"Tiny" Dancer

by Jenny Gomes
(Okahumpka, Florida)

I'm a Therapy Dog now!

I must share how much I love my little Dancer. This little guy has given me a lot to look forward to from the day he was born. It all started when I received a phone call from a friend whose neighbor had moved out of their apartment and left this pitiful little female Chihuahua. I ran right over to check on her. She was underweight, dehydrated and pregnant! I took her to my vet who informed me that all in all she would be ok. Three weeks later she delivered two puppies. The first was a little girl that was adopted by a wonderful couple. Next came little Dancer. He was 1/4 his sister's size.

I stayed by their sides for the first three days. Dancer seemed to nurse but was not growing at all. My vet told me he was probably premature and told me we should consider putting him down. He told me he probably wouldn't develop and would always have major problems. I refused to believe this.

Two weeks after he was born he stopped nursing. I took over, refusing to give up on him. He rebounded! He still did not seem to grow much, but he did start to develop normal growth habits. Now he is a normal, happy, playful little guy. He is just very, very small. He weighs 18 ounces and is only five inches tall and is the love of my life!

While this may not seem like a big deal to most...this little guy helped me as much as I helped him. I was born with Congenital Toxoplasmosis (I have holes in my maculas) and have lost my ability to drive due to vision loss. Now that he is a Certified Therapy Dog, it gets me and him out of the house to help others feel better about life!