Ken Pope, Ph.D., ABPP
This is Irene in the hospital after a 10 day stay. This deaf, blind, elderly dog had been found near death, severely malnourished and dehydrated, unable to stand. Her fur was so matted and covered with maggots (drawn to her wounds) that it had to be shaved. Her liver was riddled with cancer.
A friend in another state let us know about Irene and asked if we might adopt her. When she was able to leave the hospital and go to a shelter, we came to bring her to our home. Here she is in the parking lot of the shelter:
And here she is getting ready to be lifted into the car for the ride to her new home:
Irene immediately became a favorite of the other special needs cats and dogs who live in our home as part of our family, and quickly made herself at home in all of our hearts. Her shaved tail wagged enthusiastically whenever she was happy, which was almost all the time. Amazingly gentle in everything she did, she found a quiet way to solve a problem when all of us were sleeping. Because of her medical problems, Irene had to relieve herself often, including 3 or 4 times each night. When she needed to go outside, she would walk over to our bed and silently nuzzle me awake so I could let her outside for a few minutes and then back in.
She died peacefully in her sleep after only 2 weeks and we miss her terribly. I never imagined how much I would miss her nuzzling me awake each night.
Please follow this link to the family of special needs dogs and cats who live in our home