This cuddle bug has spent his entire life, a long 8 to 10 years- tethered to a chain, starved and abused. He was supposedly used for breeding at some point and we are not exactly sure how but at one point his leg was very badly wounded causing extensive bone damage. Due to lack of care the bone tried to repair itself overtime, so he walks with a permanent limp. He is timid and scared of everything but loves people so much already. Looking into his sad eyes, you can tell he’s never felt a loving hand, so he soaks every second up that he can, lying in your lap, just wanting to be with you, never knowing what the next second will bring. He needs to put on a lot of weight and has a long road ahead of him, learning to heal not only physically but learning that not all humans are bad. He has such a special sweet, sweet soul we can tell already, that’s why he deserved a special name- Dillon, meaning “Ray of hope” because that’s truly what he is

Happy 4th!!! Hope you are staying cool out there!

Update on Dillon: he is massively enjoying his foster home and getting used to the nice a/c, having his breakfast, dinner and milk bones on time, avoiding those hot temperatures and loving his orthopedic bed she bought him! A life he for sure has never seen before! The cone the vet had him wearing to prevent him from opening up his wound had him bumping into everything and falling over-,so we got him this nice donut pillow someone suggested-and it’s like he’s wearing a portable pillow! To say he’s being spoiled is definitely an understatement! His foster said she doesn’t want to give him up, that he’s a keeper and bought him a personalized ID tag…do we see an adoption in the future?!?

With heavy, heavy hearts we have to announce Dillon passed away peacefully last night, shortly after his favorite little girls came in to say goodbye. When animals have ehrlichia for a very long time, it can eventually reek havoc on all parts of your body especially those with weakened immune systems. If caught really early, it can be treated without many long term effects. However, they think Dillon suffered with this tick born disease for a very long before he came to us, along with the neglect and starvation he endured at the hands of his owner. Despite all the testing, treatment, back and fourth to the vets over the past couple of months, they think that his little body just learned to live with it over the years-especially now that he had something to live for. “Dill Pickle” spent all day the day before as usual-chasing his girls around the yard and watching over them wherever they went playing “nanny”, tail wagging in circles. He seemed a little more tired than usual, but nothing that would set off any alarms as he would do anything to play with them. The next morning he just wanted to sleep all day. They think overtime it was just more of a toll on his body than he could handle and he just went down so quickly. They say some rescues hit you harder than others but man this one hurts. He was such a joy in the short time he was with us, always wanting to be by your side. He was one of those dogs you just fell in love with as soon as you met him-many people did. We buried him under his favorite shade tree with his beloved stuffed monkey, in his foster moms front yard-after all this time he was finally at home, with people he loved and people who loved him.

“If love could have saved you, you would have lived forever.”