Bill Skinner
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I had to take my dog Cleo on her final ride yesterday. She was about 17 years old and her hips had stopped working.
I was riding along one day and saw something small run out in front of me and sit down. It was either run over her or stop, so I stopped. She ran up to the door of my vehicle but was too weak to get in. She didn't have hardly any hair, she had sores all over her body and she was covered in ticks and fleas. I went straight to the dog doctor, he weighed her, she weighed a blazing 7 pounds (3Kg). She had worms, two types of mange and was starving to death. I had to take her back to be dipped every week for six weeks. Every time we went back, the vet weighed her. She gained a pound a day. (1/2kg) She ended up weighing about 80 pounds, (35k)
Because she had been starving as a puppy, her skeletal system didn't develope properly, she was never able to jump and she couldn't walk very far without having to rest.
Her hair grew out, she was white with brown patches. Her hair was rather long and curly, she required rather frequent brushing when she was shedding. She slept by my bed. I started every morning off with a dog petting and snuggle.
I'll miss her.
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