Noah the Bait Dog Update

Noah, the former bait dog, is doing so much better. He’s been neutered, vaccinated, and dewormed. He tested heartworm positive, so he began his heartworm treatment this week. Due to the need to stay calm during treatment, Noah can’t play as much as he’d like right now, but he’s still enjoying all the love and attention.

Noah was placed on antibiotics for the severe infections that resulted from his baiting wounds. When he first arrived at Lucky Dog Rescue, Noah’s poor little head was swollen to nearly twice its normal size. The swelling has gone down dramatically, so the vet was able to better examine the issues with Noah’s nose. It turns out that the bite wounds went all the way through Noah’s face, puncturing and crushing his nasal cavity. Once the remaining facial swelling goes down, the vet will attempt to surgically repair the damage to Noah’s nasal passages.

Despite his unimaginable pain, Noah has the sweetest, most loving spirit in the world. He loves to be right by my side, no matter what I’m doing. His favorite thing to do is to place his entire body in my lap and heavily pant right in my face while I’m working on the computer. If you’re ever talking to me on facebook chat and I don’t respond for a while—or if you see about four hundred typos in my messages—now you know why.

His second favorite thing to do is run from couch to couch in the living room. He runs, runs, runs, as fast as he can… jumps up on one couch full-speed… then bounces right off and runs, runs, runs to the other couch to do the same thing. One day, I even watched him skid across the coffee table on his way to the other couch… as he figured out that going OVER the table instead of around it ... was not only more fun for him, but also more time efficient. He plays this couch-running-game for about an hour, loving every minute of it. When he’s done, he’s so proud of himself… smiling and panting, with his head held high. For now, we’ve had to put a stop to the marathon running while he undergoes heartworm treatment, but he still tries to sneak it in every now and then, that little stinker.

He also loves fun toys. He likes to drag them under the coffee table, for chewing purposes. Sure, laying on the couch is fun and all, but there’s nothing like a coffee table “fort.” I found my phone charger in his “fort” the other day, chewed down to electronic confetti. Noah apologized, bought me a new charger, and it hasn’t happened again since. He’s such a good boy!

Noah’s smile gets me every time. When he looks up at me, with those innocent little eyes and that big, precious grin… my heart melts. I can only imagine that he’s never had a reason to smile in his whole life. Now, he smiles every day. And in return… I smile too.

When I saw Noah’s shelter photo a few weeks ago, I felt an intense anger in my soul… a severe hatred for the humans that did this to him. Noah was able to replace my resentment with joy and forgiveness. One day, Noah and I were talking…. and as I rubbed the deep scars on his face, I could feel the anger welling up inside my body. With tears in my eyes, I said: “Baby boy, I’m soo sorry. I hate those people for what they did to you. I hate them.” Noah looked up at me, and with an innocence that melted my heart, his eyes said, “If I can forgive these people for what they’ve done to me, then why can’t you?” He was right. I kissed him on the head, and said, “I love you, Noah, and I forgive them.” That’s one of the many lessons Noah’s taught me.

In a few weeks, Noah will complete all of his treatments, and he’ll be ready to find his forever home. My heart breaks every time I think of letting him go… I just love him so much. But on his adoption day, Noah’s lifelong wish of having a loving family of his own will come true… and I’ll know that I gave that to him. It seems so insignificant compared to all he’s given to me, but for him… it will mean everything.

Until then… I’ll watch him grow. I’ll help him heal. I’ll teach him... and learn from him. And I’ll love him with my whole heart. Each day with Noah is precious... as we create the memories that I’ll treasure for the rest of my life. I try to appreciate every second I have with him, because I know he won’t be mine forever. And when the time comes… I’ll let him go. Not because I don’t love him. But simply because... I do.

Click here to read my original blog about Noah’s rescue story.

If you are interested in adopting Noah, please fill out the online Adoption Application: http://www.petpardons.com/adoption/

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