When Angel, a German shepherd, was 10 months old, she had just been returned to an animal shelter and her previous owner had labeled her “berserk.” A year later she is the star of red-carpet events for pets and is well on her way to scripting her own Hollywood ending to her suddenly charmed life.
“We’ll do red-carpet events and she’s perfect, she’ll sit right beside me,” said her owner, Megan Blake. “Everyone wants to see her. She’s an amazing spokesdog for throwaways. That’s what she is.”
Blake is a co-host of “Animal Attractions Television,” a show airing on PBS. She is an advocate for pet rescues and shelter dogs and currently owns six pets, including Angel. As a pet lifestyle specialist she counsels people on how to smoothly integrate a pet into a home.
While Angel now lives at Blake’s home in Malibu, Calif., she likely began her life at a puppy mill near Sunland, Calif. Students at a local school’s pet enthusiast club found Angel with duct tape on her right ear. German shepherds are known for ears that point straight up and Angel’s right ear flops down. Blake thinks the puppy mill’s owners tried to get Angel’s ear to grow straight by taping it and when it didn’t, they released the dog into the wild.
Blake found Angel at a shelter in Agoura Hills, Calif. Her prior owner had returned the dog to the shelter because, according to Angel’s paperwork, the dog was “beserk.” Angel was likely going to be euthanized when Blake met the dog.
“Angel was exhibiting extremely hyper behavior, with her eyes rolling back and her legs flailing,” Blake said. “But all this was major puppy energy of a major athletic breed.”
Blake bonded with Angel at the shelter so she adopted the dog and brought her home. Angel hadn’t been trained so Blake got to work. She kept Angel on a leash for the first two days the dog was home, and only rewarded good behavior. She brought Angel everywhere, including the bathroom.
“Within 48 hours she was 5 trillion times better,” Blake said. “It was like a “Dog Whisperer” episode.”
Blake has owned Angel since February 2008 and now takes the German shepherd to celebrity pet events she hosts. Angel is a big dog, with a tail that is two feet long. She remains calm, however, even when a guest might step on her tail.
“She’ll look at me,” Blake said. “I’m the alpha, so I tell her what’s OK and what’s not OK. She is the star of the evening.”
At the Luxury Pet Pavilion, a trade show that showcases high-end pet products, held in March in downtown Los Angeles, Blake and Angel hosted the charity auction. Tammy Hansen, vice president of operations for Luxury Pet Pavilion, watched Angel in action.
“When you look into her eyes you see the gratitude and respect she has for life, people, and her parents,” Hansen said. “She was more poised and comfortable in the red carpet arena than most and the kindness, love and devotion that surrounds her makes you drop to your knees to soak it up.”
Blake is proud of her transformed throwaway dog.
“People think she’s from an expensive breeder,” Blake said. “Angel is the most pure-bred looking dog ever.”
