Yesterday I talked with the vet from Great Falls who had treated Bailey two years ago. He said Bailey had both a slipped disk and a ruptured disk, and although he did the surgery, Bailey did not respond as well as the vet had hoped. (I think he said there's a 75% success rate for this type of surgery.) He agreed with our veterinary surgeon in Spokane, Dr. Lawrence, that more surgery would not be an option at this point. (See first post on Bailey here, and last week's posts below.)
It turned out that this vet was asked by the local authorities to assess the conditions at the animal hoarder's place a few months ago. When he and his vet tech arrived at the scene, they found tiny Bailey with his crippled legs in an outdoor pen with 15 other dogs! The vet said Bailey looked like he had given up. He said, "You could see it in his eyes. There was no hope. He just wanted to die." The other dogs were running over him, falling on him, and he was cowering in a corner trying to protect himself.
The vet recognized Bailey as one of his former patients, and they scooped him up on the spot and took him back to the clinic. That was the first the vet knew his client had abandoned this little dog and handed him over to an animal hoarder.
Well, Bailey's life has finally turned around, and we have fallen completely in love with this tyke. I had written in an earlier post that he enjoyed playing with toys, and someone posted a comment asking for a photo. Here's one I took yesterday. He has a "thing" about chewing on soft toys for a while and then burying his head in them ... he lays there motionless, as if he's sleeping ... but in fact it's a ploy. He's actually looking around while his head is pointed down.
You can see his eyes are wide open and he's looking over in our direction. He is a real character, with lots of spunk and personality. I think he is just reveling in his new life ... it's almost like he can't believe his luck. We are so glad he's here.
(Click on photo for larger image.)
Good, I am so glad Bailey has happy days now. So sorry to hear about Willis....
Posted by: Karen SA/TX | February 13, 2006 at 04:41 PM
That is awesome. Bailey deserves to be happy. How heartbreaking to think about how he survived in that pen with all of those dogs.
Posted by: Mandy, Laramie, WY | February 13, 2006 at 11:55 AM
I am so happy for Bailey !! His happiness makes my heart smile. Thank you for giving him a chance to know love.
Posted by: Leigh | February 12, 2006 at 03:10 PM
I'm also very glad Bailey is with you where he can have the fun and get the care he deserves. Those hoarders infuriate me. I'm so glad the vet recognized him. He's a very cute boy.
Posted by: Roz | February 12, 2006 at 10:10 AM
Hurray for Bailey! My rescue doxies, Toby, Annie and Lucy are so glad that Bailey has the good life now!
Posted by: Julie | February 11, 2006 at 11:55 PM