Baby Dog is a very special dog that came to Karen and me from Helping Hands. I’d like to tell you her story and how she got her name. My daughter, Rena, worked at HHHS and absolutely loved Pomeranians! One day the Kansas Animal Health Department removed eight dogs from a breeder and brought them to the shelter. Baby Dog happened to be one of them. Rena fell in love and adopted her immediately with the intention of rehabilitating her and then returning her to the shelter so she could be adopted by a forever family.

Baby Dog had major health issues; she had lived her life in a cage and had been bred numerous times. She had to have all but a few front teeth pulled, they were all rotten. Talk about bad breath! Her nose was turned up, either from her bad teeth or from lying in the cage day after day. She had to be spayed. Her paws were separated, due to constantly being on a wire cage floor. The surprising news was that the vet thought she was only about four years old!

Rena got her home for Thanksgiving and somehow talked me into taking Baby Dog while she recuperated from her surgery. We wanted her to have someone around constantly (Rena worked and I am retired). We didn’t really want to name her; she wasn’t going to be ours for long, so Baby Dog sounded like a good temporary name.

Needless to say, she was a huge challenge. She had never done the things that doggies do. She didn’t know how to play, go up and down stairs, potty outside or really any “doggie” things. Everything was new to her. She seemed to go crazy at first but eventually settled down into a daily routine. Eventually, after several months of tender loving care, she was ready to go back to the shelter to be adopted.

Rena found an older lady who wanted a small lap dog. Baby Dog left for her new home. Our house had never been so quiet! We were both sad and happy to see her go. You would think the story ends there, but about six months later, the lady that adopted Baby Dog decided that it wasn’t working out for her and she wanted to return Baby Dog to the shelter. Rena greeted Baby Dog at the shelter door and immediately called me. “Dad, Baby Dog is back. Come and get her!”

I drove down to the shelter and went to the office and called for Baby Dog. She was so glad to see me she was wiggling all over and hadn’t forgotten me. I adopted her that day and she’s been with Karen and me ever since. She’s really my dog, she follows me everywhere. She enjoys visiting people, going to the post office, walking around town and basically anything that I do, she’ll be tagging along. She even follows me when I push mow the yard.

Her favorite treats are Cheerios. She enjoys having a “lion” hair cut in the summer. It keeps her cool. She’s a great little dog and a wonderful companion. She still has some health issues from her past, but her nose doesn’t turn up anymore and she knows how to do all those fun “doggie” things.

Earl Ross

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