This is Madison as he is now at 12 years old.

Below are pictures of Madison as he came to me
when I took him in as a foster pup which
I meant to return to the shelter many years ago.
He was a sick little thing and I took him
home to give him some extra attention.

I never meant to keep him.
I even took him back and left him for an
entire week to see if he could get a home
but he was too backward with strangers and he had
decided that he was going to stay
with Murphy, Joey, and I.

He cried so much the whole week he was there that
he nearly drove the shelter staff and volunteers nuts.
 So when I went back to the shelter the following
weekend and he was still there, I took him home.
I kept telling myself I didn't want another dog.
The shelter staff and other volunteers
would just laugh at me and say, "you lose".
To show my independence, I never signed
adoption papers on him until he was 4 years old.
But of course, he was mine
from the first day I brought him home.

Madison loves to play ball.
He hates it when I am on the computer.
He also loves to go for walks.
And when he gets bored, he takes a toy up on the couch
and goes to sleep like he is doing in the picture below.
(I love this picture). Click on it to see a larger copy.

Unfortunately Madison is a little dog aggressive
with other dogs. He protects Murphy and I from
everyone when we are out for a walk.
But he is the sweetest thing with anyone he knows.
 He just doesn't like strangers.
Everyone wants to pet him when we walk
and I have to tell them that they can't.
I have actually told people he was abused
and they seem to understand that better.

He was brought to the shelter with his 5 littermates
at about 3 weeks old when their mom was killed
by a car. They were so weak from being
bitten by fleas that they couldn't stand up.
They had to give them all blood transfusions
but he was the only one that lived.
I was a little too protective of him and
he really thinks I am his mom, I think.
 I think this is why he is so protective of us
and why he is as he is.
 I love him anyways and am just glad we were
able to find each other ... but I sometimes wonder
if he would have liked a little boy
to play with instead.

So you can imagine my reluctance to have visitors come in,
but since the death of my parents I have hired a pet sitter
to come in at lunch and walk them and
they both are getting along just fine with her.
I was so relieved to know that someone could
come in the house if something happened to me.
Something we don't like to think about
but something very necessary to plan out
before the unexpected happens.

And be sure to check out the
other pictures of both dogs in my
IWON PHOTO ALBUM.

Madison also has medical problems that
you can read more about in the VET SECTION.

After he had the first surgery
I was worried about getting him home.
Just to get into my place requires
walking up a flight of stairs.
Then the bedroom is up another flight.
When it was time to go to bed I decided to sleep
on the floor in the livingroom with him that night.
But the other animals were confused -
Murphy went to bed upstairs
and I could hear noises like she was jumping
up and down on the bed.
Rufus was running everywhere like a crazy man and
hanging over the ledge looking down at us and crying.
I barricaded him out of the livingroom
but his crying was terrible and I finally
gave up and decided to go to bed upstairs.
Madison insisted he would too so I had to
walk him up the flight of stairs
one step at a time holding his butt up
while he struggled to get up them.
We ended up doing this nightly for about
eight months between the two surgeries.

Now at 10 years old he has
developed calcified disks in his neck and we
are treating him with steroids, which I hate.
I'm working towards the lowest dose he can handle.
I admit he is better. It was so hard to see him
limping on his right front leg and
yelping when he tried to play.

The really interesting thing about Madison is that
even though he is dog aggressive I have been able
to bring puppies into the house and it hasn't
been a problem.  He welcomes them in
and the fun begins. But my biggest surprise came
the day I brought the little kitten home to foster
and Madison took him as his BABY.

Madison was recently honored to win the
SASSY Survivor of the Month Award.
We display this award proudly.
Thanks to Brandi and the girls at
Kitten Kingdom for this special honor.

Madison has made a sacrifice and given up
toys and treats to sponsor Harry
and his sister, Harriett, who are looking for a home.
Click on his picture and visit the sponsor site.
Perhaps your babies would sponsor someone too?

Also, please take a moment to sign my guestbook. Thanks.