Mabel's Miraculous Healing Leg Wound

Mabel's leg wound is almost completely healed now. How crazy is that?!? She doesn't even need a bandage anymore. It is down to a small scab. I don't know if she will ever have hair there though. I think it will remain a pink scar. A reminder of why she deserves the best life possible I guess you could say.

The photos below may not be for the squeamish.
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Saoirse and Becks - the IN rescue puppies.

Checking out the cats I'm sure. Alex and Chris have 6!

Oh the ears!! Too cute.
Saoirse means freedom in Irish. She has one blue eye and one brown eye.
Becks looks pretty happy in his new home.


On Thursday July 31st 2008 Alex and I took a road trip to the Marion-Grant Humane Society in Marion, IN. Alex was looking for a shepherd/husky mix puppy for herself and Chris. They lost their 16 year old dog Duke a month ago and were ready to welcome a new dog into their family.

Marion-Grant Humane Society is a sad, sad place. Way out in rural IN, on a road that did not show on my GPS, we pulled up to an small, old building; the home of over 100 dogs and many more cats. Workers doing their best, but struggling in the face of unsurmountable odds. I watched the back of the female worker's head as she lead us to the back of the facility to meet the puppy that Alex was interested in. I didn't dare take my eyes off her head for fear that I would look into the eyes of one of those dogs. I couldn't. I know I would lose it if I did.

When we got to the back of the facility we were greeted by not one, but two, beautiful, wriggly, hopeful, 4 month old , 15 pound shepherd/husky mix puppies. Alex and I had spoken about this possibilty on the drive down and, as soon as I saw them, I know that she would be bringing them both home.

20 minutes later we were back in the car headed for Chicago, with 2 puppies jumping around in the back seat. I am so thankful to her for taking them out of there. They are in their new home now settling into their wonderful new life, and I could not be happier for them.

Plans are in the works to see if we can get some more of the dogs out before the shelter closes on August 31st. I am hopeful.

2 weeks later...

Mabel loving on my husband. He is her favourite person!

Mabel thinks daycare is a-ok.
She is ALWAYS smiling.

So, 2 weeks have passed since Mabel's arrival in Chicago and things just keep getting better and better with her! We started out with some difficulties between her and my own dogs. They, especially my female, were not happy about the new (albeit temporary) addition. Things are slowly improving and I would say they are living in about 90% harmony at this point.

Mabel is gaining weight like crazy. Last Wednesday she weighed in at a solid 47 lbs and the vet says that she only needs to gain 3-5 more lbs to be at her ideal weight. So in 1 month she has gone from an emaciated 33 lbs to a healthy, if a smidge skinny, 47lbs. She is happy and full of energy.

Psychologically she is a very different dog from the scared, aggressive bag of bones that Michelle pulled 1 month ago. She is loving and oh so affectionate with my husband and I. She wags her tail for everyone that she meets, and nuzzles anyone that will let her! She goes to daycare 2-3 days a week and plays well with all kinds of different dogs. She accepts new situations willingly and adjusts very quickly. There are, however, a few things that she is afraid of. Namely hairdryers, drills and shovels. We are working on all these things!

Mabel and my first trip to Petco will forever be seared in my memory as one of the most heartwarming moments of my life. She hesitated at the door for about 7 seconds before finding the courage to dive in. As soon as she did she was in Heaven! We spent 1 hour in there walking up and down the aisles, and I'm pretty sure she sniffed everything in the store twice. She smiled non-stop and everyone that met her fell in love with her. It was so wonderful to see her so happy.

Even though I am watching all this with my own eyes, it is still hard to believe the leaps and bounds of improvements that she has made in the last month. At the beginning I was truly questioning her chance for survival and now she is living in my house, healthy and loving life. It is such a priveledge to get to watch such a transformation.