Many of you will remember Arthur. Arthur joined the Satchel’s family 2 years ago and has been in foster at our founder’s, Page’s, home. What a joyous day last week when Arthur was officially adopted. Here’s Page’s thoughts.
“My Arthur, my miracle boy, is now theirs.
They share my conviction that he will walk one day and that made any reservations I might have had about adopting out my special needs boy disappear.
Arthur came to Satchel’s from a reputable breeder who refused to euthanize this sweet dog even though he was born less than perfect. We had no idea what we were getting into when we took him; it was only after an MRI and a meeting with Dr Levine that we learned he was born without a cerebellum and that his only path to a somewhat normal life would be lots of physical therapy. He came home with me (I was now Plan B) and he and I started in the pool. He became a prolific swimmer and then progressed to a doggy wheelchair. It never quite worked like the wheelchair doggy Tik Tok you see, but he could walk – in his wheelchair, to the end of our road and back, with a bit of help to keep him going straight.
Dina learned about Arthur because she was looking online for a place to volunteer and noticed Satchel’s being mentioned quite often. She went to our website and ended up looking at our available dogs.
Arthur caught her eye and tugged at her huge heart. She and her husband, Chris, love the challenge of special needs and decided that Arthur might be a perfect fit for their family. They came to Satchel’s, met him, and we agreed to let them foster Arthur to see if he would fit into their family of teenage twin daughters, a 7yr old son and two other dogs. Well, he did and they made it official last week!
Now, Arthur swims with the twins twice a day, gets a wheelchair walk at some point after that, sits on his new mom’s lap while she works and sleeps in bed with Dina and Chris at night.
As with every foster, it’s bittersweet – I love that dog and cherish how much we accomplished, but his new family is everything I could have hoped for and more. They will continue his journey and one day, they will send me a video of him walking beside them. Congratulations to you all!”
