Uncle Dave

My sister's family adopted a dog a few weeks ago from a wonderful organization called ARF (Tony La Russa's Animal Rescue Foundation). The dog came with the name Uncle Dave, and being the quarky dog that he is, the name stuck. Dave is a Bassador - a mix between a Basset Hound and a Labrador. The top half of him looks just like a lab while his bottom half is short like a Basset Hound. He has a big over bite - enough to keep him from picking up small objects with his mouth. Despite the funny way he looks, his personality makes up for it. He is the most loving dog ever! He fits right into my sisters fun-loving family.

Sadly, about a week after the Sullivans brought Dave home he started to get sick and was not eating. My sister took him to the vet and was told he might have Distemper, a serious and often fatal dog virus. Puppies are usually given a vaccine to protect them against it. Dave is approximately one year old, but being a rescue dog he had just received his immunizations. Michele had to take him back to ARF to be monitored and cared for. They told her it could be weeks or months before they knew what would happen. We were all so sad.

Good news came yesterday when Michele was told that Dave was doing much better and was able to come home. Yay! They are not sure whether it was distemper or just a bad case of kennel cough (common doggie cold), but he's better and that's all that matters. We are so happy he is going to be ok. As Pat said "life seems fair again". He is healthy and has a loving family now. Camryn and Connor love thier new dog and we are all very happy to have Uncle Dave around!