Every year for Lent, I give something up. Once it was chocolate, but that was too hard, so the next year I gave up being nice to annoying people which was much easier. It’s important to set realistic goals if you want to have a sense of accomplishment.
Recently, I had an epiphany that perhaps I was too hard on the general public for their care of animals in general. I resolved that I would try to be more understanding and tolerant of the ignorance of my fellow man. That lasted about 3 days. Here’s why…
Meet Arrow. Arrow is a 6-7 year old female hairless wonder that is probably a spitz mix, but closely resembles a mangy fox that you see on the National Geographic channel. She’s knee high and sweet, but clearly not a big or fluffy dog. We have her because our vet is a sucker with a giant, capital S. It seems a client came in with two dogs: one, a carefully groomed and pampered Yorkie and the other Arrow. The client asked for the Yorkie to get all the tests and treatments in the world, but told our vet to just give Arrow a rabies shot because that was all she was going to do for her. Our vet who is a more patient sort than I am asked her why and the client told her that the dog was a stray and she had tried all kinds of treatments for the skin condition like “tea tree oil” but that nothing had worked and she wasn’t going to bother. When asked how long she had Arrow she told the vet a year and a half. Our vet asked the client to turn her over on the spot, so props to our awesome vet. Clearly, the client is a moron of epic proportions and despite my plan to be a better human being, I am currently hoping she gets a scorching case of head to toe eczema on the night before her high school reunion and spends her time in a bathroom stall scratching her butt crack while her totally hot high school boyfriend makes out with her former best friend. So much for a kinder, gentler Jean.
Despite the outright neglect and lack of care and concern, Arrow is an awesome dog. She is perfectly well-mannered, knows several commands and is a joy to all. She is good with cats and dogs and people. She will be on medication for several months until the skin heals up but she should make a full recovery and will be beautiful once healed.
Arrow has been in temporary foster in Nashville and she needs a foster home for a longer stint while she gets better. If you can foster this girl, please email jean@bigfluffydogs.com.