5.20.2011

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.

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

31 comments:

  1. Noah is the perfect spokespooch for rescued pits... just look at that face!

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  2. Aw, I love Noah! Thank you, Ashley for all the amazing work you do! It's beyond inspiring.

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  3. People make me sick! I truly like dogs more than I like people. (Sorry to any "people" reading this). I just wanna cuddle this pup and let him know he wont ever go through that again!

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  4. God bless this courageous little soul, and God bless you for the enormous good you do, Ashley!

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  5. He should become an ambassador for Baitdogs .

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  6. Ashley, you are amazing. Your compassion and generosity towards animals gives me something to aspire to. I wish that there were more people out there that had the same amount of heart.

    I have 6 cats, all rescues. I keep hoping to be able to find a forever home for 3, but, no one seems to want them. So, until then, they are content, and loved!

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  7. I truly despise the people that do this to animals. Ashley may God bless you for all that you're doing

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  8. HE SO IS ADORABLE! I'm so happy that ha has a loving person to take care of him!! after all the pain he went through, I'm so glad that he is able to forget what happened, and enjoy the life he's living now! <3

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  9. I READ ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU AND YOU KNOW THAT GOD HAD A REASON FOR YOU ON THIS EARTH. HE KNEW THAT YOU WOULD SAVE HIS ANIMALS AND YOU DO A REMARKABLE JOB AT IT. I REALLY HOPE YOU WIN THE MONEY, I KNOW YOU CAN REALLY USE IT AND WILL PUT IT TO GOOD USE. GOD BLESS ASHLEY.GOD BLESS YOU TOO NOAH YOU ARE SO LUCKY BUT REALLY GOD SENT ASHLEY TO YOU. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK ASHLEY.

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  10. Noah you are one special boy! Ashley, God Bless you! You keep playing in your fort and running those couches Noah. Rooting for you!

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  11. helpingpaws22@yahoo.comMay 20, 2011 at 6:40 PM

    I Thank you for saving him, loving him, and completing his life with love and care. He so deserves it, you are very special

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  12. I love Noah!!! I wish I could adopt him! I admire this little boy!

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  13. Oh God you make me cry all the time :') but they are tears of Joy, Thank you for bringing happiness to my life, & thank you for Helping Noah! he has my Father's name & I love them both :D

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  14. That's great!!!! What a precious boy!!!!! And what a wonderful woman u r!!!!! Xoxoxox

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  15. It's okay to keep him. He obviously is happy in your home and after all he's been through, why not let him enjoy that sense of security for the rest of his life.
    i have two pitties adopted from Brooklyn AC. One is a female who is okay most of the time, then has a freak-out and barks forever. Of course, we don't know her backstory.
    Then there is my Max. He is trusted off-leash, tries to pretend he is a lap dog, loves to sleep on the soft couch. We love both of them, crazy girl Marcia and super cool Max. We hope to give them a home that is secure and in which they eventually feel completely at ease. It's a gift of love.

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  16. Ashley, you are the most awesome woman alive, next to my daughter that is!!!! Noah looks so happy!!!! Thank you again for all you do!!!!

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  17. Thank you for everything you have done for him, thank you for everything you do for the others, and, most of all, thank you for being you. WIthout you he, and so many others, would never have known life, and would never have known love. You are their Eskimo.

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  18. I think all Noah's running and playing is just his joy at being rescued being expressed. I think he is going to make a great family pet some day. Did the people who mistreated him meet justice?

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  19. I don't think I'd ever be able to let you go. I think you are already home, sweet baby. :-)

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  20. I like the previous comment from 'anonymous'!!
    You are loved Noah!!

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  21. If I kept all of the dogs that I love, I'd never be able to save any new dogs :( So it's very important to let them go to amazing homes... making room to save another :)

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  22. What a horrific life Noah had before he found you. And look at him now! He is so deservedly happy.

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  23. I love Noah!! Thank you for loving him so much and giving him a new life. He is so special and you are his angel. Thanks for the updates and for helping him heal.

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  24. Thanks so much for the update on Noah! He looks great and he looks like he's smiling so big. I'm crying my eyes out right now as I read about his progress!! Thank you so much for what you do for this beautiful babies!!!!!

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  25. this is my first time to read a post from your blog, and you made my heart melt. i really feel your love for dogs like noah. you have a very fulfilling job. props for you. keep on inspiring dog lovers like us. thanks... :-)

    namae
    Pals Furr Us Dog Blog

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  26. I love Noah! Bless his heart. And yours. I don't think it helps a lot to have us all say 'keep him!' 'keep him!' because you have to have room for new Noahs. x

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  27. I can't ever decide, but I think this blog might be one of my favorites. Noah is a true pitbull in every way. Abused, neglected, beaten, and still forgiving, loving and able to forget the abuse and be happy again.
    I don't blame him for not liking other dogs.. but if he did my poor boyfriend would be making more room in our bed for Mr. Noah. I love him, and I don't even know him. Ash, one day you will have the perfect dog to add to our family (we already have 2..) and when we're ready, and when we find him or her one of your MS dogs will learn what snow is like in MN!!
    Your amazing Ash. Noah would make a wonderful spokes dog for how amazing, and incredible pitbulls are with their ability to forget, forgive, and unconditionally love.
    Thank you for sharing Noah's story

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  28. So very very cool!!! All people who rescue animals from HORROR are the BEST people on the planet!! Just saying........

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  29. You saved his life and gave him a reason to love.....it is so hard to imagine how people can intentionally cause so much pain to such loyal and loving animals...it breaks my heart to know that things like this happen in our world and even worse that it is caused for pure entertainement and malicious intent:( You are an amazing person who makes such a difference...more than you will ever know:) Thank-you for all you do..

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  30. I love animals so much, especially dogs. I will NEVER understand the evil nature of the human race and how anyone could be so heartless and cruel. I just want to wrap my arms around these sweet souls, take away their pain and let them know they are loved. Thank you for all you do! God bless Noah. I pray he finds his forever home, is loved and NEVER knows pain or suffering again.

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  31. Such a wonderful story about Noah! I hope so much he finds his own special family very soon! he is such a precious soul. thank you for caring about him, Ashley!

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