I'M HOME!!!!!!!

It's been a long time since I shared bits and pieces of my life in rescue. The past several months have been a very difficult time for me, both physically and emotionally. The drug that is used to kill the heartworms is also toxic to my body and I have spent much of my time feeling like I have a bad case of the flu. The drug is injected into the muscle that runs along my spinal cord next to he 5th and 6th lumbar vertebrae, it is excruciatingly painful. I have tried to be brave, but most times I cry, I have had to have three separate injections spaced about 5-7 weeks apart. It takes that long for my body to recover and be strong enough to handle the medication. Not all treatments are this hard to get through, mine were especially difficult because I had a severe infestation of the worms. During this time I had body aches, diarrhea, vomiting, extreme fatigue and very bad mood swings. Once the worms in my heart die they travel through my circulatory system and are eventually resorbed by my body. The danger is that too many worms could die at once and lodge in my lungs or blood vessels.
Once I was declared healthy for travel my guardian angel, Kelly drove me all the way to New York where Valerie was assigned the daunting task of improving my manners and overall outlook on life. Valerie succeeded and now I have a home that most dogs can only dream of. I am a rescue success story and I would like to show off my newly found good manners and thank all of you who sent money for my treatment-there were a lot of you and my gratitude is immense. There are also many people who sent me special gifts; thank you to Mark Essary for dog food, Jennifer Peters for my very own bed, a very nice lady who made me my very own coat, the couple from Ohio for Blue Dog (he got me through some tough times), thanks Wanda for the ride to freedom. Most of all I would like to thank Dr. Reppart for saving my life and Kelly, who was as patient as a saint with me as I re-learned how to live. Valerie, without you I would not have met my new mom and dad- thank you for your patience and kindness. Lastly, thank you to my new parents, I can't promise that I will always be a good boy :) But I do promise to always love you and be grateful for the life you have given me.

Me, sporting my new bod!

Learning to live again!

It took me some time to get well, but thanks to the loving care of ABA rescue and the veterinarians in Ohio, along with the overwhelming support I have received from all of you, I am finally well.

Now that I'm better, I look more like a bullmastiff-boxer mix. But no matter, I am still a really cool dog! I have moved to NY to spend some special one-on-one time with my new friend and ABA rescue volunteer, Valerie. She said I can get a little nervous about some things, but I am learning to be bolder. Recovery from what I've been through -- both physical and mental -- takes a while, but I am working very hard to get better.

Thoughts from Hoover

My captors are now my friends, my kennel is now my sanctuary and the big man with the needles and nasty medicine is now my savior and yes he buys me Big Macs and French Fries and I am not supposed to tell... but I'm so spoiled I'll do it anyway! I will deny it later, but The Bath is not so bad either, I now have a special all natural shampoo that is supposed to have calming effects on me.... the man in the brown suit brought it the other day. I haven't made any doggie friends..... they are talking about adjusting my attitude so that I can have play dates with other dogs. We'll have to see about that. I think I like my humans best and I can tell you with absolute certainty that I am not going to be hanging with any CATS. Blue dog and I need to get extra rest, some kind of treatment starts in a few days... it must be something pretty important, they talk about it all the time. Life is good.

Hoover Relaxes In The Reception Area

After a hard day of eating and conquering snow drifts, it is time for a little R&R in the reception area. Hoover is becoming quite the "King of Comfort" and spends many an afternoon lounging on a pile of throw pillows in the reception area at the vet clinic. Animal themed movies are usually playing, someone is always right there to rub his tummy or give him a treat... he is becoming a bit of a prima donna. He has become so attached to his toy that it now has a name... Blue Dog. Blue dog goes everywhere...yes even out to potty, although that came to an abrupt end when Blue dog came up missing the weekend the blizzard hit. Thank you Kelly for digging through the snowdrifts to find him!

Hoover Gets A Winter Coat

......and just in time! Ohio was hit with a blizzard last week end and as you can see Hoover was properly outfitted in his new coat, custom made by Donna Atkins. Thank you Donna! Hoover loves the snow and wasted no time conquering the biggest snow drift he could find, once he got up there he wouldn't come down.

Hoover Weighs In!

Finally after weeks of gluttonous gorging our boy is starting to fill out........at last weigh in he was a whopping 82LBS!!!! That may not be very impressive by normal Bully standards, but that is a 23LB weight gain in less than thirty days. He is eating his way through the 200lbs of Canidae sent by Mark Essary and Petpointe and doing his best to eat every snausage and biscuit in sight. I suspect that his rapid weight gain has been aided by the golden arches as he comes back from every farm call smelling like a Big Mac and fries!