Bonnie & Clyde

Four weeks ago Saturday, Clyde (on the left) and Bonnie showed up in our yard. It appeared that someone had dumped them and they were left to fend for themselves. We noticed that Bonnie was favoring her front left paw, not putting weight on it Upon closer inspection, we found that there was a huge gash in it. We scooped them up, jumped in the car and drove to our vet. Saturday at the vet's is a circus since it is a walk-in day. Four and a half hours later we brought them back home with medications. The vet said it looked as though Bonnie's paw had been caught in a trap but the wound was some days old and he wanted to let it heal by secondary intention rather than suture it up. Antibiotics twice a day for fourteen days was the answer. They also had worms, so an additional three days of worming medication was needed and on top of it all they each had fungal infections in their ears, so another fourteen days of ear ointment for good measure! Quite soon, we discovered that Clyde is totally deaf.

They are the sweetest little couple and totally devoted to each other. We asked the vet to check for a microchip, but of course, there was none. Yesterday, they both went in for their spay/neuter party. Bonnie had to have a little more extensive surgery as the vet found one of her ovaries was necroted. He believes it was cystic. Her convalescence will take a little longer than usual. Between Richard and I and my daughter who lives next door, we now have two new family members. They have taken to crates beautifully and enjoy their dog yard here. We've kept them sequestered right now but hope once they heal from surgery we can introduce them to the rest of our pack. Between us all, we now have six rescued dogs. I'm hoping we can fully integrate them, but if not, Richard has spent the last several weekends putting up a new dog yard at Sarah's. She wanted one there anyway and this was a compelling reason to do so.

I hope to have more pictures later. Sarah generously gave me permission to use this pic that she took to share. I'm so glad Bonnie and Clyde found us as they each had special needs that others might not have cared about. They are wonderful dogs, full of love and trust even during their darkest hours when she was limping on three legs and Clyde couldn't hear danger. I hope we can be a beacon of light in their lives. I also hope others will consider taking in those who have been discarded, neglected or abused. It's not the creatures who are unlovable, it's the humans who are incapable of loving. It has been years since our two miniature dachshunds whom we loved passed away. Since that time we have adopted into our home dogs who need a second chance and have found so much love through them. I doubt very much that we will ever own any other kind of dog than those who need a second chance at life. I just can't bear the thought of one suffering and hoping someone will see their potential, only to be turned away or euthanized.