She was a little pit bull [rare blue!], she was terribly skinny and suffering from mastitis, she had the sweetest smile, and she needed a foster home. I volunteered.
You know where this is headed, right? Oh, no, you don't.
It turned out that a most excellent rescue group in Utah had decided to take the blue pit bull, so when I arrived at the shelter on the morning of Oct. 22 to pick her up, my buddy C said, "Foster this poor, um, Doberman instead." I'm not even a little bit wild about Dobermans, so I prepared a quick no-can-do speech as we walked down the hall. I needn't have bothered.
A little red pup was standing in the corner, on his last legs. He was in bad shape. C had fixed him a bowl with tempting cheese and other tastiness, but he wouldn't touch it. When I put some canned food on my fingers and offered it to him, he turned his head away. I was enlisted to take him to the vet. Things weren't looking good.
Long story short: I got the green light to take him home a couple hours later. Took "before" photos as per C's instructions.
Aaaand now the very happy "after," wherein we bond, I fail as a foster, and pup gets in touch with his inner zayde. "So then I said to Morrie, I said..." All that's lacking is the upturned paw ;~)
Bark! Bark!
Cute, no? And smart...! You have no idea. Friendly, too. His name is Jasper, for his red color and in honor of a good kid in Five Little Peppers and How They Grew. He met everybody last week. The collies are... tolerant. Smoky is happy. Smoke is showing him the ropes, teaching him about the joy of zoomies, etc.
[It's pouring rain now, and the south forty will soon be
In case you missed it: this is a Chihuahua mix, people. In my home. A dog that is going to need a sweater. Facepalm. Facepalm. Facepalm.
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Note: I have no Dr. Mom skillz to speak of, but man, you should see me set a kitchen timer. Truly impressive. The first day, I fed Jasp a couple teaspoons of food and a dab of Nutri-Cal every hour. Sometimes he'd eat, sometimes not, but the next morning he was eager to chow down, and it was nothing but steady improvement after that. Amazing what a pup can do with food, a little TLC and a warm, quiet place to sleep. As always, thanks to the wonderful folks at our local shelter — you're the best.
13 comments:
Lassie, Get a Doberman!
I am so not a Doberman person. Whatever that means.
I'm calling Jasp a Chi mix, but who knows [shrug]. He's a slightly taller, leggier/whippety-er version of the dog in my new fave vid, which I must post...
Looks more like a pharaoh hound to me!
Beth
he looks like a brown dog. i think you can get away with not calling him a chihuahua or a doberman and being perfectly happy.
nicely played!
"What kind of dog is that?"
"A brown dog."
I am so using this. Also: I should point out that he is brown with red highlights.
He's a perfect example of an American Shelter Dog! http://www.mtlchs.org/pages/ASD.htm
I like ASDs a lot.
Now hey there. My pit bulls need sweaters. No dissing the sweater dogs.
Congrats on your brown dog! That's one adorable face!
The frail invalid has [as of 11/26/11] morphed into nearly 30 lb of smarts and drive. Good thing I heart dogs that are brassy and full of energy, is all I can say. Imma get him a black hoodie with the Cal State SB Coyotes logo on it, come payday. Or would he look better in Redlands Bulldogs maroon? Hmmm... [OMG — what's happened to me?]
Checking in late to say WOO-HOO for Jasper! So glad you've got him!
How I missed this, I'll never know. Big congrats to you. Let the adventures begin!
How very sweet. It's all in his eyes, even as a rack of bones. Jasper: Luckiest Chi-mix on the planet! He's beautiful, beautiful.
Colour of the nutmeg, heat of the ginger ;~) Jasp is cuter than cute, smarter than smart, sweeter than sweet, busier than busy -- did someone say Hollofil? Also, still of a size to share an armchair with, which is nice. And where'd that big, deep bark come from?
When I brought him home I honestly had no intention of keeping him -- but they'll pry his leash from my cold, dead fingers before I'll ever give him up now, she exclaimed as she clasped Jasper to her bosom.
Good on you! I just found your blog through Terrier Man, and the Zanesville Zoo articles were quite a read, the Author of the Esquire article could write a book - it was riveting. On your "Chi-mix/Dobe" - I adopted/rescued/couldn't walk away from a rat terrier who was supposed to get to 20+ lbs. Needless to say she looked a lot like Jasper, all bone no appetite. After 6 months of intense battling for her life; in which I had no life she pulled through. She topped out at 7 lbs, maybe 10 lbs with a jacket on. I had the same reaction as you - omg she needs a coat because it's Florida in the winter (60°f) She was severely anemic and could not get warm. Which lead to sewing which I am not good at because no way is she a purse dog - I was in full denial. So she lived in altered wool sleeves and socks as a coat when she went out and lived in my windbreaker with a little nest made from thermal heat gear the other times, I had to wear the jacket so she could get warm enough. When she turned 1 yrs old I broke down and bought her coats. It's taken time to get used to a small dog but she's smart and very tenacious, even with her two lab friends! She's great and I wouldn't trade her for the world but I may have cried a little when I realized she wouldn't top 10 lbs. Acceptance is a long road when your still in DeNile ;) I hope all your boys are well!
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