Occasionally, when one of you like or comment on one of my posts, I will click on your name and visit your page. I just did that with my friend, Margaret Tappan, who lives in Arizona with her two kids who happen to be two HUMONGOUSLY beautiful Mastiffs. That brought to mind a dog we rescued back in 2004. She wasnt with us long but she made such a powerful impression on our lives, I will never forget her. I have posted this story before. If youve read it, my apologies. If not, please read about a delightful big dog. Delilah - 2004 The evening of February 6, 2004, is a date I shall never forget. I heard my husband, Dave, banging around in the kitchen and I went in there to find out what in the world was going on. He was busy searching through all the cabinets and when I asked him what he was looking for, he told me he needed a large bowl. I looked at him quizzically and then he opened the back door and revealed to me one of the saddest sights I’d ever seen. Standing in my garage was a starving and near-death dog, a very large dog that we later discovered is a Mastiff. She was so thin that her rib cage and hip bones were clearly visible. She could barely stand and was looking at me with big brown eyes that seemed to be pleading with me to help her. I went outside to comfort her while Dave prepared a good meal for her. As I was petting her and trying to soothe her, I discovered that she had several really nasty abrasions, two toes that had been cut off, several teeth missing and was covered with fleas and ticks. Over the course of the next few days Delilah did very little but eat, drink water and sleep. Our three dachshunds just weren’t too sure about this huge animal in their garage and were quite reluctant to get too near. Our cat, Gato, disappeared for three days! I was petting Delilah one morning before leaving for work and discovered something on her neck that I mistook for a tick. I decided to pull that tick off of her and when I did, I realized that I had pulled a bullet out of her! Someone had shot her with a .22 and the shell had worked its way out. A few days later we felt that she was strong enough to make the trip to the veterinarian’s office. We coaxed her into the backseat of my car with a package of weiners and off we went. When we got to the vet’s office, she went right in just as happy as she could be. She greeted everyone there as if she were attending a party! They weighed her and, although she was still extremely thin, she weighed 105 pounds. The doctor told us that she would probably eventually weigh 125-130 pounds! Now, that’s a big dog! After four people finally got her on the examining table and she received her shots without so much as a whimper, the bad news came. She had heart worms. Dave and I took her back home and continued to hand feed her for another three weeks, trying to get her healthy enough to withstand the heart worm treatment. One night we decided we would take her in the house and give her a bath in the shower. She would have no part of that so I used a whole package of Baby Wipes on her and let her sleep in the house next to our bed. Our African Grey parrot started screaming and didn’t stop until we covered his cage. The dachshunds weren’t too happy, either, but they acquiesced and began to accept the fact that she was there to stay. On March 15th we took her back to the vet for the treatment and she had gained 18 more pounds. She was then up to 123 pounds. After a couple of days we took her home. She was so sick from the treatment she wouldn’t eat a thing so we had to spoon feed her. We were so worried that she wouldn’t make it but we persevered and continued to force feed her for about two weeks. I am happy to report that she has turned the corner and is now back to eating and drinking like a pig. She slobbers constantly, wags her tail and wants to be loved all the time. When we come home from work she is always there waiting for us and has become the joy of our lives. The dachshunds have finally given in and, although they like to bark at her when she takes her daily stroll around the perimeter of the house, they understand that she is now a part of our family, too. NOTE: This was written in 2004. Delilah lived a year after this was written. She became very ill and we learned the sad news that she had cancer and we had to put her down. It was the most heartbreaking moment but I know in my heart that at least this baby had ONE GOOD YEAR with the Turners. RIP sweet big dog.
Posted on: Mon, 18 Aug 2014 01:36:45 +0000
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