Saturday, February 20, 2010

A Sad Milestone

"The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step"... or in our case, the saving of eight hundred dogs (so far) begins with a single pup.

At the end of February 2006, Aida had completed the paperwork and preparation to launch Pawfect Match Rescue. We had the tax number, articles, letters, logos - all we needed was a dog. Spot became PMR #001.

One look at this pup and it was clear that his name had to be Spot. He was eager, he was happy, and he had no real reason to be. He was suffering from sarcoptic mange, and itched like crazy, and he was on death row.

Well, PMR took him in, and took him on. It took quite a while for us to conquer his mange. We constantly stopped him from scratching so that he could heal, and not get skin infections. He would low-crawl through the grass to scratch his belly without really scratching, and we would laugh out loud.

What a face! He was so happy, so playful. Especially once the mange was gone, the skin was healthy and the hair grew back.

Spot watched as dog after dog, and pup after pup, got adopted, while he waited for his forever home. Of course, Aida was picky - not just anyone was going to get to have this sweet special boy!

But someone special did come along. A wonderful family passed our tests and convinced us they were the right home. He had a huge yard to run in, and lots of kids to play with. We were sad to see him go, but thrilled that he had a new home.

We got a few pictures over the years, and we happy to know he was healthy and happy.

But a few days ago we received an email that broke our hearts. Spot had hurt himself doing his favorite thing - chasing a squirrel. He ruptured a disc in his spine, and was paralyzed. The emergency vet was certain that even with surgery he would be in pain, if he even ever walked again. The family, with very heavy heart, decided to end his pain.

Four years old. Not long enough to share all the love he had, but he loved with all he had every day. Spot, PMR #001, is chasing squirrels on the other side of the Rainbow Bridge. Play well, little Spot. We miss you.