| TRUTHS ABOUT CATS AND DOGS |
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| The puppy's mother had abandonded her and the owner was simply going to allow her to starve to death. I waited till he left for work, then staged a puppy rescue. She was so young, her eyes were still closed. But flies had eaten through her skin and laid eggs. Trying not to gag from the site of the maggots, I scooped her up, ran to my house and� called the vet. Since it was Sunday, only one staff member was there. She gave me instructions to irrigate the wounds, use peroxide and bring the puppy in the next morning. The vet cleaned the large open wounds on boths sides of her flanks, and declared her otherwise� healthy. |
| I lined a large rubbermaid container with sheets and a heating pad, tossed in a few stuffed bears for company, and took her to work with me. She needed bottle feeding every 3 hours. During the second week, part of her tail dropped off. The bandaged stub added to the bizarre look shaving around the wounds had given her. As she got older, she was a perfectly normal puppy. She loved the other dogs and thought herself kin to the cats. They did not share this view. She is a fiercely protective dog who doesn't waste time barking at those who dare to approach my driveway gate. She just silently watches, and dares them to enter. They usually don't. |
| Though the picture is not very good, you can see the bald areas and recovering wounds on her flank. And the bandaged tail! She wanted to keep the cats from eating, so she stood inside their food pan while she drank. They punished her later By then, she was known as Celie Pearl Lagatutta. For the sorely mistreated character in "The Color Purple", Janis Joplin, and a reporter for CBS news |
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| PEARL, ALL GROWN UP |
| A life-saving treatment, created by� California veterinarian, Dr. Wendell O. Belfield,� has proven invaluable in helping my rescued animals back to health |