Haiku

Ken Pope

The call almost came too late.

Someone had left an elderly deaf dog with serious medical problems at a shelter.  The dog had not been eating and now was unable to walk.  A friend had seen the dog and wondered if we might adopt him.

We took him straight to an emergency clinic where he was hospitalized, given iv fluids and antibiotics, and stabilized on medications for his various problems. 

While in the hospital he gradually began eating but he never got up or took a step, he just lay there.  When there was nothing else the hospital could do, we took him home, not knowing what to expect.  We named him Haiku.

Gradually Haiku has come to life and begun spreading his special form of joy among the special needs cats and dogs who live as a family in our home.

  Here he is taking his first walk around his new yard on very unsteady legs:

A little reddish-brown dog with a bandage on his leg walks around the yard.

Here's Haiku cuddling with Jason, a cat with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy,found half-dead by the side of the road, with traumatic nerve damage missing half his tail.

a little red dog lies next to a little white and grey cat

Here's Haiku spending time with his pal Argos, an elderly blind and deaf dog:

Two elderly dogs -- one reddish-brown, the other white-- share time together.

Haiku cuddling with Harmony, a cat with a neuromuscular disease (congenital feline myotonia) and heart disease, who was found as a kitten in a dumpster:

a little red dog cuddles with a red and white cat

Haiku and Ursa, an elderly blind Lab-mix, napping together:

A little reddish-brown dog and a big brown dog nap together.

Haiku and Calypso, a blind cat, were great friends who loved spending time with each other:

a little red dog & a blind orange cat are lying together

Haiku and Marlowe, an elderly blind dog, warming themselves in front of the fire:

a little red dog cuddles with a little blind dog in a dog bed in front of the fireplace

And finally 4 of just Haiku, who brought everyone in our home such warmth and joy:

   A small reddish-brown dog lies in the sunlight coming through a window.

a little red dog sits in the sunlight looking up at you

a little red dog is lying in a cat bed looking up at you

a little red dog's face is looking right at you

Please follow this link to learn more about a family of special needs cats and dogs in our home.

 

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