen puppies facing two pressure-packed days of filming. The Puppy Bowl is a national bit of silliness shown on Super Bowl Sunday that features shelter puppies tugging on chew toys in an enclosure decked out like a football stadium. The show draws 3 million viewers a year, most of whom say “awww” at one point or another.
During the filming, the puppies are led one by one into the “stadium.” The idea is for them to play cutely with each other and compete in tug-of-war matches over chew toys.
This, alas, Mango showed no interest in doing.
“He watched the other puppies,” Camblor said. “To be honest, he was a little shy. He was overwhelmed by the lights and the noises. He was not the MVP. I hope I’m not giving anything away by revealing that.”
But something bigger was going on, behind the scenes. One of the stage hands, Sydney Baldwin, was becoming smitten with Mango. She asked Camblor if Mango was up for adoption and Camblor said yes.
It wasn’t a game anymore. Camblor began conducting her standard adoption interview. It was a close call, because Baldwin and her fiance said they both worked during the day and Mango would be home alone in their Manhattan apartment. But when Baldwin promised to hire a professional dog walker to take Mango on daily walks in Central Park, Camblor signed off on the match.
And instead of flying back to Santa Rosa, Mango went off to live his new life in Manhattan. Baldwin sent Camblor photos of Mango romping in the snow and exploring the sidewalks of New York as only a puppy can.
“Mango’s story is one of hope,” Camblor said. “He began life in a tough situation. Not much of a chance. And now he’s living it up in New York City. It’s a rags-to-riches story. It couldn’t happen to a nicer dog.”
“Mango was a puppy with no future.” Christi Camblor, co-founder, Compassion Without Borders