A new relationship with animals, nature and each other.

Remembering Queenie

Renowned pit bull passes on

How many lives does a dog have? In Queenie’s case, at least three – maybe even four.

The pit bull mix was rescued from the Phoenix, Ariz., home of an abusive owner who had left her to starve without food or water for at least three weeks.

Queenie was taken in by Sheriff Joe Arpaio who is as notorious for his soft heart toward animals as he is for his hard heart toward criminals and illegal aliens. (He turned part of the county jail into an air-conditioned, no-kill shelter while the human inmates sweat it out in tents.)

That was nine years ago, and Queenie has been at the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office Animal Safe Haven (MASH) ever since, where she’s been cared for by inmates who pass muster with the sheriff.

Last year, Arpaio asked a rescue group, the Panacea Animal Wellness Sanctuary, to take Queenie to see if they could place her in a good home.

Earlier this year, Queenie found a good new home with a family that dotes on her. But last week, she took ill and became weak, and her person, Susan Laing, rushed her to the veterinarian who’d cared for her at PAWS. Tests showed she had a tumor on her liver that had ruptured. Emergency surgery couldn’t help Queenie, and she died shortly after.

And even if she didn’t have a very long life in her new home, it was certainly a good one.

Donations are being accepted in the Queen’s memory to build a dog sanctuary.