Strawberry Shortcake
A story of resiliency and kindness
Liza A Pierce of “A Maui Blog”
I first saw her on Instagram. I was scrolling through my feed when this photo of a cute chihuahua on “home made DIY wheels” stopped me in my tracks. I ended following the page her foster parent created for her. Her name is Strawberry Shortcake and her Instagram handle is @strawberrywheelz.
What is it that attracted me to this special needs chihuahua named Strawberry? I believe it’s because Strawberry’s story is a story of resiliency and kindness.
Photo courtesy Frank Aranda
Resiliency
What is resiliency? Resiliency is the capacity to withstand or to recover quickly from difficulties; it is a character trait we all need right now, with everything happening all around us. When we read (listen or watch) the news, we mosty hear negative stories. Stories of war, shooting, job loss, calamities and so on. Life can be difficult. Resiliency gives us the ability to withstand adversity and bounce back and grow despite life’s downturns.
“Strawberry Shortcake is a special needs chihuahua with a spinal injury resulting from a bb gunshot wound. (People can be unbelievably cruel sometimes.) She is fecal incontinent and requires manual bladder expressions regularly. I adopted her in the early months of the pandemic shortly after an amazing team of staff and fosters at Maui Humane Society took her in and got her on the mend. She was gifted her wheelchair by donors while in foster care, and on adoption day I proudly welcomed four paws and two wheels into my life. She and I have formed a beautiful bond. Strawberry requires adequate space and extra special attention as she is not able to relieve herself without assistance. My chosen field allows me to provide full-time loving care for her, something that is as much of a necessity as it is a luxury,” shared by Frank Aranda, Strawberry’s adoptive human father, on their Go Fund Me Page. The link can be found on Strawberry’s Instagram.
When you see Strawberry today, she is a happy chihuahua bringing joy to people lucky enough to interact with her, in person or even just online.
Photo courtesy Frank Aranda
Kindness
We do not need to define kindness, do we? We all know what kindness looks like when we see it. It is that quality of being friendly, generous and considerate. It is a virtue much needed these days as well.
Maui Humane Society took Strawberry in and got her on the mend. That’s kindness. While at MHS, a sweet lady offered to foster Strawberry and she took care of her until she was adopted. That’s kindness. A guy named Frank Aranda, officially adopted Strawberry knowing she is a special needs pet, which comes with extra expenses and needs of extra time and attention. That’s kindness.
Recently one of our pets had an accident and broke a bone in his front leg. I was anxious and overwhelmed. I needed help in taking care of him while I work from home. I reached out to Frank because his current work right now involves taking care of puppies (slumberpuppies.com). The kind of services he offers is not exactly what I needed and the schedule when I need the services has a conflict as well. He didn’t stop, however, by saying “Sorry, I can’t help you.” He actually went above and beyond and contacted a colleague of his who was able to help me. All this to say it is Frank’s kindness which inspired me to share Strawberry’s story here at Kwento-Kwentuhan. I am grateful for the kindness she is extending to Strawberry right now and for the kindness she extended to me.
Go ahead and check out and follow Strawberry Shortcake’s Instagram Page and Frank’s Slumberpuppies.com. There are many more details and stories there. By the way, although the website name is SlumberPuppies, it does include animals of all ages including puppies. It’s about overnight companionship services for your pets, and also daytime services such as transport/pet taxi for people who might need pick-ups and drop offs for certain animal appointments etc. Let Strawberry and Frank inspire you to be resilient and kind as they inspired me.
Liza Pierce of A Maui Blog is an Interactive Media enthusiast. She started blogging in 2006 and she loves talking story online and spreading aloha around the world. She’s been living on Maui since 1994 and considers Maui her home. A wife, a mother, a friend … and so much more. She loves Jesus; Maui Sunsets Catcher; Crazy About Rainbow; End Alzheimer’s Advocate. Her life is full and exciting here on the island of Maui. Liza is currently the Digital Media Specialist with Hawai‘i Life Real Estate Brokers. She is the author of the book Maui 2021 and Beyond.