Elli was so weak the first time I saw her that she had great trouble getting up and could hardly stand, but she jumped right into my heart.
We found out about her just in time. An animal control officer in another town had found an old blind, deaf, and emaciated dog near death, infested with fleas and tangled up in a briar patch.
A friend contacted us about her, hoping Elli could find a home rather than face euthanization.
When we took her to our emergency clinic, they found that she had a number of problems, including arthritis, Lyme disease, ear infections, low thyroid, and a urinary infection.
Fortunately, in the short time she has been a member of our family, she has started to recover and flourish, making friends with the other special needs dogs and cats, and learning to navigate our home.
We named her Elli, after the seemingly frail and fragile old woman in Norse mythology, the goddess of old age, who was so strong that she defeated Thor in a wrestling match.
Here Elli spends time with one of her new friends, Aurora, who never seems to notice that her back legs don't work as she zooms around the house. (Aurora had been found been soaked in gasoline, her spine so damaged that her back legs were permanently paralyzed.)
Here Elli makes her first trip around our yard:
Here's Elli napping with her new pal, Milagro, a little dog who has neurological and heart problems:
Please follow this link to the other special-needs dogs and cats who live as a family in our home.