Meet Max

I am sitting in the lobby of the vet's office on Friday morning. I had Dunken there for his shots and check-up. He was near the door and greeting everyone as they came in. We were patiently waiting our turn and visiting with the other folks who were also waiting.

In walks a nice lady with a carrier from the Clayton County Humane Society. And she said to the animal inside, "See, Max, that is how you are going to look when you are all better." She placed the carrier down next to Dunken and me and went to get another animal. We could see two big, sweet, dark eyes staring at us. Dunken was curious and went over to sniff and make friends. I turns out that fate had brought a Westie in need of a home to the vet at the perfect time to meet us.

As I sat there, my mind was racing. Do we need another dog? NO! Could we give this sweet little guy a good home? YES! What will David say? What will the kids think? Would I be taking on more than I can handle? Momma will kill me!! But I tried not to think about it. It was our turn to go back. We were with the vet (we are very close friends with our vets and have been for years. They are some of the most special people in the world, and we are so blessed to know them and have them to take care of our furry babies.). And I could hardly focus on Dunken for worrying about the mysterious little baby, Max. So I asked Dr. Ryan. She was excited to tell me all about him. She even went to bring him in to meet Dunken. They got along very well. I burst into tears. I am so tender hearted about furry critters. Through the years, we have had our share of strays (my freshman year at NGC, I brought him a Momma cat and her 6 babies! And Mom let me in! We still have one of the kittens 15 years later!). I could not get the little sweet Westie face out of my head. David and I are in love with the breed, and my meeting him felt like a sign.

I headed out to pay and what was on the counter? Max's chart! I cried some more. The gals at the vet's office went ahead and called the Humane Society to make sure that he was not promised to anyone else. And not only was he not promised, they were shocked that someone was interested. Poor Max had been severely neglected. When the Humane Society rescued him from Animal Control, he had ear infections, eye infections, skin infections, his nails were infected, his fur was matted, and he was simply miserable. But after a few weeks (about the time I met him), he was bouncing back so well. His skin still has issues (as does Dunken's, I am pretty well versed in skin conditions), and he will need eye drops forever. Due to the neglect, he has chronic dry eye (Restasis, anyone?!). But he is as sweet as can be. He loves the kids - lots and lots of sloppy kisses! He gets along well with Dunken and Cooper (we had to all meet him at the Humane Society to make sure that he would fit in with our crazy crew). And in about a week, he will be healthy enough to come home with us!

So we were not planning on adding to our family, but sometimes we do not plan these things. Things are so crazy and so hectic with the holidays, but we are going to make it work. We have a loving home. We also have the experience in dealing with skin allergies, so Max was meant to be ours, don't you think?? What a fun Christmas present for all of us! And a fun welcome home gift for David, right? But the best gift of all is for Max. I KNOW that he will be happier and more loved than he ever imagined!