This furry old fellow was found roaming the streets, no tag, no chip, until someone picked him up and dropped him off at a local shelter.  He was called “Sasquatch” when he arrived—a big-footed fluffball with a long, unkempt coat, and long tufts of fur between his toes. Because of his advanced lenticular sclerosis (a bluish haze that develops in the lens of old dogs’ eyes) he seemed to be 13 or 14 years old.  He arrived with a severe limp in his left front leg and stiffness in his hips, but what the shelter didn’t know is that Charlie is also functionally deaf.  Despite these difficulties, Charlie absolutely beamed and jumped around when he was brought out of the shelter to meet an ODH rep and her “meet and greet” dog. Within 24 hours of his release to ODH, dear Charlie arrived at his Final Refuge forever home—which is within a half block of the forest and beach. Talk about a lucky Yeti!

Like so many of our ODH dogs who’ve experienced abandonment, Charlie exhibits separation anxiety (SA) and despite the pain in his hips and leg, he’ll get up and follow his mom as soon as she’s out of his eyesight. As he gets more comfortable in his forever home, Charlie will learn that he doesn’t need to be quite so diligent a tracker. (Of course, this won’t help his forever mom to remember why she left the room in the first place!) And now that Charlie is getting excellent vet care, his mom is seeing improvement with his severely arthritic front leg and hips. He absolutely loves his walks and gets so excited in anticipation he turns circles and bounces around. As he makes his way down the street and along the trails, Charlie is at his best—he’s beside himself with happiness and his eyes are filled with love for everyone—people and dogs. Some folks ask if he’s a puppy!

His mom reports that as he progresses he wants to do even more. Charlie recently encouraged her to run a bit with him and she says, “I was actually able to keep up for about…5 seconds. But it was long enough to witness his beautiful, athletic gait with no hint of disability. It was truly spectacular to witness this lame dog in full tilt, even if just for a period of seconds.  Thank you Charlie, for your gifts of love and life. And, as they say, Who Rescued Who?”

Indeed. Thanks, friends for your support of ODH and the life-giving second chances you help make possible for new old dogs like Charlie.

Update:  This wonderful fluffy boy enjoyed several months with his new, loving family before his dementia and anxiety took away his quality of life.  We are so grateful we were able to treat his arthritis and other physical ailments so he could really enjoy his new life and family.  This loving boy will be greatly missed.