http://www.sagetails.com/ https://www.facebook.com/sagetails?fref=ts My Story.
Something happened a couple weeks after I arrived, and I am not sure exactly what it was… but the shelter, which was very crowded, had an outbreak of some serious diseases, including distemper and parvo. Many dogs got very, very sick. The only way the shelter knew how to control the diseases was to put the animals to sleep, and over 1000 animals were scheduled to be put down; many of them didn’t even have the sickness, but the shelter didn’t have the room to take care of all of us. The shelter called Jocelyn and Ronna at the Las Vegas Weimaraner Rescue to pick me up so that my friend Tucker and I would not have to be put to sleep.
(This is me the day they picked me up from the shelter. I was really sick)
(This is my friend Tucker the same day. See how Tucker looks now at the bottom of this article)
When we were rescued, we were taken to the animal hospital – and that was when my very nice vet, Dr. Brooks, found out that I did have distemper. If you do not know what this disease is like, I will tell you. It is very contagious, and pretty much every dog that gets it will eventually die. For me it started like a cold, and then I got a fever. I lost a lot of weight because I didn’t feel like eating anything. I went from being 80 pounds to about 35 pounds. I just wanted to sleep all the time. I was very sad and very lonely because I had to be quarantined by myself. No one could visit me because if they touched me and then touched another dog, that dog could have gotten distemper too. The room I stayed in was about the size of a shower stall. I only had a few toys to keep me company, and a few times a day I would get visits from veterinarians or hospital workers after they got off work and were done with all the other animals for the day.
For a month, I stayed at that hospital. I was all alone, and sometimes I heard the doctors outside saying that there was no hope for me. I was so, so sad. Then I met an intern named Heather who did not want me to suffer alone. She asked if there was any way I could have hospice care because I only had a couple weeks to live. She contacted her sister, my momma, because she knew that my momma loved Weimies so much.
One night, when it was very cold and I was very tired, and my eyes were almost swollen completely shut, I had visitors come to see me. These were the first visitors who came to see me since I left the shelter. I wasn’t sure I could stand up anymore, but Dr. Brooks helped me to stand up and I tried to open my eyes enough to see them. When I saw their loving faces, I wagged my tail so much because I could not bark to let them know I was happy to see them. They even pet me and scratched me behind my ears. It was so good to feel them touching me like their pet. I loved seeing them, even if it was only for a few minutes. That night, after they left, I hoped and prayed that they could come back and see me and love me again.
The next day was St. Patrick’s Day. I have heard that it is a lucky day sometimes, and for me it was definitely my lucky day! I had a visitor again – it was my momma! I didn’t know it at the time, but she was there to bring me to her house as her foster child so that I did not have to spend my last days alone in the animal hospital. She did not know it then, but I wasn’t going to let some silly statistic about mortality rates dictate my life. All I needed was someone who believed that I was worth fighting for, and that someone was my momma and daddy.
They made me a special space in their house with a bed and a blankie and some toys. I slept a lot. Sometimes I would have accidents, but they never got mad at me. They would take me outside to go potty, being extra careful to keep me away from any other dogs. In the beginning, I could not walk by myself. Daddy would wrap a towel around my hindquarters and hold my back legs up while we went outside so I could get around. Every day my momma would hug me and kiss me and tell me I was beautiful. I loved them so much. And every single day, I vowed that I would get better because I knew that if I didn’t, it would break their hearts.
Much to their surprise, I GOT BETTER! I started walking on my own, gaining weight again, and I even barked! They loved the sound of my voice. Weeks passed, and I kept getting better. My nose cleared up completely, and Momma and Daddy took me back to Dr. Brooks for another checkup. Everyone was amazed at the results of the test, which defied all logic and showed that the distemper was COMPLETELY GONE! I was going to be okay! And best of all, I was not going to have to stay away from other dogs anymore! I thought it was the happiest day of my life… but that came a little while later, when the Las Vegas Weimaraner Rescue asked my parents if they wanted to officially adopt me, and they said YES!
I love that my forever family brought me through my saddest time in my life and gave me a wonderful home. They always call me “Baby” because to them, I am their baby. I will always be their baby, and I will be forever grateful that they adopted me.
Love,
Sage.
Weimaraner 