I’ve been fostering for our local shelter for several years and have had many dogs. (198 so far) One of my very favorites was Christmas, a chocolate lab/pittie mix. He was dumped at our shelter on Christmas Day 2009, hairless, scabbed, and itching.
I started fostering him, got him meds for the skin issues, and fell in love with his sweet personality. He was about 4-years-old then. He was the most gentle boy, always happy, loved squeaky toys, and the only dog I’ve fostered that didn’t ever get into an argument at the dog park.
His hair finally grew back, his itching subsided, and his split ears healed. It took about a year before he could shake his head without blood spattering on the walls from the splits in his ears caused by scratching and itching. Many people thought he had been a fighting dog due to the splits and scars.
Because he was a pittie, and because of the skin condition and cost of his daily meds, no one came forward to adopt him. That was fine with me! I had him as a foster for about three years, then just called him mine until 2021, when he was 15.
He started having puffy jowls, and I thought it could be from all the meds he had taken for so many years. The vet did tests and said his lymph nodes were infected. They did more tests and gave him antibiotics while waiting for further results.
The vet called to say he had lymphoma on May 10, 2021. We were told he could have about six more months with meds to keep him comfortable, or 7-8 months with aggressive chemotherapy that would make him miserable. Since he was 15, we decided to just love him and make sure he was pain-free and knew only love for however long he had left.
He passed on May 27, 2021, only 17 days after diagnosis. We miss him every day.
Story submitted by Linda Gillespie from Logan, Utah.
