Marilyn had just gotten back from taking pictures at the shelter for the Winter '09 issue of TulsaPets Magazine when I got the email. Every time that she goes there she gets smitten by one of the dogs there and this time was no exception. That's when I got the email with THE picture attached (the left picture below). There was Elmer, part Lab and part Shar-Pei, and he had that look. To this day we call it "Fudd Face" and he puts it on when he gets in trouble and he had it on then. Some way he must have known how much trouble he was in since people pass by black dogs pretty much, so he needed to do something and he needed to do it fast. So when the nice lady with the camera was ready to take his picture he put on the best "Fudd Face" that he could muster and it worked. She kept coming back and playing with him. I got the email with Elmer attached and he had put on his best "Fudd Face" and when Marilyn asked "can we, please?" the only acceptable answer was "Go get him." So Elmer came home to stay. That's the WARM & FUZZY part.
Not long after he got home, Emer developed a bit of a runny nose. Then a little cough. Then he didn't feel good at all. Then his Vet said that he had all the signs of distemper. Then he gave him some pills and told us to take him home and make him comfortable until the end came ( the center picture below). Poor little Elmer. He had just cheated a bad situation and now this. It was just a couple of days before Christmas and of course the boarding arrangements that had been made for us to go out of town were definitely off. No one wants a dog that might have distemper anywhere near their building and rightly so. That was the SCARY part.
God love the little guy, he never lost his appetite. He didn't feel good, but he was still hungry. His soul must have been hungry. Elmer didn't get worse like everyone that we spoke with said that he would. He slept with us in the bed and we petted him and held him all night and he started feeling better. Every day he was just a little stronger. You don't want to get your hopes up for fear of a relapse, but after a while there was no denying it. Elmer was better. That next week he went back to the vet and got more pills but he was still concerned. Things could still go wrong. But Elmer kept eating. Twice as much as the other two dogs that were twice his size. Another week passed and Elmer was fine. His nose dried up and his cough went away and he felt fine. Today he is still hungry and I swear that Elmer is having a better time than any other organism on the planet (the right picture below). That was the BEST part.
Attachments
-
Elmer_Fuddleigh.jpg (12 KB, 0 downloads) 10 months old - Elmer_2.jpg (14 KB, 0 downloads) 10 months old
- Elmer.jpg (12.7 KB, 0 downloads) 10 months old