Toby is somewhat of a mystery dog. We picked him up at the Animal Defense League, a no-kill shelter. They in turn had snatched him up at the city pound (the ADL takes certain dogs and cats out of the pound that they feel have a chance at adoption). As you know from a previous post, we already have a dog (Winston) and cat (Maurice, who was adopted by yours truly at the same ADL about ten years ago). My wife has been demanding a second dog for some time, so we met after work over at the ADL to ostensibly take a preliminary look around. I got there first, and Toby immediately caught my attention. I introduced my wife once she arrived…and before you knew it I was driving home with Toby in the passenger seat of the car.
Toby is the sweetest and most affectionate animal I have ever come across. In the domination battles, Winston seems to be asserting himself as alpha dog, but Toby will occasionally stand up for himself. He even forced Winston to back down from the couch the other night. Whoever gets on the couch first has the advantage, as they can then take a defensive position and dig in at the high ground, thereby blocking the top of the little doggie stairs we have for dog access to said couch.
But on a much more serious note, Toby has got major health problems. The ADL said that he had heartworms and had been given treatment, but everything else was fine. We took him to our vet for a full check-up, and it was discovered that he has the following: heartworms, anemia, some tick disease, a respiratory infection, his blood levels are all out of wack, and he may be in kidney failure. The doctor gave him about a 40% chance of pulling through. The ADL offered to take him back, but told us they did not have the resources to treat him so they’d just put him to sleep. Well, shit. Our vet has some ideas for treatment and he's the best in town, so we are going with that and hoping for the best. A “free” adopted dog has now cost us about what we would have paid for a fancy, purebred dog. But he’s a great little guy, and we are going to do everything we reasonably can. I am guardedly optimistic, he seems to be reacting well to the treatments so far, but the tests being taken today will really determine his fate. So, whether you pray, chant or send out good vibes, set aside some for this little dude. Go Toby!
6 comments:
Toby is in our prayers. He looks like a real fighter. I'm sure he'll pull through knowing that he has a wonderful home and family now.
Awww... that was my warm and fuzzy read for the day. He's a beautiful dog. My husband and I are pulling for him and sending some doggy prayers and good luck your way. We'll be waiting for the update.
Incidentally, one of my "free" ADL cats has since cost me thousands of dollars in dental bills and teeth-pulling procedures due to some mysterious gum disease. But, what else are you going to do?
Wow. Way to raise the ante with a cute, sick dog. You're shameless.
But seriously, Toby is in my thoughts, too.
Yes, to paraphrase the great Connery line from 'The Untouchables', you don't bring a knife to a gunfight. ANCIANT's pup was so cute, the only thing I could do was play the sick card.
But in all seriousness, thanks for the positive thoughts. We leave Toby at the vet during the day for treatment and observation, but we have him home at night. Tonight he seems even better, but we are still a bit on edge waiting for those test results which will tell whether he is responding.
Interesting: I introduced Tobes to Maurice (my cat who hates all living things but me), and was surprised by the response. Since Toby is so weak, I don't think Maurice felt threatened at all and he actually came up to sniff him. This is amazing for this cat, who will usually run off terrified at the sight of the menacing Winston. If Toby survives, they might even become buddies.
The only way to beat this is to play the race card. I am going to go out and adopt a sick, BLACK dog.
That will show you. THAT WILL SHOW YOU ALL!!!!!!
Dez--
Kudos to you for adopting, and for adopting a dog that's so needy. I really hope he makes it. Regardless, you and your wife are good Americans. Or, as GWB would say, " 'Mer-cans."
I'm not to take the "Cuteness" bait, and post more pictures of our DOG, 'cause I don't want to make you look bad. Because if you really want to go cute to cute with me, it's going to go badly. Because WE WILL CRUSH YOU INTO THE GROUND.
INTO THE GROUND.
-ANCIANT
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