Willie, as I called him, was fat. How
fat, you ask. Verry fat indeed, for a dog. He weighed in at 42 pounds
when his ideal weight is somewhere between 30 and 32. He was so fat he
had a fat pad over his stubby little tail and
was the same shape as a barrel. He also had icky, stinky ears that I was
treating the entire time he was with me. Willie was the sweetest dog
you could imagine. He just wanted everyone to be his friend and love on
him. He also had a hilarious habit of howling,
as if he was a coyote, nose up in the air, saying “aaaarrrrrrrrroooooo.”
Willie did NOT look all wild and sleek like your average wolf or
coyote.
That is Willie, after a nice wash and clip.
As you can see, he is not a wolf. He's a cute and cuddly fat Cocker Spaniel.
Th
By the time he was adopted, he was
feeling much better. He had already lost 2.5 pounds, his ears were
cleaner/less infected, and he had a cute haircut. His new family is
perfect for him and he’s perfect for them. They are
an older couple and the gentleman wanted a lowkey companion to hang out
with him and his other spaniel. They sent me pictures and he has a new
haircut and loves his new brother doggie.
Thomas liked Willie too, but we are
at capacity for right now. But there was a dog that needed a place to
stay for a week. His name was Nero, and he’d been at the kennel for too
long, suffering from an infected tooth. He stayed
for one week at Chez Nous. He’s a Little Old Man Dog ™. I think that all
black Cocker Spaniels eventually turn into Little Old Man Dogs ™ if
they live long enough. He was deaf, blind, and had a little dementia. He
also looked so much like Marley and Jake, our
late Little Old Man Dogs ™. Is there a factory somewhere turning out
tiny, frail black dogs who are the canine equivalent of Mr. Jones in
room 401, who can’t hear or see much, but totters around all the time on
his walker, inching into rooms and forgetting
what he came for, bumping into things, and loudly complaining if dinner
isn’t served on time and if they run out of rice pudding before he gets
his meal? That was all three of the Little Old Man Dogs ™ I have known.
Four days after I delivered Nero to his foster mom, he died peacefully in his sleep. My heart is broken a little more, but I thank all that is good and holy that he died in a home, having known some kindness and care, rather than in a lonely kennel.
We are now back down to our own two
dogs, Punkin and Sparky. After our weeks of three dogs, having only two
feels like a walk in the park. I am getting lots of reading done, and
need to get back to quilting. My mother has
been waiting for her bed quilt for a long time!
