A Second Chance...

Really came to this handsome elder gentleman. The kind folks at the SD South County Animal Shelter plus the hard work of Penny Adams at the Foundation for the Care of Indigent Animals saved his life today.

Known as "Scooter" at the shelter (a new name's coming his way), this old-timer started 2007 off with tragedy in his life. He and his previous animal family found themselves in the shelter after their owner committed suicide. Scooter's huge list of medical problems unfortunately ranked him high on the euthanasia list, low on the adoptability list. His time was up, but Penny pleaded for an extra day; late last night she & I talked, and I agreed to go down to the shelter to meet him this afternoon.

So stiff he could barely get up, he greeted me with a half-hearted tail wag. His ears were oily due to the ear medication he's receiving, his eyes are cloudy, his teeth have some tartar, he's grossly overweight (a whopping 98lbs.!), and he has pressure sores on his hindquarters and his elbows. He also needs assistance getting up due to severe arthritis. How could I say no? If there was ever anyone who deserves a soft bed at the sanctuary....

He enjoyed a meal tonight of Natural Balance canned chicken, as he has difficulty chewing kibble. Introductions with the other dogs went very well, and he's learning about life indoors. It's 7:30pm, and he's already crawled into a bed for the night! He'll have an exam and blood work done on Friday with our veterinarian Dr. Booman, and we'll post the results here.