FULTON COUNTY, GA......We were contacted several months ago about a 12 year old Shih Tzu that had been abandoned at an apartment complex in Atlanta. Animal control was contacted and our sweet little man was picked up and taken to the shelter. Bruce Lee was emaciated, had terrible skin problems and appeared to have a deformed jaw. We decided to give this sweet little dog a chance to live out his final days with us. We had him taken to our vet and surgeons in Columbia, SC to get him thoroughly evaluated and started on medical care. We discovered something terrible had happened to his jaw and it had once been broken. Part of his mandible was missing and his mouth was lopsided. He had a terrible skin infection and also had lots of little tumors that needed to be addressed. On top of all this, his eyes were bad and he was starved. The list just kept on going but it didn't matter because I had decided his last days were going to be great. Our little man has been in the hospital being treated for the last three months. He has seen every Specialist around to address every weird thing that kept cropping up. We would fix one thing and then another issue would pop up. Through it all, he got stronger and stronger. He came in barely able to walk and can now run around. He is thriving under proper medical care and unconditional love. Our little man was getting younger by the day. He was originally thought to be around 14 but we now think he is only 10-12. This little dog has had a terrible life. The neglect showing on his body was unbelievable. I do not know how he could even walk or eat in the condition he was in. He had learned to improvise and get by with whatever came his way. He is a survivor and always had a smile on his face and a kiss for anyone that would come near him. It always amazes me when I hear stories of people seeing the same dog for weeks on end that had been abused and clearly needed help, yet no one stopped to help. I was not going to be one of them and say no. Our little fella has proven to be the most resilient Soul. We are still treating him for his skin issues and have removed a lot of little skin growths that were benign. His dry eyes have cleared up and he can now see the person loving on him and the person he is running toward. His over-all health has improved so much that he has been cleared to have jaw surgery in two weeks. We are delighted how well he is doing and feel like he has several more years of good living ahead. Bruce Lee is doing so well that we feel like he would make a wonderful addition to any household that is looking for a spunky Senior. He is no longer in our Hospice Program and has been put in our Adoption Program. We have posted some of his before and his after pictures. He still has to have jaw surgery but is eating soft food just fine. We love a happy ending. To see this little dog run around and not be in pain any longer brings tears to our eyes. We surrounded him with love and the best medical care and he showed us he had a lot more living to do. He has taken all the pain and suffering he has endured to be here today. He knew someone would eventually notice him and we are so glad we did. We would greatly appreciate any donation to help us with his immense medical bills and his up-coming jaw surgery.
