"I picked up Mabel and her giant stuffed teddy bear from AWL on Sat, Nov 20th. She was quite a pitiful Pit mix, at that point. Her mange treatments were mostly done and she had an upper respiratory infection, but the worse medical condition was her severely bowed limbs. Malnutrition had left her front legs bent to the point she was forced to walk on the outside of her front paws. She could not run at all. The vet recommended switching her to adult food so she would not get too much protein too quickly, and exercize to strengthen and build up the little legs which could barely hold her.
It was hard for us to watch her try to run. She would be in a play-bow position and could not really do more than crawl with her front legs. She would tire quickly, but she was happy and did not seem to know there was any other way to be. We babied her, and she loved every minute of it. After just a couple of weeks, her legs began getting straighter. It was amazing to see the change in her. The first day she realized she could really run, she tucked her butt and ran circles in the yard. Her first "puppy zooms" brought tears to our eyes. She was healthy and ready for her A.D.O.P.T. debut. I was glad to find out she was a little older then we first suspected. She will probably never grow larger than 30 or 35 pounds, so she got more looks than my fosters usually do. Plus whatever other Terrier she is mixed with has made her cute as a button. Still that first Sunday, the right person did not come.
The next week, I tried a different tactic. I dressed her up in a little santa hat with a velvet collar scrunchie. We drew such a crowd when we walked into ADOPT! No one could believe she left the hat on. Her adopters saw her and fell immediately in love with her. She reminded them of a dog they had just seen on TV, and they knew right then she was the one for them. After they
went through the over-protective foster-mom's rigorous screening process, the papers were signed. I took Ivy home with me until she could be spayed. Her new mom and dad called me every day. It was a little sad knowing she would be leaving soon and my lap would be empty. No one is as snuggly as Ivy, but now she has two new laps to snuggle in and she doesn't have to share them with any other dogs.
Thanks to everyone at Animal Welfare League who saw the sparkle in her eyes and tried so hard to find a way to help her. She would kiss every one of you!"
-Tamara, A.D.O.P.T. foster volunteer
Photo and story compliments of Tamara. Special thanks to Tamara and A.D.O.P.T. for helping to make another happy ending!
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