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Dog Stories and Poetry
by Patricia Walter
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Annie’s story is both happy
and sad. Terribly sad because someone dumped her at an
outdoor shelter in the middle of subfreezing temperatures.
The shelter had no inside space for Annie and she stayed in
a wooden house with no heat in a pile of straw. Somehow she
managed to survive even though we latter found out she was
old and diabetic. The shelter manager told me that she
wanted to show me a dog when I was at the shelter taking
photos for their website that I did for them. She brought
out this little ball of matt, mud and fur. I was actually
unable to tell the front from the back because she was so
matted. I wrapped her in a towel and brought her home. I was
going to clean her up, feed her and take care of her until
she could find a new home. I started to clean her eyes and
could not even get them open. They had been fused closed
with gooey crud seeping from her eyes. I decided that I
would need a vet’s help and took her to my vet. It took them
almost half an hour to clip around her eyes to get them
open. She was in such bad shape that they had to clip her
entire body which exposed the fact that she was nothing but
skin and bones. They knew she needed some special care and
kept her overnight. Meantime I went to the manager of a more
progressive shelter to get help for her. They accepted her
and found a new foster Mom to take care of her. Meanwhile
she had gone into several diabetic commas that the vets were
able to manage. They were not sure if she would survive. She
would need a lot of TLC. A wonderful lady took her and
became her foster Mom. I was unable to foster her since I
had 13 dogs in my house at the time. Annie continued to heal
and gain weight. She wore a doggie sweater all winter to
keep her warm. She refused to allow her foster Mom to remove
the sweater for many months. She finally became stable and
received medicine and shots for her diabetes. Two wonderful
ladies decided to adopt Annie. One of the ladies was also a
diabetic and school teacher. Annie was able to go to school
with her new Mom and visit with the children. She lived a
wonderful live surrounded by love for about 2 1/2 years
after I removed her from the shelter. She was a very old dog
and very lucky to have survived the harsh conditions at the
outdoor shelter. You can read more about
Annie by clicking here
Patricia Walter
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Annie
Left alone at
the shelter
she shivered and shook
didn’t care about eating
or how she would look.
Thrust into darkness
eyes crusted shut
a matted ball of fur
probably just a mutt.
She had no love
it was lonely and cold
wasn’t there someone
that could be told?
Along came a family
who wanted to share
finally found new home
with love and care.
Original Poetry & Art by
Patricia Walter 2002 ©
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