One Year Later

One year ago around this time, mom had just started working at the lovely Integrative Pet Care. At that time, she met the lovely Sue Naiden and her three legged angel, Trio. They got to talking and mom found out about me. No more than 48 hours went by and she drove out to meet my foster mom, Julie, and was approved for adoption by Illinois Doberman Rescue Plus!; I was moving to Logan Square.

I instantly bonded with my sister Izzy. Mom was concerned at first, because Izzy was used to being the queen of the house. She dominated all her pitbull foster brothers before me and let them know she was in charge, while secretly playing with them behind mom's back. It was different with me though - she's been very good about sharing mom's attention. She understands that I am different and sometimes need more time, and always waits patiently. She still lets me know she's the boss though by humping my head .... little rat girl.

We made it through the summer and mom got to thinking about getting me something to help me walk. I do great now but down the road it is not going to be this easy for me to get around. Different things came to mind when discussing this with his therapist Jeanine and Dr. Molly; a cart, a wagon, a brace; a prosthetic limb was ideal but mom knew it was not going to be cheap. It was time to start saving.

Mom's friend Heather caught wind of all this and started fundraising for me via One Tail at a Time. Money was coming in faster than I could run (and that's really fast) from all over the country - I couldn't believe it! Mom was overwhelmed; everyone was being so great. Then she got a message from a woman in New Jersey named Dina who hooked her up with a man named Ronnie who lived down in Florida. An amputee himself, Ronnie has devoted the last few decades to making prosthetics for animals of all kinds (horses, a goose, even an alpaca!!).

For the last 6 months, Robin Spencer has been the head of Team Fifty. Between her and my good pal Al, the suspension for Fifty's leg would never have worked out. They spent so much time and effort getting us to this point - all pro bono - that we could never even begin to thank them enough. I bit my Southside tongue and got Robin Cubs/Yankees tickets for next week - I owe her that much :)

So now the photos are here and the leg is on one of those big brown trucks I like to chase somewhere between Florida and Chicago. Our anniversary is this Sunday, June 12th - but we will be celebrating later in the month because mom has to go out of town. This is the perfect way to celebrate - with a new leg start to our second year together. Stay tuned for many photos and videos, and please keep your paws crossed that I am a good, cooperative boy and accept the leg and learn to use it with the help of everyone on Team Fifty.