Jul 18, 2007

Sunny




Meet Sunny. He is a 5 year old basset hound, living at the farm with my sister and her girls. Sunny wanted to come with me to Peru, but weather prohibited his travel. He took care of my daughter and her household for a while, but has taken on even greater responsibilities at the farm now, helping with the goats, alpacas and helping to home school the little girls.

There is no other dog as special as Sunny is. Sunny is the product of a puppy mill, relinquished to the animal shelter at less than one month of age, with conformational flaws all over his body: a 90-degree knot in his tail, oddly shaped ribs, and one deformed front leg. As Sunny grew up, the vet kept a close eye on him. As he watched the deformity of Sunny's front leg continue, he told me that I could opt for a surgery to straighten the leg, and it involved cutting out the deformed portion of bone and replacing it with something else. Very painful, very expensive, and no guarantee that it would be successful, and frankly, the vet did not recommend that. However, what he did recommend was that I keep Sunny's weight controlled and keep him active, maintain a healthy diet for him, let him enjoy his life and enjoy him as he was. I decided that the vet knew best and my entire family and people at my workplace have enjoyed Sunny. He is a sweet, honest, and innocent little soul.



Rosy the rat terrier relinquished her position on the farm's board of directors, and Sunny has stepped into her place as assistant to the supervisor. I hope he enjoys the farm and I know that they all continue to delight in him. He has danced and sang his way through his life and into our hearts. I hope he continues to do so for years and years to come.

5 comments:

Un Peu Loufoque said...

Glad you are joining the purple set! Love Sunny, we had a bassett when we lived in Egypt, wonderful mad headstrong creatures!!

Bluestocking Mum said...

Sunny looks quite a character!!

Two of our friends have basset hounds. There is a 'Fred' and a 'Hattie'-they are delightful and wonderful with the children.

So glad you are joining us and everyone can see your little corner of the world.

warm wishes
x

Suffolkmum said...

Aah, what a gorgeous boy. Horrifying to hear of his maltreatemnt, I'm glad he's enjoying a happy life now. Also glad you defied the bullies. Look forward to 'properly' joining purplcoo.

Unknown said...

He's gorgeous Kathleen. And obviously well loved by all.

Anonymous said...

Sunny is a wonderful dog. He is also very lucky to have someone care about him as much as you obviously do. I adore all dogs and would have a house full of them.

Crystal xx