Thanks to everyone's help, Murphy is doing beautifully. He's a happy little guy who thinks he should get all the attention. He is a bit on the spoiled side, but he deserves it! He's walking well and even going up and down steps. He does still drag is back toes on occasion, but we have been told that he could continue to improve for up to a year so we are hopeful that this will be the case.

Murphy has had all his vaccinations, tested negative for heartworms, and has been neutered and had a dental.

My name is Manny and I’m from Texas. You may remember me from the last SCMR newsletter. I told you’d I’d be back! They say my heartworms are all better now. I guess I’m a real lucky little boy because my friend Larry couldn’t fight the heartworms and went to the Bridge. I sure do miss him. My foster mom is now giving me these things called heartworm pills! She says that I won’t have to worry about getting heartworms again as long as I take a pill every month.

My foster mom also took me to a doggy eye doctor to check my eyes because sometimes I don’t see real well. The only time I notice it is when it’s real dark outside and I get scared. Most the time it’s not a problem for me, especially if I have a friend to follow. The Ophthalmologist said she could see some scar tissue on my right eye that could be causing some of my vision problems. I could also have something called progressive retinal degeneration (PRD). She said that the earliest signs of PRD include night vision difficulties that in most cases will progress to day blindness. There is nothing they can do if it is PRD. I know in a few years I might not be able to see, but I’m so smart that I’ll do just fine.

There he was, my new foster…ears pricked and little head cocked to one side with his tongue sticking out. I was a goner right off the bat! Larry was a contented soul, happy with anything he got, be it food or a hand-me-down sweater that was a little too big. After a few gyrations, he’d usually search me out with one leg sticking out the neck of the sweater…fix it, mom! And off he’d go to rearrange his sweater yet again. Moving all the time, he was a study in kinetics! Larry rarely settled down for any length of time…and forget that cuddling stuff! Got too much to do!

When I last saw Larry, he was drooping in an isolated cage. Gazing vacantly through the bars of the cage, he struggled to breathe as a needle taped to his slender leg delivered fluids to his dwindling body. His breath was shallow and labored as his lungs fought to function. Gently I lifted Larry out of his cage. As I placed my hands on him and rocked him like a baby, he settled in with a little sigh: and the trembling in his body began to subside. Soon his loud breathing became smoother and quieter, and he closed his eyes as his body relaxed. We rocked for nearly an hour before I had to return him to the clean but comfortless cage. I kissed him and told him I’d be back as his eyes pleaded with me not to go.

But as I reluctantly left the room, I could hear his breathing slowly become loud and labored again.

The next morning, Larry lost his fight. He couldn’t keep going with heart and kidney failure. His kidneys needed fluids, but his heart needed to be relieved of fluids. There was no way to strike a happy medium. Larry was tired out, and so, kind hands helped him to the Bridge…all because no one cared enough to give Larry a simple once-a-month heartworm preventative.

Let Larry’s legacy be a warning to pet parents: Make monthly heartworm preventative a top priority! Don’t let Larry’s sacrifice be in vain…pass the word along to everyone you know who has a dog. Mark your calendars. Don’t make excuses. Do it for Larry.

Liver & Chicken Brownies

A man and his dog were walking along a road. The man was enjoying the scenery, when it suddenly occurred to him that he was dead. He remembered dying, and that the dog walking beside him had been dead for years. He wondered where the road was leading them.

After a while, they came to a high, white stone wall along one side of the road. It looked like fine marble. At the top of a long hill, it was broken by a tall arch that glowed in the sunlight. When he was standing before it he saw a magnificent gate in the arch that looked like mother-of-pearl, and the street that led to the gate looked like pure gold. He and the dog walked toward the gate, and as he got closer, he saw a man at a desk to one side.

When he was close enough, he called out, "Excuse me, where are we?" “This is Heaven, sir," the man answered. "Wow! Would you happen to have some water?" the man asked. "Of course sir. Come right in, and I'll have some ice water brought right up." The man gestured, and the gate began to open. "Can my friend," gesturing toward his dog, "come in, too?" the traveler asked. "I'm sorry, sir, but we don't accept pets." The man thought a moment and then turned back toward the road and continued the way he had been going with his dog.

After another long walk, and at the top of another long hill, he came to a dirt road leading through a farm gate that looked as if it had never been closed. There was no fence. As he approached the gate, he saw a man inside, leaning against a tree and reading a book. "Excuse me!" he called to the man. "Do you have any water?" "Yeah, sure, there's a pump over there, come on in." "How about my friend here?" the traveler gestured to the dog. "There should be a bowl by the pump." They went through the gate, and sure enough, there was an old-fashioned hand pump with a bowl beside it.

The traveler filled the water bowl and took a long drink himself, then he gave some to the dog. When they were full, he and the dog walked back toward the man who was standing by the tree. "What do you call this place?" the traveler asked. "This is Heaven," he answered. "Well, that's confusing," the traveler said. "The man down the road said that was Heaven, too." "Oh, you mean the place with the gold street and pearly gates? Nope. That's hell." "Doesn't it make you mad for them to use your name like that?" "No, we're just happy that they screen out the folks who would leave their best friends behind."