Oogy The Dog Only a Family Could Love Read Online Free PDF

because of his swollen and distorted head. Diane’s thoughts slipped to Maddie, then returned to the pup in front of her. She straightened, her eyes never leaving the dog. She pointed to the animal and, without averting her gaze, asked the doctor, “What the hell is that ?”
    Somewhat startled, the doctor looked up to see what Diane was talking about and then told her that the dog had been found following a raid and likely had been used as bait. He explained that the police had brought the dog over to the ER for treatment.
    The dog sat back down and looked at Diane. The nostrils of his large black nose twitched at Diane’s proximity. The three-by-five-inch cage card read “Male Pit Bull or PB Mix” and showed December 15 as the date of admission. The dog’s age was estimated at three to four months on the cage card, but Diane thought that estimate was high. Looking through the chart, she saw that, in addition to the visible wounds on his head, the left ear and much of the left side of the dog’s face was gone, torn off by the violence that had been inflicted upon him. Diane was astonished by the fact that the pup did not exhibit any signs of the constant, staggering pain she knew he must have been experiencing. She was also amazed by the fact that after what had happened to him, he didn’t seem to be afraid of her. He simply continued to sit in the cage and watch her calmly.
    There was untouched food in the cage. The ER staff had cleaned the largest wound on the left side of the pup’s face, given the dog an injection of steroids to counteract shock, and injected him with antibiotics. They had not given him any blood or tried substantively to treat his injuries. The ER staff were not doing what Diane refers to as “above and beyond.” They had expended only the minimal effort needed to keep him alive. No one owned the dog, so there was no one to hold the ER accountable for his treatment or to pay for the effort that it would take to try to repair the damage he had suffered. As a result, Diane learned, the doctor planned on transferring the dog to the SPCA.
    From experience, she knew that if the pup was transferred to the SPCA, he would be euthanized.
    Aware that the doctor’s likely plans for the pup would lead to his destruction, moved by what he had already endured and his sweet, calm demeanor, and well aware of the magnitude of the fight that lay ahead, Diane asked if the doctor would sign over the animal to her. She wanted to at least make an effort to save the dog’s life. The doctor agreed, because once the transfer had occurred, the dog’s welfare was no longer his responsibility.
    Dr. Bianco was upstairs in his office doing paperwork. When he came down to the first floor to begin his day’s rounds, Diane immediately went over to him, the words spilling out of her.
    “I need your help,” she said to him. “Will you take a look at this dog who came in over the weekend? He was used as a bait dog. Half his face is missing. The police brought him in and the ER doctor was going to send him to the SPCA, so I had him signed over to me. The SPCA will just destroy him. I want to try to save him. He’s really cute and seems very sweet, and I really feel badly for him.”
    Dr. Bianco looked at her and shook his head in mock disbelief. “Oh God, Diane…” He sighed. “Not another one.” Then he smiled and said, “Okay. Let’s go have a look.”
    Dr. Bianco followed Diane back into the treatment room, where he pulled on a pair of latex gloves and opened the door to the dog’s cage. He lifted him out and placed him on the examination table. Cradling the dog’s head in his left arm to immobilize him, Dr. Bianco took a scissors from one of the drawers and cut open the bandage. With his right foot, he pressed the pedal that opened the top of the medical waste bin on the floor at the end of the examination table and dumped the bloody wad of gauze and tape into it. Saturated with and stiffened by discharge