After losing their corgi Nugget to cancer, Madison and Brian of New Jersey felt a silence in their home they couldn’t ignore.
Nugget had been Madison’s constant companion—she worked from home, and the quiet stretched long.
Not long after she reminded herself she wasn’t ready to be alone, Madison started looking at corgis to adopt or foster.
One day she spotted a post online: a litter of four corgi puppies and their mother, all rescued from a puppy mill.
The foster care situation needed someone experienced, someone patient. Madison, barely consulting Brian, applied.
She said they’d accept any of them… including the mom.
They were matched with one of the puppies—bundled with love and energy—and named him Strudel.
The mom, now called Pumpkin, wasn’t quite ready to leave the foster home. But the rescue said: when she is ready, you can adopt her too.
Meeting Pumpkin was bittersweet. She was shy—dug a hole, hid under a bush—but her kisses were sweet once you earned them.
Her trust broken by life in a puppy mill, Madison knew Pumpkin needed more than a home—she needed patience, rehabilitation, and forever commitment.
Strudel, meanwhile, was full-of-life and very corgi: confident, cuddly, mischievous.
Handling a puppy is one thing. Taking in a traumatized adult dog is another. Pumpkin had rotten teeth. She was fearful.
There were walks she wouldn’t take, noises that startled her. Madison and Brian whispered worries: Could we manage both?
Could we give Pumpkin what she needed?
Still, every time they thought about letting Pumpkin go, something tugged at their hearts.
Strudel already seemed to understand her.
He behaved like a confident little brother, showing Pumpkin how life outside fear could be—that kindness, the simple things: walks, playing, resting without dread.
It took time. They asked family members whether they might adopt Pumpkin themselves.
They considered insurance, vet bills, behavior training.
But one morning, Madison woke up and asked Brian: “What are we even doing? We obviously want her. We’ll figure out the rest.”
So they went and brought Pumpkin home. Not just as Strudel’s mom, but as a full member of the family.
It wasn’t perfect at first—adjusting schedules, handling puppy energy and healing trauma—but it was right.
Now, a couple years later, they look back and marvel. Strudel and Pumpkin have grown inseparable.
They play together, sleep together, share everything. Strudel’s confidence, joy, and curious spirit helped Pumpkin come out of her shell.
She learned by watching him: how to sit, lay down, walk with confidence, even relax.
Madison posts their journey on TikTok (@maddieandnugget). One video shows both dogs in outfits for holidays.
Another shows Pumpkin growing braver. The internet wept tears of joy. “He can live his whole life with his mother?”
“Taking the mama who often gets overlooked is making me bawl,” people wrote.
Madison says bringing Pumpkin in wasn’t just an adoption.
It was an act of love for four souls—Pumpkin, Strudel, themselves, and Nugget’s memory.
Choosing Pumpkin meant doubling down on compassion, on not leaving someone behind.
It meant that sometimes the unexpected choice is also the most beautiful.
