Editor’s note: Last Friday we shared a video of Elvis, a dog in our care who has only walked with a wheelchair cart since suffering a spinal cord injury in his previous home last spring. In the video, our animal care staff captured Elvis taking steps on his own for the first time thanks to the extensive supportive care Elvis has received at the Richmond SPCA. The video has been viewed by thousands and shared by hundreds more.
Today we bring you a guest blog by Erin MacKay, the wife of our lead animal care technician, about her experience inviting Elvis home for Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving has always been a very family-oriented holiday for my husband Danny and me. We've always had a habit of taking in anyone who didn't have family around and giving them a nice hot meal and good conversation. From doing this year after year, we got the idea to invite over one of the many homeless pets my husband works with. When Danny described Elvis, the little Basset mix in a wheelchair, I just knew he had to be the one. So on Thanksgiving, Elvis was loaded into our car and home he went!
The day Elvis came to stay with us his wheelchair was "in the shop" so to speak, but he made it around just fine with the help of Danny. As soon as he came through the door our two dogs, Pudge the pug and Smudge the French bulldog, came flying off the couch to greet him. Elvis accepted all of their sniffs and kisses and even gave them a few of his own! I think if his tail worked a bit better it would've been wagging like crazy! I was pleased with how well all 3 dogs got along so quickly, Smudge even let Elvis borrow his bone for a bit (which Elvis LOVED)!
After meeting those two, Elvis was excited to find that there were even more friends to make. There were our two cats, who really wanted nothing to do with him. He looked at them curiously and very obviously liked them quite a bit but they'd just get close enough to tease him and then dart away. We also have 3 rats, and boy did he love them! He peeked into the cage over and over again, never making any sort of sudden or overly excitable move, just totally entranced by them. Many times throughout the evening he would go over and peer in at them – he truly adored them. The last friends he met were my friend’s two little girls, and he was wonderful with them. He let them pet him, hug him and tell him secrets.
I spent a lot of time in the kitchen that day, and one of Elvis’s favorite things to do was help me out. He wouldn't beg, but just sit in the kitchen politely and keep me company while I cooked. I gave him a small scoop of green beans for being a good helper, which he ate with gusto. After all of the excitement of the day was over with, I lay on the couch and he indicated he wanted to lay with me. So I scooped him up and he cuddled into me looking quite content.
As the night drew to a close and we all settled down, I think the whole house was in agreement that it was the best Thanksgiving ever.
If you've enjoyed Erin's blog about Thanksgiving with Elvis, you may want to read more about this special dog's journey on our website at www.richmondspca.org/elvis.
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WHAT A HEART WARMING STORY .I LOOK ARE THE SPCA SITE ALL THE TIME HOPING THESE DOGS WILL GET A HOME ,I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE THEM ALL .I KNOW THIS IS GOING TO SOUND CRAZY TO SOMEONE WHO ISN'T A DOG PERSON BUT I THINK IO WOULD JUST LOVE TO GO LAY IN THE FLOOR OVER AT THE SPCA AND HAVE ALL THE DOGS LOOSE TO COME AND LAY DOWN AND PLAY.
Posted by: DEBBIE SMITH | December 09, 2014 at 12:41 PM
What a sweet and loving message. Thanks for giving Elvis the good time he deserves so much. I hope some day soon he will get a forever home.
Posted by: Linda Maroney | December 09, 2014 at 11:41 PM