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The story of Freckles has had many new
chapters since the day at the shelter when he weakly lifted a
paw to greet an AZGRC volunteer, his last hope on earth, and was
saved from euthanasia. The chapters might have titles such as
“Salvation,” “Perseverance,” “Hope,” “Courage.” For Freckles has
asked for so little, fought so hard and given back so much.
Freckles’ first, and urgent, battle was
against a type of mange rarely seen in the United States. He
suffered from severe hair loss and itching, having scratched his
skin raw and bloody. The AZGRC volunteer saw beyond Freckles’
sores and sadness, and he was immediately taken to a
veterinarian and treatment was started. Then
it took a special home to embrace Freckles and help him mend. A
family with two boys had been looking for a Golden. They
envisioned an energetic, full-of-life playmate. Freckles was
none of those things. Not yet. Freckles had a sadness about him.
He hurt. He was trying to heal. The family looked at the
pictures of poor Freckles and said they’d think about it. Then
they met the special Golden.
“We immediately bonded with him. He went up
to each us, played ball and was very comfortable,” his new mom,
Annie, says. Her younger son, Ryan, asked to take him on a walk.
“Freckles went with the boys and never looked back.”
In his new home, Freckles knows to get on
one, and only one, piece of furniture: the bed of his best
friend, 9-year-old Ryan. The family installed a doggy door for
Freckles, and he was using it before it was even finished. He
never leaves the house without a toy and stops to grab one from
his special bin. He loves to toss toys in the air and play
catch. He grew a nice coat; so nice that he was shedding!
Then another chapter, the toughest one yet,
began. Is it fate that Annie is a pediatric cancer nurse?
Freckles was diagnosed with the dreaded disease. “It was very
sudden. One day he was breathing hard,” Annie says. “The lymph
nodes around his neck were swollen.” Ryan stayed by Freckles’
side, lying down with him. Chemotherapy began immediately. After
many trips and weeks of chemo and blood work, Freckles is doing
well. No more cancer has been found. His courage earned him a
PAC911 Hero Award.
“For all us,” Annie says, “Freckles has been
an incredible, life-changing experience in this house.” |
