Sunny and Cher are home with their new families

SAN DIEGO (CNS) – A puppy found in Mission Valley with its ears sliced off went home with his new owner Tuesday.

Sunny, who was about one month old when found Nov. 19 near a shopping center, was adopted by Kathy Caplis of Oceanside, who has previously taken in several canines with medical needs, said Lt. Dan DeSousa of the county Department of Animal Services.

“She's very much a saint in our eyes,” DeSousa said of Caplis.

She was among more than 100 applicants to adopt Sunny and his littermate, Cher, who was brought to the county Animal Shelter on Dec. 7 after receiving veterinary care in Tijuana for similar injuries.

Cher was adopted by Penny Scarbrough of Rancho San Diego and taken home last Thursday, according to DeSousa.

Scarbrough said that despite her injuries, Cher is “loving, friendly. Anyone who sees her lights up — and she goes crazy.”

Caplis and Scarbrough emerged the winners in a weeks-long adoption process that saw members of three families interact with each puppy before a final selection was made.

“We had some very good people interested in each puppy,” DeSousa said. “We would have no qualms if they adopted another animal.”

The motivation for slicing off the dogs' ears was unclear, but Animal Services officers believe it could have been for dog-fighting purposes — to prevent other canines from latching onto the ears in any future dog fight, or to make the puppies grow up resembling pit bulls.