Nearly one year ago, on July 8, 2012, we rescued our fur baby. He was infested with fleas, had mange and worms, sank to the ground at the slightest movement and was so malnourished you could see all of his ribs. His name was "Bruno" and he lived in a medium size cage with his sister, who was even worse than he was. Someone had tried to halfway crop their tails. You could tell they rarely got out of the cage. It reeked of urine. I was very pregnant and knew my husband would be leaving in just a few months for a tour in Afghanistan, but there was no way I could walk away and leave him there. I really wanted to take his sister, too, but I knew a toddler, infant and one dog in need of lots of TLC was my limit.
He was very reluctant to get in the car. He'd never been in one before. He whimpered the entire drive. We stopped at WalMart and bought a large kennel, food, treats and toys. When we got home, we coaxed him into the house slowly. Once he was inside, we let him explore. He didn't look like a "Bruno", so we renamed him Sirius. Yes, after Sirius Black. It made sense and if you know my family, you know we're nerds. Sirius took to his new name right away. That evening we set up the kennel and put him inside. The first night was so hard. He was so used to being in a tiny cage with his sister, that being in a huge cage alone was terrifying for him. We gave him a blanket that smelled like us.
The next morning I brought him to Dr. Beatie. The people we picked him up from claimed he had his shots, but could not provide paperwork. We estimated his age, about 6 months, which would put his birthday in January. They were very concerned about his low weight, coming in at just 23 pounds. He did so well with shots. Didn't react at all. He was also very friendly to all of the staff. We got some medication to treat the worms and mange, some flea medication and his puppy shots. He was warmed up to us in less than 24 hours, even though we brought him to the vet and had him stuck with needles.
We had to flea bomb our house, spray our yard and treat him several times before the fleas went away. They did and he was MUCH happier to not be constantly chewing on himself from them. He ate like he'd never eaten before (pun not intended) and loved playing fetch and getting lots of cuddles. His favorite person was our son, Conner.
Fast forward to today, July 2, 2013. Six days until his adoptiversary. He's now 46 pounds with a clean bill of health. The mange, fleas and worms are gone. He does have a little bald spot on his head where fur won't grow back because of the mange. He still loves Conner and has added another favorite tiny human, Lucas. Sirius was actually the reason my water broke the night I had him. He was making me laugh with his doggy head tilts. He still loves fetch and runs the back yard in laps. In the entire year we've had him, he's only had 3 potty accidents in the house and only gotten in trouble a handful of times for chewing something up. He knows how to sit, lay, stay and catch treats/balls when they are thrown up in the air. We are still working on shake and speak. He now sleeps wherever in the house at night instead of being kenneled. We are still in the testing phase of keeping him out while we run errands. He literally loves everyone. He's never shown any signs of aggression towards humans or animals.
I am so thankful that we took a chance on him, knowing he may not survive, and nursed him back to health. Our lives would not be complete without our fur child. He was meant to be a part of our family. My happy, healthy, energetic and loving Sirius. Happy adoptiversary, buddy!
.JPG)
