He came out from a wooded area, frail, frightened and malnourished.  His ribs were protruding, his head was low and his tail was tucked beneath him in submission as he rooted around for food of any kind.  He is a tan and white pit mix around three to four years old, un-nuetered and just another area stray.

I have looked into the eyes of animals such as his far too often. They have resigned themselves to the fact that this is all life has to offer and refuse to trust any longer, for that trust has all too often been abused.

When Jean first saw him her heart filled with pity ad she tossed him some tomato peels, which he readily ate and scooted away.  It took her five days of feeding him dog food twice a day before she could leash him and take him to the vet.  She then called Uncle Lennie and I agreed to handle all expenses for Mater, the name given him because of his eating tomato peels.  Jean (bless her heart) also left a little money to help with his care, which earned her an Uncle Lennie hug.

Mater has hook worms and is high heart worm positive.  He is a tiny pit mix and will probably fill out at around 50 pounds.  This boy is turning into one handsome dude.  I visit Mater daily and have begun taking him for walks and he always does his business like he knows what walks are for.  I sit in his cage the first few days and coaxed him with treats and soft talk as I used to do at FHS.  I told him I’m not as strong as I used to be so he’d better not pull or we’ll both fall over.  This was a new experience for me; the trust had to be given up on both sides.  Mater still pulls a little but watching him come around has been just as good for my soul as for his.  Mending their bones, healing their ailments and such, is the easy part.   Asking them to trust again and not letting them down is the difference between simply warehousing them and actually changing their lives.  Someday someone will be lucky enough and wise enough to adopt Mater from me and I’ll bet he’ll become a terrific family pet.  Who knows, he may even become “the greatest dog who ever lived.”

Mater has inspired me to start a new program involving FHS and Dogwood Farms.  The shelter often has overcrowding and sometimes an animal takes some time to be adopted.  I have decided that my Foothills Humane Society Fund has more than one purpose if it’s to help the welfare of the animals.  We will begin to send dogs to Dogwood Farms for a week or two of R&R under Josh’s excellent supervision.  Who knows, he’s helped us adopt animals in t past, one of his clients just may decide they would like another family member.

To the animals that have been helped in the past few weeks, Julie, Buster, Boomer, Riley and Oreo, I just don’t have to tell all your stories, but now tat Uncle Lennie loves you.

This is in memory of a dear friend and fellow animal rescuer, Christine Hume.

Thanks for listening.