Community Corner

Mocha's Last Morning in La Mesa: Bath, Ear-Cleaning and Tooth-Brushing

Couple adopt "Annie" star, a 5-year-old terrier blend who played Sandy in Vista stage production.

is an orphan no more.  The 5-year-old terrier blend trained by a La Mesa couple to play the canine role in Annie was adopted Friday by a Fallbrook couple.

Mocha was found in a shelter in Bonita, and then trained and fostered while she played Sandy in the Moonlight Stage Productions musical in Vista.

Fourteen people applied to adopt Mocha from . After reviewing all the applications, Richard and Susan Bigley of Fallbrook were selected to be her parents and promised to spoil her rotten.

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Alexandra “Alex” Kuty and Rob Kuty of La Mesa were Mocha’s trainers and caregivers leading up to and during the two-week run of the show at Brengle Terrace Park.

“We are sad to see Mocha go, but are thrilled that her story has, and will continue to, encourage others to adopt from our local shelters,” Alex Kuty said Friday night.

Kuty described Mocha’s last hours in La Mesa: “We gave her a bath, cleaned her ears and brushed her teeth this morning, so she would look her best for her new family.”

But they hope to see Mocha again—and her new owners.

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“We look forward to keeping in touch with them and maybe even dog-sitting Mocha if they ever go out of town,” she said.

Rob Kuty spoke with the finalists for Mocha’s adoptive family before a decision was made, she said.

“One of the candidates actually went to the shelter to turn in an application for Mocha and ended up adopting a different dog,” Alex Kuty said. “Hopefully, the other applicants that ready for a dog will consider adopting from the shelter, too.”

Dawn Danielson, director of County Animal Services, said: “We’re so glad that Mocha’s found just the right family. Every pet deserves a loving forever home, and we think Mocha’s unique story helped remind people that animal shelters are full of affectionate and appealing animals.”

On Friday, the Bigleys met Mocha at the county’s animal shelter in Carlsbad and made her part of their family.

Animal Services staff and Mocha’s foster parents selected the Bigleys from a field of applicants who had learned about Mocha in media stories this week.

It’s a happy ending for an animal whose fate has taken many turns this year. The friendly and cute dog was relinquished by her family at the County Animal Services shelter in Bonita earlier this year.

There, she was discovered by the Kutys, scouts for a production of Annie at Vista’s Moonlight Theater.

Mocha proved a talented canine actress who delighted audiences in five performances a week. But while little orphan Annie found a loving home with Daddy Warbucks at the end of every show, when the play closed Aug. 6, Mocha was still searching for her forever home.

The pup has been living with the Kutys since they found her at the Bonita shelter in May. She remained with them this week while Animal Services solicited and reviewed applications from potential adopters.

Now that Mocha’s been adopted, hundreds of animals at the county’s three shelters still await their own star turns.

For more information, the public can contact the county Department of Animal Services at (619) 767-2675 or visit sddac.com.

Story updated at 7:50 p.m. Aug. 12, 2011.


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