She would grow a beautiful black coat that grayed over the years, but that was later.
When we first saw Emma, a remarkable blind and mostly deaf dog, she had no fur and her body was covered with sores.
Until the shelter took her in, she'd had a rough life, kept in a small crate 20 or more hours of each day for years.
She brought her loving presence to our home. It was not just that the other dogs and cats would snuggled up to her, but that they would tangle themselves up with her before falling asleep. I've included some photos below.
Shortly after she joined the family of special needs cats and dogs who live in our home, one of the specialists who examined her determined that an auto-immune disease caused the sores and lack of fur. We were able to treat it successfully.
Several years later cancer invaded Emma's left mammary glands. They were removed with wide margins, but later cancer appeared in the glands on the other side. These too were removed. Emma lived a joyful and cancer-free life for several years after that until she developed a fatal cancer in her colon.
She brought such great joy and love to our home, and we miss her terribly.
Here's Ariel, a blind and deaf cat with a neurological disorder, who has intertwined herself with Emma as they take a nap:
Here's Lucy, a cat with cardiomyopathy and kidney disease, tangling herself up with Emma as they sleep:
Here's Harmony, a cat with an extremely rare muscle disorder, snoozing with Emma:
Here's Faith, a blind cat, hanging out with her friend, Emma:
Here's Annie, a blind & deaf dog, apparently whispering a secret to Emma:
Here's Emma between Annie and Dharma, a dog with an atypical seizure disorder:
Goodbye, Emma!
Here's a link to the family of special needs dogs & cats who live in our home