Lotus

Dear Lotus arrived in a shelter under so much hair she was invisible; volunteers spent days trying to remove the mats with scissors. She had a huge hernia and mammary masses (thanks to not being spayed); she was very ataxic and had a droop on one side of her face, suggesting either a stroke or a brain tumor. And she had kennel cough! Despite all this, Lotus was the sweetest, happiest, waggingest little girl imaginable. She was so happy to be in a loving home, to be fed (her favorite thing), to be held, to go to the vet, whatever you wished. She became stronger so a little less wobbly in her back end, and the kennel cough disappeared so that we could get her groomed – look what we found! More neurologic signs appeared and she was unable to fight off a virus, so we said goodbye. Lotus made friends everywhere in the short time she was with us, we only wish it could have been longer (and that we humans could be as forgiving and resilient as our dogs).