Merry & Venus - Bonded Girls Pit Bull Terrier Mix Tacoma, WA

Every animal rescuer’s worst nightmare: to believe wholeheartedly you have found the perfect and most loving home...only to find it isn’t so. This is Venus and Merry…a pair of young senior ladies who have been let down by humans in their lifetimes—not just once, not just twice, not just three times. Please help us to find their FINAL and FOREVER home. These girls are pure joy, and we cannot bear to see them get anything less than the best.

In the beginning of her life, Merry as a young pup was being sold on social media, promoted as being “great for breeding” at an asking price of $80 and with a 20-pound chain attached to her. Initially, Venus was rescued as a young puppy living on the streets with leg deformations (carpal laxity syndrome). Though they came from separate backgrounds in the beginning, they formed a bond while in a loving home early on with the woman that rescued them. They were adopted out and came back twice (no fault of their own; families with life changes that didn’t include the dogs). Their most recent adoption took place in 2020—with the rescuer of these girls doing everything right: glowing application, fantastic home-check, and so on. The adopter even kept in touch with the rescuer—sharing photos and updates of their lives. She knew how to contact the rescuer should anything go wrong.

Three years later, August of 2023, Merry is found wandering in a park by a forest ranger. She is flea infested, limping, and has several masses. The rescuer is notified since she is still listed on the microchip. Shocked, she reaches out to the adopter, unable to reach her after multiple attempts. When she finally connects with the adopter it’s only to be told that she (the adopter) was no longer able to keep the dogs and had given them away. Where was Venus? After getting the run around from the adopter, pictures of Venus surfaced on social media as a wandering scared dog in a very remote area by a concerned person trying to catch her or find the owner, with no luck. A trap was set, and within a couple of days, Venus was once again safe, but very tired and thin. It’s beyond our comprehension why the adopter did not reach back out to the rescuer and return the dogs—as this was part of the official adoption agreement and they knew how to contact the rescuer.

Given that their story began out of state, Lucky Paws Rescue agreed to take the dogs here in Washington to limit any more stress of transportation, etc. Both girls have gotten medical care and have been nursed back to health--including surgery on Merry for a large mass on her leg (biopsied as benign, thankfully!). Merry & Venus were so happy to be reunited—they have made it clear since they first met many years ago that they are meant to be together. They don’t care much for other dogs, but they do love each other! They are too interested in chasing kitties, so no cats in the home for them.

Both girls are crate-trained, but do not need to be crated when left alone—they are very content to snuggle and sleep together while awaiting your return. They are being fostered in a home with property right now, so they haven’t had a lot of recent leash time—but both girls are leash trained. They have good recall. They are not super large girls—maybe 45- 50 pounds depending on how much exercise or how much couch time is happening!


Please help us find their FOREVER home! To say they deserve it is an understatement; they’ve been waiting all their lives. Merry is now 11 years old, and Venus is nine years old. They are both very sweet and love people of all sizes and ages! Merry is very outgoing and affectionate. Venus can be a little shy at first, but once she warms up, you will see her silly side.

If you are interested in adopting these very special girls, please copy/paste this link into your internet browser to submit an application:

http://form.jotform.us/form/50488470409157