Annie |
A Woman’s View is proud to present our newest addition to the
pet page, Best Friends in Waiting. Sponsored by an animal loving benefactor,
each month, a pet from the Parkersburg or Charleston animal shelter
will be featured to help a pet find a home and help a family find
a friend.
Annie is, perhaps, a lhasa-apso and poodle mix. She was found in
February, lying in a shed on a straw covered concrete floor, unable
to move because her toenails had grown into her feet, unable to see
because her eyes were matted shut, barely able to breathe and unable
to smell because of a severe respiratory infection. Pitifully thin,
she was starved and thirsty. Found by Pat Waters, a Parkersburg Humane
Society volunteer, she was taken to the vet, where they managed to
get her eyes open, removed and cut the toenails that had carved into
her flesh, bathed and sheared her tangled coat. Taken in by a foster
parent, Annie ate ravenously for two days, though a cloudy film covered
her eyes and her nose ran constantly. She could barely stand, teetering
on fragile feet that were raw and sore. She drank cups and cups of
fresh water, but quit eating and barely moved at all. Returned to
the vet, Annie was entering a diabetic coma. Her body was so malnourished,
the insulin they gave her sent her into shock.
She wouldn’t eat, she couldn’t move, she didn’t
seem to hear. Everyone knew that Annie was going to die.
But, she held on. Unloved, abandoned, neglected, sick, starved and
hurt, Annie found the strength to survive. Back in her foster home
her thin little body warmed and covered by a sweater, she nestled,
a coverlet carefully tucked around her, on a fluffy bedspread in the
kitchen. After three days, Annie’s nonexistent appetite began
responding to bacon, baked chicken and Spaghetti-o’s. Each day
Annie tolerated her insulin, injection, eye drops four times, eye
ointment three times, pink antibiotic squirted in her mouth twice
a day, without protest.
She can walk half a block now. She’s interested and alert and
can see at least a little with her right eye. She eats dog food and
is a champion lap sitter. Annie sleeps deeply, in a tight, protective
curl. She doesn’t look a day over adorable, but could be as
much as ten.
Is there anyone with a place in their heart and a place in their
home for Annie?
To sponsor a Best Friend in Waiting, contact patlawrence@wirefire.com
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