A Rough Start Gives Way To A Loving Life For Simba, NJ's Top Dog

BRICK, NJ — Wendy Lee Mitchell says her father was totally against getting a dog when Simba came into their lives.

"I had wanted a dog for a while," Wendy said Sunday evening as she talked about her lab-pit bull mix, who was recently named Top Dog In NJ by Patch readers.

Wendy, who lives in Brick, and her mom began plotting to get one, however, with some guidelines: Her mom, Lee, wanted one that was fawn-colored, and did not want a pit bull. Trips to shelters had been fruitless.

Then one day Wendy happened across a photo of a skinny, sad pup online. She showed it to her mother, and they made arrangements to bring Simba to their home to meet their cat, Lucky.

The plan had been to bring a dog home when her dad, Tom, wasn't there. But the day Simba came to meet Lucky in February 2012, Tom was there. And Simba went right to him, she said.

"He laid his head in my dad's lap and looked at him, and my dad said, 'All right,' " she said with a laugh. Since then, Simba has been a constant companion and source of comfort for not only her father, who struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder following military service in Vietnam, but for the whole family.

When Wendy's mother was dying, Simba stayed by Lee's side constantly until she was moved to a nursing facility. When Wendy had knee surgery a year ago, Simba sat with her, resting his head on her knee. He was even protective of Lucky, the cat, as she grew old and frail, sleeping next to her.

But Simba's favorite is Tom, and the feeling is mutual, she said.

"My dad can be in a really weird, depressed mood and Simba will go an lie down next to him," she said. They go for walks — Simba loves going to the beach — and Simba sleeps with her dad almost every night.

"My dad went on a three-month trip to California and he had to FaceTime the dog every night," she said. "When we go out to dinner, he's in a hurry to get home because he doesn't like to leave the dog home alone."

When Wendy found Simba's photo online, he had just been pulled by an animal foster from Philadelphia Animal Care and Control, where he had been scheduled to be euthanized. Simba had been surrendered by his owner and was critically ill with a vicious case of mange, infested with fleas and had a tapeworm. By the time Wendy got Simba, the foster had made progress nursing him back to health, but the marks of a hard life were clear in the scars on his body.

But it hasn't stopped him from becoming a loving, loyal pet, she said.

"He was very quiet at first," Wendy said. "He takes a while to trust people." He doesn't like conflict — yelling gets him upset. He doesn't like overly rough horseplay at the dog park. But he's never snapped at them and has been ultraprotective of her father, she said.

"One day they went out for a walk and my dad, who gets confused sometimes, couldn't remember how to get home," Wendy said. "He told Simba, let's go home, and Simba led him home."

"He truly did rescue us as much as we rescued him," she said.

Wendy, a former animal control officer in Middletown who was laid off earlier this year, offered her gratitude to all who voted for Simba in the contest and gave a shout-out to the Ocean County Scanner News page on Facebook, which promoted Simba among its readers.

"All these animals are great," she said. "They're heroes. They all overcame things and have done great things."

"I voted for all the others that weren't my dog," Wendy said. "I wish they all could be winners."

As the grand prize winner, Wendy received a $250 Amazon gift card, which she said she plans to use to help other shelter animals. Additional prizes were provided by contest partners Dogs & Cats Rule, Monmouth County SPCA, Camp Bow Wow in Elmwood Park, K-9 Resorts Daycare & Luxury Hotel, and Woodbridge Animal Group Volunteers.

Wendy Lee Mitchell and Simba; Simba meets Tom Mitchell for the first time; Wendy and Simba helping Tom celebrate his birthday, and Simba and Lucky. Photos provided by Wendy Mitchell