27 June: Sarge will be on a plane headed our way tomorrow morning. Jim collects him at 11:30 or so and will take him straight out to the foster family in Maple Ridge. He has a vet appointment slated for Saturday to get his blood tested and neutering arranged for July 5 if his condition warrants this. He has a new collar; the spare big wire crate is in my van to take out tomorrow to the foster home; Jim has maps and directions to various places; the foster parent papers are printed, filled in and in order. I'm trashed. That was a lot of scurrying around in 24 hours. A great many phone calls, too. And 28 June: The dog is very cool - nice, nice boy. Way too thin. He fell flat on his face in love with Darrell. Rosalie said, as she signed the foster contract; I don't think this dog is going anywhere. I don't believe the thinness and the cyst are related except that the cyst may be a sign his immune system is not quite up to snuff which can occur with poor nutrition. The dog has very little muscle in his thighs or shoulders. Likely a combination of poor food and not much exercise. Precious little attention, too. Darrell was congratulating Sarge heartily for walking nicely on lead and the dog was soaking it up like a sponge. This dog has definitely lucked out . . . . Here he is - shaved to the bone to get rid of the mats. He's a very pretty boy or will be once his fur grows back in. I have promised to show the family how to groom him in the Fall when he has something to groom. At least he is shaved evenly and his coat will come in very evenly. This is a very fine dog. He has basic obedience, rarely opens his mouth to bark (so far anyway) and has already fallen in love with the foster family. 30 June: Sarge has been to the vet and was a really good sport about all the poking, prying & blood drawing. He appears to be in decent health, an observation we hope the blood chemistry will confirm. Aside from removing the large cyst from Sarge's shoulder and neutering him, the vet will also excise a small lump on the eyelid, which is causing inflammation. The vet discovered that poor Sarge has big hard mats of fur between his toes, something else to address during his proposed surgery. Tall, long-legged Sarge is settling in with his new family very well, but clearly cannot believe his good fortune. Like Murphy the Wonder Dog when he first joined us, Sarge seems to live in fear that all the comforts of this wonderful new home may be unexpectedly withdrawn. Fortunately, Rosalie, Darrell & their daughter are incredibly kind people who will mend this poor dog's damaged self-esteem. When Rosalie & Darrell drove away from the vet's office, Sarge was sitting happily in the front seat of the truck by the windown, right beside them. Rosalie & Darrell waved; I think Sarge did, too!

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