PAW Home

I met Mickie in late March at College Park Animal hospital, after he had been getting care for several weeks. As he came through the door, I was struck by two things: first, he was so very emaciated. His pictures didn't reveal how much you could see the details of all his bones through his dry and flaky coat. Second, he was so friendly and affectionate. Despite what must have been at best, indifference, and at worst, cruelty, at the hands of his previous people, he ran right up to me and showed nothing but trust and sweetness. So, of course I decided to foster this wonderful boy.

Once we got Mickie home, he quickly adapted to his new surroundings. He was already housebroken and gets along fine with our dogs and cats. He enjoys being with our two sons, ages 8 and 9 and he absolutely loves to chase and retrieve the red Kong ball that I got for him, barking impatiently for me to throw it again and again. He loves to hang out near us and often sleeps on the floor by my chair as I sit at the computer, or on the sofa with the kids as they watch TV. At night he sleeps on the dog bed right next to our people bed. He loves to get doggy massages, leaning into me as I stroke his fur. Every so often he'll give me a delicate little kiss. And he has gained weight - he almost looks like a normal dog!

Sounds like the ideal foster dog, right? Well, almost. It turns out that unlike most of the other dogs who find their way to PAW, Mickie is not able to completely leave his unhappy past behind him. And an unhappy past it was: he was brought to a nearby shelter weighing half his normal body weight after having been left tied up in the back yard for 3 months from the time his owner was incarcerated. Neighbors fed Mickie the occasional meal, but no one came for him for all those cold months. Mickie came to PAW in mid-March, not only emaciated from having been starved for so long, but also suffering longer lasting effects of his neglect: he had Lyme disease, severe anemia, very low protein levels in his blood and very high protein levels in his urine. He was very thirsty and he regurgitated food and water. What we hoped were temporary effects of starvation and Lyme disease have turned out to be chronic, and are, right now, getting worse. The damage to his kidneys (an occasional result of infection with the Lyme organism, Borrelia burdorferi) is permanent and expected to worsen - to the point where he cannot survive. Our vet says he only has a few months.

So, instead of preparing Mickie for a new life in his forever home, we will keep him with us. With PAW's (and your) generosity, he will receive all of the veterinary care he needs to live in comfort and safety for as long as he is loving life. While this is not the future we envisioned for him, we will do everything we can to make his remaining days full of love, security and lots of time bounding after that red Kong ball. Your donations will help us to do that.

You can make a donation to care for Mickie by check, payable to PAW and mail to: PAW, Mickie Fund, PO Box 1074, Greenbelt, MD 20768 or online with a credit card noting Mickie in the comment section at: http://www.paw-rescue.org/donate_online.html. We are grateful for the donation.