Mork, as cute and lovable as he is, is a lesson in bad breeding practices. He was rescued from a meat truck in China, where he likely ended up after being abandoned by a breeder due to his health conditions.
Fortunately, Mork has been able to get good medical care and a second chance at life in the US, but his rescuers want to spread the word that no one should purposely breed dogs like Mork.
Nikki Carvey, founder of Roadogs Rescue in Southern California, first saw Mork in a photo sent to her in late 2019 by Harbin SHS, the group that rescued Mork from the meat truck. Carvey focuses primarily on bulldogs and other brachycephalic breeds (dogs whose short snouts often cause breathing problems), so she knew she was well positioned to help Mork deal with his health problems.
Of course, life for Mork wasn’t all plums and roses after being rescued from the meat truck. “He was very sick when they rescued him. In fact, he almost died,” Carvey recalls. “We weren’t sure if he was going to survive, but he pulled through thanks to good care from the vets.”
“He’s a loud little guy because, you know, he has a lot of problems, breathing problems, skin problems… you name it, he has them,” he says. “Any type of brachycephalic dog is going to have problems, and who knows what they were getting into there. So yeah, it’s a bit of a disaster.”
Anyway, Carvey fell in love with Mork and decided to adopt him instead of trying to find him a home. His numerous health complications make him a difficult dog to find a good home, but he is in good hands with Carvey.
Carvey also found a way to improve people’s lives through the Instagram page he created for Mork and by taking him to visit people who need encouragement.
Mork is not only able to bring joy and comfort to the lives of his followers, but he is also a constant reminder that we should all love ourselves and others, regardless of our differences.
“Mork’s message is also about embracing yourself,” says Carvey. “A lot of us have problems with our appearance or our bodies and things like that. And yet we are very accepting of animals that look funny or have quirks or whatever. And for me, Mork is about that too; “Everyone loves the plump little chops of his, so it’s like, well, you know, let’s love our own plump chops too.”
Carvey isn’t exactly sure what mix of breeds could have been combined to create a “Baby Yoda” or an “alien” dog like Mork, but she also refuses to find out. She doesn’t want to run the risk of unscrupulous breeders trying to replicate Mork, likely creating more dogs with serious and costly health problems.
“He will never be an athletic dog. He doesn’t like walks, probably because of his feet,” says Carvey. “Kind of like me, he likes to hang out at home, eat good food, watch a movie and that’s it.”
But hey, that sounds like a good life to us! Carvey hopes Mork’s story encourages people to give special needs dogs a chance while still being responsible by choosing a dog whose needs they can meet.
“I encourage people to rescue dogs who are different and who have problems and who, on the surface, may not be the perfect dog, but they will give you so much more than you can imagine,” she says. “I believe that you receive more than you give and that they can teach you, and I truly believe that these animals are here to teach us kindness, compassion, patience and so many wonderful virtues if we let them. Take risks, because you just don’t know what they will bring to your life.”