My neighborhood has an enormous number of dogs. A lot of folks around here like the idea of a dog,but have no clue what a dog is,how to care for it,or what to do with it. Consequently,there are stray dogs around. There are a lot of things that I will tolerate,but animal cruelty is the one thing that will bring out a side of me that you really do not want to experience.
The other morning,I was woken up to the heart rending sound of a dog crying out in pain. I flew out of the house and discovered a small puppy that had got his paw and wrist entangled in a piece of prickly pear cactus. The guy at the house the pup was at had no clue as to what to do. So I removed the spur and pulled the spines out. I had no intention of adopting anymore dogs. I have three and that was enough. I told the guy that I would check back in a couple of hours to see if the owner showed up. No soap. sigh….
I took the pup home,and put the word out that I had this pup. The backstory was that the dog followed one kid home,whose parent said no,who gave the dog to another kid whose parents said no,and so on. (discovered that I am known as the crazy white dog guy now) So I ended up with another dog.
Yesterday morning,Pecan had a large fast moving swelling on his paw and wrist. In Arizona,we have ticks,brown recluse and black widow spiders ,all of which will kill dogs in a very short time. Packed up Pecan,and zipped to the vet. My vet is open 7 days a week.
700 bucks later,we have rehydrated,tested for the usual suspects,discovered this dog is about 8 weeks old,and will probably grow into a monster dog. This is Pecan. coat looks like a pecan shell.
His expression of gratitude? If you look close you can see the streak of urine by his right rear leg. Yep that is my thank you.