Another
Chapter in Sweet William's Life
On
Friday, January 3, 2003, as my husband and I were buying crickets for our
chameleon at Petco, I wandered over to the Noah's
Bark billboard to see if the dog named Sweet William had found a home yet.
There was something about him that captured me from the first day that I saw
his picture at Petco. I was saddened to see that his
pictures were still up on the board and that he had not yet found a home. I so
desperately wanted to adopt him, but my husband and brother were both weary
about it because he was abused and they feared that he would be aggressive
because of the past abuse. I asked a store clerk about him, and she told us that
she felt he was a gentle dog and that we could come back on Saturday to talk
with Noah's Bark about him. Although I had never met the dog, I felt some sort
of bond with him. He had a certain look in his eye that just screamed out for
love. I wanted so desperately to adopt him and give him all the love that he
deserved, but the timing was not right for me and my husband to adopt him.
However,
for the past month or so, I was looking for a "resident dog" for the
nursing home that I work in. The administrator was agreeable to the idea of
having a dog in the home for the residents to enjoy. Studies show that dogs
help to lower blood pressure and stress levels of residents. A dog could help
ease the loneliness that residents can feel when family is not present. Also,
it is therapeutic for residents to pet the dog, and it provides stimulation. I
was looking for a calm, friendly dog that would love to be around 100 residents
and staff members. I wanted to see if wonderful people from Noah's Bark, named
Marilyn Wayne and Linda Campana. I asked about
William's demeanor and attitude, and the possibility of having him become a
resident of the nursing home that I worked in. They felt that it may be a
perfect fit for him and were so happy that we asked! They arranged to bring
William over to our house on Sunday January 5th so that we could meet him. We
were so excited that I could hardly contain myself! I could not believe that I
was actually going to be able to meet him~ after all the months of looking at
his pictures and wishing we could adopt him!
On
Sunday, we had the honor of meeting Sweet William! He was so adorable! He was
extremely friendly and curious. I was amazed how happy he seemed, after going
through so much abuse as a puppy. He had no reservations about humans, and came
up to the house wagging his tail and smiling. He immediately warmed up to me
and my husband, and my parents (who came over to meet him too!) rolling over on
his back so we could give him a belly rub.
He did the funniest thing - he peed on our Christmas tree that we had stripped of it's ornaments, but had not yet thrown out. It was
hilarious!! Marilyn and Linda were so embarrassed, but we thought it was too
funny! That's what dogs do - pee
on trees - he wanted to mark his
territory! What a great dog! I was instantly in love! He looked so innocent and
sweet, and I had to fight back the tears. How could anyone abuse such a sweet
wonderful dog? I could not believe how friendly he was! I immediately knew that
this dog was a heavenly gift from God.
On
Monday, I told everyone at the nursing home about the wonderful dog that I met
the day before, and arranged with the administrator of the nursing home for
William to come for a "trial" on Wednesday, January 8th. He arrived
with Marilyn and Linda in a Tee-shirt and red hat. The residents truly loved
him! He went into the activities room and interacted with the group! He jumped into
the beds of residents that were bed bound and the residents grinned from ear to
ear! He was definitely a hit with all the residents! The administrator
immediately fell in love with him, and told me to do whatever it takes to
arrange for William to be adopted by the facility. Everything was working out
great!
On
January 17,,2003 William was officially the resident
dog of the nursing home. He was allowed to roam freely around during the day,
and the administrator and I took turns taking him home at night and on the
weekends. He seemed to enjoy the attention he received from all the residents
and staff. The residents definitely loved watching William and interacting with
him. Some residents that had been staying in bed started getting up in the
wheelchair more often so that they could see William. He was the popular item
of conversation among residents and family members. It was amazing how the
atmosphere was brightened. He brought positive energy to the facility, and
brightened the lives of the residents. Everything was going well for about a
month.
Suddenly,
on February 21, 2003 I was informed by the administrator that William was no
longer allowed in the facility. This came out of the blue with no warning
whatsoever. Apparently certain nursing staff had complained to the corporate
office about William and corporate decided that we could no longer have him in
the facility. I was shocked and hurt. Nursing did not express to me or the
administrator that there was a problem with William. They all appeared to be
happy with him, and no one ever communicated any problems with him. The
administrator and I took care of William as far as feeding him, and walking
him, and watching him throughout the day. Nursing really did not have to
do anything except take care of their residents.
To this day, I have not been able to get a straight answer as to why they had a
problem with William. I know the director of nurses did not particularly care
for William, but she never approached us about it. The sad thing is that now
William is no longer present in the home for the residents to enjoy. There
hasn't been a day that goes by without a resident or family member asking about
William and telling me they miss him. The mood at the nursing home has been
somewhat gloomy and the residents and their families truly miss William's
presence.
On a brighter note, my husband and I decided that we would
adopt William to be our baby! We are now proud parents of a wonderful
boy! My husband installed a doggie door and now William has free roam of the
house and our yard throughout the day. He is still trying to get accustomed to
being alone during the day, and we hope that he is not too sad while we
are a work.
His anxiety seems to be dwindling though, as he is no longer
scratching at the door or chewing on the door frame. He seems to be adjusting
quite well to our house. He absolutely loves to go on walks, and will jump up
and down at the sight of his red leash! He is such a pleasure to be with
and we feel so blessed to have him in our life. It is truly amazing how much
love he gives and how happy he is. We could all learn a lot about life from
this wonderful boy! He definitely is a gift from God and we truly adore him.
When I think about all the suffering that he must have gone through before
Noah's Bark rescued him, I cringe and want to hug him and never let go. It is
truly amazing to me and I hope that we can give him all the love and kisses he
deserves. We truly love him with all our heart and soul and we feel so very
fortunate to have him in our lives. Thank you to Marilyn for making this all
possible.
I
changed jobs after the whole situation with Regency Oaks and the tension
between the nursing staff and the rehab staff. I found out that the
administrator also left the facility shortly after. William continued to do
wonderfully as he adapted to his new situation of being alone during the day
while me and my husband worked. I started a new job as director of rehab
services at a new facility and arranged to start work early and get home early
so William wouldn't be home for too long by himself. Also, he looks forward to
the weekends when he gets to go to my parent's house in
In
March of 2004, we got some wonderful news: I was pregnant with twins! We were
so excited! We couldn't believe it! My due date was at the end of November
2004. We were a little worried about how William would react to having new
members in our family. However, from the moment that I was pregnant, William
seemed to be more protective of me and he seemed more alert on our walks. It
was as if he sensed what was going on! I ended up having the twins, a boy and a
girl, three months premature. The babies barely weighed two pounds each and had
to be in the intensive care at the hospital for three months. It was an
exhausting experience, and a tremendous drain to our emotional, physical and
financial health, but we somehow found the strength to endure. William is
wonderful with the twins, and the twins absolutely adore him! They are
constantly hugging and kissing him, and they always want to have him around.
William is loving the fact that I took off from work,
and I am home full time now. We are having a blast. William is a wonderful big
brother to the twins!
Unfortunately
in March 2006 William started limping so we took him to the doctor. He told us
that he had severe arthritic changes in both of his knees, likely due to the
severe abuse he endured before we adopted him. Also, he has an acuteACL injury in his right knee that will need surgery.
He recommended a tibial plateau leveling osteotomy due to his size, which will cost about
$3000.00. We are devastated, because we do not
want to put William through the trauma of a surgery and we do not have the
finances to afford it at this time due to all our medical bills with the twins.
We are currently seeking a second opinion, but William is still limping pretty bad and he most likely will need the surgery. Hopefully the
surgery and the rehab following the surgery will not be: too painful for him.
If would like to help send donations for Sweet Williams surgery... please send a check to Noah's Bark to address below, mark "for Sweet William" in the memo section of your check.
1116-A 8th St. #61
Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
Or use the paypal link below: