Dozier

Even the sweetest of dogs can run into a bad string of luck! Dozier landed at the shelter for the first time with his mom and a batch of littermates when he was a baby. He was adopted while he was a cute little fur ball but, as all puppies do, he needed stuff to chew on so the people brought him back to the shelter. But he was so cute that some other folks adopted him - alas, they had another dog who didn't appreciate Dozier's presence, so back to the shelter again.

This time the volunteers at the shelter really took notice of what a special dog they had here and sent his application into Texas Hearing and Service Dogs. They were impressed! He really did a great job on all of the behavioral tests. But, as should be the case, he needed a full health check-up before he could be a service dog.

That's when the hip issue became clear. He was born with severe hip dysplasia (the end of his leg bone was rubbing the edge of his hip socket instead of sitting inside of it). Major surgery was needed, and Dozier (with the help of his human buddies) raised enough money to have his hips fixed! How, you might ask? A doggie-kissing-booth on the square was the answer!

Two months and two hip surgeries later, Dozier has endured a significant amount of pain and trauma. The ends of his femurs (the ball on the top of each of his rear leg bones) were sawed off to keep them from rubbing on his hip joints and causing such pain. Now, he had to learn to walk again. And, without a growl or a grimace, he has! It's hard work, but he's a trooper.

Everybody who's worked with him comments on what a special dog he is - even when he is in pain, he still gives kisses and wags his tail a mile a minute. By Christmas he'll be off to his permanent home. The person who adopted him is out-of-state, so all the volunteers who have worked with him will be teary-eyed when he leaves. But, someday he'll run without pain and, this dog, who was abandoned over and over again, will finally be home forever!

If you are interested in fostering opportunities, please contact the Georgetown Animal shelter at 512/930-3592, or at animalsvc@georgetowntx.org The Georgetown Animal shelter wishes to thank everyone out there for their donations of time and money that helped us save Dozier's life and find him a new home.