A Dog Named Earl

Not to be confused with the band "A Dog Named Earl"... :)

So, in August of this year I had to put my Cleo dog down unexpectedly...  It was a traumatic experience to say the least. At first I was like "I am not doing this again, no more dogs..." then I went to, "ok, I miss having a canine pal... I will look for a dog to adpot." Then I decided that I was not supposed to look, one would show up. One would find me.

Eventually.

It sounds crazy...

Two weeks ago tomorrow, I found a very cute stray dog limping around. Turns out the sweet baby child had a broken leg, super bad breath, and was under-nourished. I fed him canned dawg food and water. He started eating until I sat down several feet away. He immediately came to me. He would rather be loved on and petted than eat - even though he was obviously half-starved.

I cried.

A lot...

This was the face.... 

Beagle, setter or pointer, and Great Pyrenees

He landed several names very quickly - EarlBob Chainsaw Jones was the more creative...

One trip to Emergency Vet, one trip to regular vet, and one trip back to the Animal ER because it also happens to be a specialty place where they do more complicated bone repairs... $2700 via benefactor...

Femur, rotula/knee cap, tibia

Earl is not even a year old and he already has 7 pins and a plate in his left rear femur. His leg had been SERIOUSLY broken between 2 and 3 months per the vet. I cried when I saw the x-rays. The bones in that leg are soft - from non-use. It will improve if we can keep him calm. No jumping, running, playing, bouncing...  Did I say he was a puppy?

Challenge................................

He now has parents (many), siblings (feline as well as canine), a collar of red, a leash, a harness, a dog igloo home, a 10W'x20'Lx6'H kennel, a 42" crate, chew toys, dog biscuits, puppy food, cooked chicken breast, yogurt.....  You see where this is going. He isn't spoiled. But he does like being on the bed with me.

OK, so meet Earl (otherwise known as Bosco for some reason)...

 

 

His leg is healing and his breath is improving. I have him on a pretty serious diet to help him heal and bulk up a little. He no longer has to scavenge for food, shelter, or love.