TulsaPets Magazine September 2022

14 TulsaPets • September / October 2022 VCA WOODLAND BROKEN ARROW ANIMAL HOSPITAL 2106 W. Detroit, Broken Arrow 918-505-1276 vcawoodlandbrokenarrow.com VCA WOODLAND EAST ANIMAL HOSPITAL 9509 E. 61st St., Tulsa 918-615-2001 vcawoodlandeast.com VCA WOODLAND SOUTH ANIMAL HOSPITAL 9340 S. Memorial, Tulsa 918-524-9565 vcawoodlandsouth.com VCA WOODLAND CENTRAL ANIMAL HOSPITAL 5326 E. Skelly Dr., Tulsa 918-770-4950 vcawoodlandcentral.com VCA OWASSO ANIMAL MEDICAL CENTER 8811 N. Owasso Expy., Owasso 918-212-0144 vcaowasso.com VCA COLLINSVILLE ANIMAL HOSPITAL 2425 W. Broadway St., Collinsville 918-205-0011 vcacollinsville.com CareClub Memberships are preventive pet health care plans and not pet insurance. CareClub Membership covers only the selected health care services and products which are specifically identified in the applicable CareClub Membership agreement. Unlimited exams are any exam during regular business hours excluding specialty or emergency exams. Annual savings assumes that all included CareClub Membership services and products are consumed during the membership year. © 2022 VCA Animal Hospitals, Inc. VCA is a registered trademark of VCA Inc. or its affiliated companies. TM of VCA Inc. or its affiliated companies. SAVINGS OF UP TO 25% UNLIMITED EXAMS MONTHLY MEMBERSHIP FEE PERSONALIZED CARE PLAN vcacareclub.com WHAT YOU NEED WHEN YOU NEED IT vive the surgeries to address her injuries. Dalesandro kept following up, asking, “Hey, is that little dog doing OK?” He checked back for three months. After that, the rescue called him to say Queenie was recovering well and was ready for adop- tion. And he thought, “A Chihuahua?!” And like that, a big-dog man became a rescue-dog guy. Yes, a Chihuahua. Queenie fits in well with the rest of the dogs in Dalesandro’s family. When not sit- ting on laps, she is spoiled by Dalesandro’s home cooking. As the owner of Dalesan- dro’s Italian Cuisine, he uses his chef skills to serve Queenie healthy, fresh meals every day. “She gets rice, pasta, oats, chicken, hard- boiled eggs, pumpkin, carrots,” he says. “I spoil her. A little chicken broth and fish oil” gets added in to fix her right up. There is one spot on Queenie’s haunch where her fur never grew back, “a little reminder” of what happened to her, Dale- sandro says. Her coat was a little bit thin for a while after the accident, but over time, her white fur grew back and was thicker. A Family Focus Dalesandro’s interests have revolved around soccer and Italian cooking for most of his life. His father, Vincent “Buzz” Dalesandro III, founded the family’s award-winning restaurant in 1990. The eatery thrived until the building was purchased by Bank of America in 2002. The corporate giant turned the site of the beloved restaurant into a parking lot. In 2004, Dalesandro and his father reopened Dalesandro’s at 18th Street and Boston Avenue, where it remains today. In 2010, Dalesandro became the bustling bistro’s sole owner and purveyor. Dalesan- dro’s specializes in sharing the family’s rich, rustic Italian recipes with loyal diners. When Dalesandro isn’t working at the restaurant, playing soccer, or supporting the Tulsa Athletics, he is hanging out with Queenie. “We’ll do some walks at night, but mostly she crawls up into bed under the covers right by my head,” he says. Queenie is a devoted pup; Dalesandro’s lap is her world. “There’s a definite sense of gratitude and a deep connection” that develops when you rescue a dog, Dalesandro says. “Just having been where she’s been and her being in a place that is now safe — that is a journey unto itself,” says Dalesandro, “and I’m blessed to be a part of it.” Now Queenie gets to do whatever she wants to do. She might wear a funny bandanna. She might sunbathe in a big backyard. She might play dead or roll over for a treat. And as the sun sets this evening, she might ride along with Dalesandro as he stops over at Dalesandro’s to check in before dinner service. Queenie is the boss, and she has chosen a pretty lovely life for herself — with a little help from Dalesandro. PETS AND THEIR PEOPLE