May 1998- I was studying for my chiropractic board exams and happen to see Teri Austin on the Leeza Gibbons Show (I was a big Knots Landing fan) representing the Amanda Foundation a no kill animal shelter in Beverly Hills. She brought on these adorable dogs to the set and showed the behind the scenes before and after footage of their makeovers. I couldn't believe these precious pooches were casted aside, unwanted and caged up in a pound with slim chances of being saved. The Foundation visits these shelters and painstakingly selects animals from the pound for their own facility- having to leave the others behind. Their staff nurses them back to health and gets them spayed or neutered. My husband, Phil (boyfriend at the time) came home and once I told him about the segment, he said "We need to rescue one of those!" It was a done deed. I picked up the phone and the volunteer started the screening process immediately on the call. The appointment was set and within 2 days we went down to the center to this time, have the dogs interview us! I was going through a very difficult time in my life back then. My mother back home in Toronto was just diagnosed with cancer and the homesickness was unbearable. Having the love of a pet and the opportunity to give a homeless one a loving home and family would give us the most fulfillment.
We must have walked 3 dogs who our volunteer, Jessica picked out for us. I have to say the staff and volunteers were very welcoming and skilled at matching people with pets. All three were adorable in their own way. It was a big decision so we told Jessica we needed a day or two to think about it. As we were leaving she said "Hold on! You need to see one more dog." She pointed towards the front desk counter where a scrappy, grumpy looking terrier sat. Phil and I looked at each other and hesitantly said "ok". He wasn't crated so we thought he was a resident pet or mascot. Jessica fostered him at her house every night then he goes to work with her each day. (nice homeless life!) But he terrorized her own gentle,elderly German Shepherd so she couldn't keep him. During the walk I had to hold the leash because either he was scared or just didn't like men. During the walk he would look back at Phil and growl a few times. Let's just say by the end of the walk, he was sitting on Phil's lap on the bench outside the Foundation! This grumpy old looking dog was only approximately two and a half years old, his Foundation name was Chuckie. Jessica called him McDuff. We renamed him Palmer after the founder of chiropractic. No wonder this dog was confused! Well the rest as they say is history and we couldn't imagine not having Palmer in our lives for those 12 years and 10 months!
About Palmer
- Melanie Dias-Zair
- We were blessed with a healthy (approximately) 2 1/2 yr old mixed terrier in 1998. The first two years or so we dealt with separation anxiety and some passive aggressive behaviour towards strange men. He then matured and only his loving tendencies showed. He always had a sad look to him but I always said he was just a deeply sensitive pooch. We think in his prior puppy life he was abused so loud sudden noises startled him and Phil (my husband) couldn't shout at the TV when watching a game without Palmer scurrying under the couch. He melted our hearts every day. He was an active "little monkey" as we called him- climbing up on sofas, chasing rabbits, lizards, any small creatures and only wanted to play with the big dogs.We plumped him up from his initial 12 lb weight to a healthy 16lbs. Unfortunately the renal disease which was detected in early 2004, at approximately age 8, slowly caused the muscle wasting down to 10 lbs- probably less on his last day. We'll be posting little stories among our clinical info, tips and experiences. Let's first tell you how it all began. (Please read the first post at the very bottom or click the Stories link to the left)
No comments:
Post a Comment