The Saga of Little Buddy
Just about one year ago a tiny little puppy lay abandoned in a ditch beside a highway in rural Missouri. He was found by a passerby…a driver who took the time to stop when she saw the little dog trying to climb up onto the road. That happened to be the day I was heading up the highway to Warrensburg to see my friend’s entry in a quilt show. Since I wasn’t on any particular schedule, I had time to stop when I saw the distraught woman holding the puppy by the side of the road.
To make a long story short, she had to go to work so I offered to take the pup back to town to the Shelter. It turned out the Shelter couldn’t take him as he was not weaned and would require attention every two or three hours over the weekend. They didn’t have the staff to do that. So I agreed to “foster” the puppy I had already started calling Little Buddy. I fed him formula every few hours for a about a week and then got him weaned and eating yummy baby cereal. It wasn’t long before he was dipping into the dog food right along with Princess.
My big Black Lab had never had any pups and she was beside herself with excitement at the opportunity to be a mother after all. She adopted Little Buddy and tended him and guided him and taught him all her tricks. When he was old enough to be adopted, I ran an ad in the paper, but no suitable person came forward. Just a few jerks who wanted a dog for all the wrong reasons. By then I could not let Little Buddy go. He had gotten into our hearts. So we adopted him.
He is still with me today and he and Princess are a team to be reckoned with. But his life has not been easy despite the care and love we have given him. He has very severe hip dysplasia and, as he has grown older and heavier, it has prevented him from walking normally. He is probably in a good deal of pain as bone rubs against bone.
So tomorrow, our special little guy will undergo surgery (a bilateral FHO) to create a pseudo joint in each hip that will be pain free and enable him to have a better quality of life. He’ll be able to go for walks, swim and play with Princess. He is very very special to us. He has brought so much joy into our lives, we want to give him this chance for a better life. There is though, as with any surgery, some risk involved. So send good thoughts to Little Buddy as he undergoes this treatment.
To make a long story short, she had to go to work so I offered to take the pup back to town to the Shelter. It turned out the Shelter couldn’t take him as he was not weaned and would require attention every two or three hours over the weekend. They didn’t have the staff to do that. So I agreed to “foster” the puppy I had already started calling Little Buddy. I fed him formula every few hours for a about a week and then got him weaned and eating yummy baby cereal. It wasn’t long before he was dipping into the dog food right along with Princess.
My big Black Lab had never had any pups and she was beside herself with excitement at the opportunity to be a mother after all. She adopted Little Buddy and tended him and guided him and taught him all her tricks. When he was old enough to be adopted, I ran an ad in the paper, but no suitable person came forward. Just a few jerks who wanted a dog for all the wrong reasons. By then I could not let Little Buddy go. He had gotten into our hearts. So we adopted him.
He is still with me today and he and Princess are a team to be reckoned with. But his life has not been easy despite the care and love we have given him. He has very severe hip dysplasia and, as he has grown older and heavier, it has prevented him from walking normally. He is probably in a good deal of pain as bone rubs against bone.
So tomorrow, our special little guy will undergo surgery (a bilateral FHO) to create a pseudo joint in each hip that will be pain free and enable him to have a better quality of life. He’ll be able to go for walks, swim and play with Princess. He is very very special to us. He has brought so much joy into our lives, we want to give him this chance for a better life. There is though, as with any surgery, some risk involved. So send good thoughts to Little Buddy as he undergoes this treatment.
posted by Free Spirit at 6:57 AM
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