Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Ut oh... Now what have I done?

We tried to network this dog like crazy without success and no takers... A gorgeous Japanese Chin about 5-6 years old, but with no mobility in his back legs... No rescue was interested... Sigh... 

TLC normally does not rescue this breed, but I just couldn't stand by and let him be euthanized... I dragged the president of our rescue to the shelter and let him make that decision as I held ChinChin in my arms... "Wrap him up - do the paperwork - it is not his day to die here today" was his reply... And ChinChin came into our lives... 


His coat was gorgeous... Absolutely gorgeous...  But without the ability to move around on those back legs, giving him a bath took hours for it to dry...

The first morning I carried ChinChin out to the patio and watched him look around... His nose was going like crazy, taking in all the smells and he watched the birdies, listened to the sounds around us and just came alive instead of a living stuffed pillow... 

I had made an appointment with my vet for that evening and asked for an honest appraisal... Did I make a mistake???... My vet's reply?  "No, Linda... this dog has already started bonding to you and he wants to live... You didn't make a mistake... It is going to take a lot of work, but if anyone can do it, you can with your amount of heart... "

Turns out after looking at the X-rays, ChinChin had had a luxating patella surgery many years ago, but it failed and he was unable to sustain his weight... The knee joints in the two back legs are just shot and of little value... The two front legs have slowly started atrophying without much use, and started curling inwards... Even food could not tempt him to move very far at all...

Now what - where do I start, Doc?

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