Rufus

On April 22nd of this year, Rufus was found alongside a busy road lying on his side with his head picked up watching the cars speed past him. Today was going to be the luckiest day for little Rufus (or as I now call him, Woofies), and it was going to change my life in a most profound and positive way.

Below is the story of Rufus, as I remember it.... that fateful day when two lives will be changed, for the better, forever....


Today at work (I work in a very large mixed animal veterinary hospital where I lead the wildlife rehabilitation facility and where I am also their only small animal dental technician) we received a call from a client who sounded desperate and was frantic. "I just found a dog by the side of the road. he is just laying there with his head picked up. I think he was hit by a car because he is bleeding from his neck and his head is swollen. he is very skinny and won't move."
Well, we all prepared for the worst. This dog who we thought was hit by a car and had allowed a stranger to pick him up has to be in a bad way. Little did we know what we were in for.
This sweet woman rushed into the clinic and handed me a small bundle wrapped in a kids blanket. "here it is" she said. I unwrapped the blanket and was stunned, saddened and angered at what was inside.
I rushed this boy to our emergency treatment area and paged the veterinarian I work with. She ran up to the treatment table and whispered, "Oh my God.... how can he still be alive?" Well, alive this boy was but not too bright nor coherent. He was unable to move with stability and was very lethargic. The reason for his weakness and lethargy was due to his being extremely underweight and emaciated. Not only was he severely starved, he had been attacked many times over. His head and ears were riddled with bite marks. But his worst injury was found on his neck/throat area. He was viciously attacked and this attack was meant to kill. The laceration to his neck is about 5 to 6 inches long and about an inch wide. there are many other bite wounds around the laceration also.
This poor boy we determined to be close to 6 months of age and is unaltered. He is very scared of loud noises and loud barks. He is afraid of large dogs and of hand jestures to his head.
I have taken him home to treat all of his wounds, feed him properly and perhaps socialize him with my boys who seem to have already taken a liking to him!
This is going to be a very long process and this boy is far from recovery but.... he will recover and he will be a very happy boy!