Katie

Katie was a Yorkie that I rescued from a puppy mill. She was the first dog that Karen allowed me to take home and I took the dog home before I had a home for her because I was afraid she would change her mind. I was taking care of daddy at the time and I took her in the house and showed her to him and explained the situation to him so he didn't mind. I assurred him that I would find a home for her quickly. She was missing most of her teeth and her lower canines protruded out of her mouth at a terrible angle (probably from trying to chew her way out of that cage she was in).

At first he felt sorry for her so he was good to her, but that quickly evolved into something much more. Katie fell in love with him and he enjoyed having something to take care of instead of being the one cared for all the time. Before long they were inseparable. He got his motorized wheelchair around this time so he would take her for walks. I would look outside and see daddy and Katie going down the street with Katie pulling at her lead so that it looked like she was actually pulling the wheelchair - kind of like Santa and his reindeer!

They did everything together, even eat. Daddy would get a bite and Katie would get a bite - it didn't matter what he was eating either, she would eat it. I have pictures of him picking mulberries off the neighbors tree and she ate almost as many of them as he did. I built a pen for her that he could drop her into when he was sunning outside and we quickly learned that she could climb the fence! I have always HEARD about fenceclimbers but that is the first time I ever witnessed a dog that could actually do it.

One of the worst days ever was when I had to tell daddy that Katie was lost.(I was actually worried that he was stolen). I had put her out on a tie out in the driveway. When daddy's nurse came that day I made a joke about her running over the dog. She said, "Why, Katie's not out there." My heart sank. I knew what this would do to daddy. I asked her not to say anything until I had a chance to look for her but by the end of her visit I still hadn't found her so we had to tell him. As soon as I told him he got out of his wheelchair and went to bed and he wouldn't talk. I spent the rest of the morning making signs and I called the newspaper to place an ad.

About an hour after I placed the ad I walked in and daddy was on the phone with the people from the newspaper. Apparently someone had called in about having found a Yorkie and so they called and gave daddy the woman's name. He was on the phone getting directions to her house when I walked in. She lived about 2 blocks from us. I told him I would go get her but he insisted on going with me. When I picked her up and handed her to him it was as good as any Disney movie reunion. I was so thankful to find her because I knew that if I didn't he would grieve himself to death over her.

Until that day he had always said, "a dog is a dog" nothing more. I asked him if he would rather have that prized chevy in the garage or her and he wouldn't answer. He smiled at me, but he wouldn't admit that he had a dog that he thought more of than a car.

That was a first for him!