Buddy Update

The stories I tell on this blog are true.  Unfortunately, however, it has been a long four years in rescue and I don’t always remember the exact details.  Over time, I tend to remember things in a more positive light in my head (I think it is a survival instinct).

Today, I found this in my OLD sent items.  It is the original plea email for Buddy from Mrs. Smith… so much worse than I had remembered.  I apologize for the inaccuracies in my original telling.

Subject Line:  Starved/Abused Beagle – BUDDY the dog needs a special foster!

Originally Buddy  was tied and kicked and starved….then the owner died and he was set loose. The dog ran loose in the neighborhood.  He is so sweet…and I fed him, etc. When we moved a neighbor said she would care for him. I found out today that he has not been cared for and is extremly underweight and is having trouble walking. When we went over to see Buddy he couldn’t even stand up. He was being starved. We took him to the emergency vet and he stayed there that night. They said he had hookworms very bad and was within days of death. We have had him to our vet twice more and he is currently living in my garage. He  has had treatment for the worms.

He had apparently stepped in a caustic substance and his paws are very swollen and infected. He is on his second round of antibiotics for this and we dip his paws twice a day in epsom salts and rinse. They are finally starting to look better and they aren’t weepy anymore.

He has yeast in his ears and is being treated for that. We also found out he has heartworms. The vet said it wasn’t bad at this point and there was no damage that he could find.  Buddy isn’t strong enough to undergo the treatment yet.

Buddy is an angel if ever there was one… to have survived being abused by humans twice in his short life. He is the sweetest, most easy going dog I know.  He still cowers and it absolutely breaks my heart. He doesn’t bark or ask for anything.  We bought him a bed and he is happiest there.

We still pick him up (he weighs about 30 lbs.) to go outside because of his paws.  He is walking, but I know it is painful. He will steal anyone’s heart!  We have been bathing him.  He is just a joy to be with… but I want to get the spark back in his eyes. He isn’t eating well…prefering scraps and KFC  over dog food. I think that’s just because that is all he ever had to eat. My husband has been getting him to take his meds fairly well. Buddy is happy and very alert. He absolutely loves to ride in the car!  He even does excellant at the vet. “

No wonder I couldn’t say no!