Last month, I laughed out loud when I saw this “Bust the Myth” promotional campaign for shelter pets. “Shelter pets are not broken. Shelter pets are not damaged goods,” declared Adopt-a-Pet.com on Facebook, next to a cartoon of an adorably disintegrating cat-and-dog pair.
Click for source.
It’s true that, if you’re sensible, you can pick out perfectly healthy animals at a shelter. It’s also true that, if you’re someone like me, you will lose your mind the minute you walk into the shelter and pick out animals that are almost exactly like the damaged goods in the illustration. I have a perfect record: all three of my rescue dogs have been cute messes. (My vet once introduced me to another patient’s human by saying, “This is the lady who takes all the broken dogs!”) The late Mr. Chubbs had epilepsy and knee problems. Gigi has spinal-cord damage. And that wide-eyed cartoon dog with the serious foot problem? He IS my dog Henry. I got Henry from the ASPCA in 2006 despite his tremors and a deformed front paw — though, unlike cartoon dog here, it was Henry’s left paw, not the right, that was a problem. In 2008, the paw was operated upon, improving though not curing its deformities.
Henry’s foot, pre-operation. Click for original post.
See how the cute cartoon dog has an irritated eye? Pekingese dogs like Henry — and other flat-faced animals — are indeed prone to eye problems. Today I noticed that Henry’s eye looked a lot like cartoon dog’s eye, with the addition of unpleasant discharge. Our regular vet didn’t have an opening till Wednesday. I decided Henry couldn’t wait and took him to the Animal Medical Center, the 24/7 animal hospital in Manhattan. Luckily, I got there before the eye specialists went home because it turned out poor Henry has a deep corneal ulcer. An emergency operation has been scheduled for tomorrow afternoon, lest he wind up looking like that cartoon cat with the empty eye socket. I left him there overnight and the AMC vets let me visit with him for a while before I departed.
Wish Henry luck!
By the way, my history with canines is why I got both my cats from breeders. I can’t be trusted in animal shelters!
I’m giving him lots of luck!
Thank you,K-Line.
Oh dear Henry, you are in my thoughts tonight. Well, you’re in my thoughts a lot, little man! You have pep in your step — or at least a burst of energy for a short sprint down the hall after a good walk — so I know you’ll do great 😉 Best of luck tomorrow sweetheart and I will see you soon Mr. Shakypants!
I think I’ll never let him sprint down the hall again — I really suspect that one slam into the wall caused this problem :-(((
poor Henry. Good thing you went in.
I know, now I wish I went in sooner, but it really didn’t look alarming till yesterday 🙁
(Wow, the captcha for this post is…um…relevant but sad)
Sending Henry love and hugs and puppy chow!
I take in the mental cases. Hella, the cat who hated everyone and clawed everyone to shreds (her former owner committed suicide; Hella’s now a lapcat with occasional lapses). Cookie, the one who hides in the cupboard but becomes spazzie attention cat at 10 pm (she was a toy for a pitbull, I was told). Sammy, who thinks I’m his mom (in many ways :P) (his sister was too bitchy and they wouldn’t let me take her even though we wanted her badly). And of course I have my eye on a polydactyl who WAS SHOT IN THE TAIL and maybe the back leg and walks funny and I think she lost all her teeth, too, and she’s like a year old. But I think she’s mentally sound?
LOL — can a cat be mentally sound after enduring what the polydactyl endured?
My dogs have all been completely crazy too but I tend to blame that on the trauma of their physical problems.
You go, Henry, sweet dog! I am sending you all the luck I know. xox
Thank you!
Oh man. You do know how to pick em! We just adopted a dog but it was through a breed-specific rescue society. They make no guarantees with regard to health but they do try to match based on personality, lifestyle, etc. You might try that next time around 🙂
Gigi was actually a rescue dog rather than a shelter dog. If I wasn’t so set on the flat-face animals, I’d be less likely to take whatever messed-up flat-face came my way, but I’m really partial to them! Personality and lifestyle I’ve always had good matches for — I just have a problem saying no to the sick ones!
Oh, the eyes–and folds–of flat-face dogs! One of my English bulldogs once had “cherry eye” and we were sent to a vet teaching hospital for consultation. Mr. C transported him. As he arrived, Mr. C saw that he had a choice between the “small” animal hospital and the “large” animal hospital.
Thinking that bigger is better, and that his bullie deserved the best, he chose the “large” animal hospital and soon found himself surrounded by horses and cows, the “large-animal” clients.
Sending every good wish to Henry! And I’m guessing that every animal hospital in Manhattan is “small” . . .
ROTFLMAO -=- horses and cows and one cherry-eyed bulldoggy! <3
Sending good luck and positive thoughts to Henry! I hope he recovers quickly!
I also tend to pick the sad-sack animals that need a lot of extra love (and vet attention) – and I totally can’t go to animal shelters either. I used to work across the street from the Anti-Cruelty society, and it had huge windows with all the cats and dogs visible – I wanted to take them all home on a daily basis!
It’s so hard to say no to a pound dog!
I saw Henry on Instagram with his cone-collar on, and feared right away that it was an ulcer, dear Wendy…I hope he’s doing okay now?? After working at a veterinary clinic for many years, I’m very aware how serious eye injuries can be; and I ALWAYS advise pet parents to get them looked at asap. Good thing you did!!
He seems to be healing! He has a checkup in a week 🙂
Poor guy.