PCAWL Rescue Stories: Buddy (Renamed Marshall)
Buddy was abandoned by someone for unknown reasons. Perhaps because he was ill and they couldn't afford to pay the vet. Perhaps whoever it was that loved him once died and no one else would take him in. As is true for many homeless animals, we will never really know his history.
By the time Buddy arrived at the PCAWL volunteer's
house, he was emaciated and very ill. Besides a bad upper respiratory
infection, infestation by nearly every type of worm, flea and tick, and
no food for a long, long time, poor Buddy tested positive for
heartworm.
The only good news was he was a fairly young dog and it was a "light
positive". He was too weak for the heartworm treatment which is very
harsh, so Buddy went home with the volunteer to rest and recover.
Someone had cared enough to train Buddy once. The foster mom asked him
to 'sit' before she gave him his breakfast. He obediently sat. Then he
just kept sitting no matter what the foster mom said. In desperation
she finally walked away and checked back later, hoping that hunger won
out over training just this once. Luckily, it had. Buddy's 'release
word' never was discovered by the foster mom...so she was very careful
about having him "stay"!
Buddy gained weight slowly and gradually became 'resigned' to living in a kennel. He knew he belonged indoors, but his predilection for chasing cats meant he couldn't live in the foster mom's house. He gradually learned that the cats he met on the walks were not afraid of him and he lost interest in trying to make them run eventually. Once his health improved, Buddy went in for the heartworm treatment which left him feeling less than well, though he actually did quite well and recovered fairly quickly. At first the enforced inactivity didn't bother him much, but as he felt better it became very annoying to be confined all the time...he wanted to run!
When the very long month of inactivity was finally ending, a family
called to offer Buddy a home. Buddy went for a home visit 
and carefully
checked out every square inch of the house and yard. He kissed every
face that came within tongue reach and very politely sat at the side of
his new 'dad' whenever he was spoken to. Finally, Jason leaned down and
said "Well Buddy, would you like to live here? Shake your head yes or
no..." Buddy reached up a paw to shake Jason's hand and the bargain was
sealed on the spot!
Left: Happy ending in summer 2008 for Marshall, a fitting name for a great dog!
Story submitted by Georgia