In 2012 my husband and I started volunteering for EARS. We already had two dogs, but we felt we could handle a third. I asked Ann with EARS to watch for a small, senior, special needs dog when she visited the shelters. She said she already had a dog in mind and would email me photos of her. In her pictures, you could tell her front legs were deformed, but the shelter vet said she would be ok as long as she didn’t put on excess weight. She weighed 3.3 lbs.
We started fostering Muppet who we called Sweetie . During her vet visits we found out that her front legs were very arthritic. Her leg bones had not grown properly. She also had problems with both knees and a very enlarged heart. The veterinarian thought all of these problems were most likely due to poor nutrition. Occasionally Sweetie would limp and at times whimper when we touched her front legs. We started her on pain medicine and it helped tremendously. She couldn’t go on outdoor walks (we carried her though), but she did get around the house just fine. We quickly fell in love with her and decided on adoption.
Once she was in less pain, her personality came out. She made us smile and laugh every day. She not only brought joy to our lives, but to others as well. Many mornings at 8:30 we would go to the mall for coffee and sit at a mall table. All 3 dogs would be in their dog stroller. They quickly gained a fan club of early morning mall walkers.
Not only was she sweet (hence the name), but she was incredibly cute! We loved providing the special care she needed and loved seeing her happy, in less pain, and just having her as part of our family. In April of 2015 we lost Sweetie. She was very much loved!
Sandy & Bill