R.I.P. Yogi

We had to put our dog Yogi to sleep today. Yogi was a special guy - we got him from DARE (Dachshund Adoption, Rescue & Education). He was completely blind in one eye and had a detached retina in the other. His right front leg's bone density was shot from an earlier injury sometime in his life and he had some digestive problems. Every time we took him to the vet, we wondered if we would be bringing him back out. This time, we took him in because his back legs weren't working and he was dragging them around. The vet diagnosed it as a ruptured disk, meaning that his spinal cord was being pinched. He was not in pain, because the pain nerves were not carrying signals, but neither were the motor control nerves. He was trying to walk, but the signals weren't making it to the legs. In effect, total paralysis from the mid-back down. The only solution would be very risky surgery with an uncertain outcome. Considering how many other things were wrong with him, it just didn't make sense.

We only had him for about two years, but it was worth it. He was the sweetest dog - he always had a cheerful disposition and was extremely tolerant of the unintentional ill-treatment our toddler could dish out. He had been abandoned at the vet before DARE picked him up and was scheduled for euthanasia at the time. We gave him two years of comfortable living with a lot of love. I hope we made up for the neglect and abuse he suffered before we adopted him.

I consider dog rescue a ministry. Dogs are bred for traits that sometimes makes their long-term health chancy. (The vet once speculated that Yogi might have been a failed attempt at a double dapple due to some spots on his coat.) They are then sometimes discarded when the genetic wheel dosen't spin perfectly. I feel that organizations like DARE are making atonement for human abuse of God's creation, and I am proud to be part of it.

We will never be able to replace Yogi, but we will probably take on another adoption some time next year.

David+
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Comments

[Peregrinato]

I've been a lurker on your blog for a while, and I'm delurking to take the opportunity to say that I am genuinely sorry for your loss. I have a rescued doxie, and they can be quite endearing, not in spite of their imperfections, but often because of them--imperfections often exacerbated by a history of neglect or abuse. Bless you on this (and all your) ministry.

[Susie Day]

Hey, I'm putting together a Lord of the Rings blog aggregator (a bunch of blogs on a related topic all in one place). I've added your blog to it, I hope you don't mind.

take a look: http://lotr.zebby.org

If you think this is a cool idea, think about adding one of the badges listed there to your blog - that way your readers can get to all the other LotR related blogs :)

[Kit]

Hey David,

Sorry about your sweet dog. We are on number four dog, also a rescue. Hope all is well.

Kit Carlson