Success Story: Dante

Thank you Nancy Wong! Not only is she a great foster mom, she is now a forever home for Dandy (now Dante). Read their sweet Muttville success story:

I got Dandy, a 12 year old blind miniature poodle last month on my birthday when I officially turned into a senior myself.. Dandy was back at Muttville after outliving one owner and his present owner had just suffered a stroke. This blind dog may have been one of Muttville’s first dogs from about 3 years ago. He shivered when approached, not knowing whether you were friend or foe, and with his black teeth, had very stinky dog breath. His hair was ½ inch long, leading me to believe that he was shaved to get an unruly coat in shape.

Another Muttville volunteer, Terri, arranged for a checkup appointment after getting permission from the Muttville office. At Healthy Pets Veterinary Hospital on West Portal in the city, Dr. Adam (Piaseczny) found two rotten teeth, which explained the bad breath. Before the oral surgery, Dr. Adam wanted Dandy to gain some weight on his 7 lbs.

While he was fattening up, one night we were watching (me watching, him listening) a not very good film directed by one of my old friends. I noticed at the end credits for “Maid in Manhattan” that this Cinderella story was credited to “Edmond Dantes”-the protagonist of Alexandre Dumas’s novel, “The Count of Monte Cristo.” Edmond Dantes is the nom de plume (pseudonym) of the late film director John Hughes (Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink). I had been thinking about a new name for Dandy—something similar, but different and “Dante” seemed just right.

Two weeks after the oral surgery, Dante is a different dog. He no longer shakes and shivers but comes to the door, wagging his tail, when I enter my apartment. His bad breath has cleared up and he loves to take walks on grassy areas. The other day after our walk at Aquatic Park, I decided to find a street artist to draw his portrait. I found a good one at the corner of Leavenworth and Jefferson Streets at Fisherman’s Wharf. When I read the 1999 San Francisco Examiner article that Catherine Zhang posted at her booth, I knew she was the one. As she sketched Dante in my arms, she said to me, “You have a nice demeanor—you seem to be a gentle person.” I let out a laugh and said, “Some people would disagree with that, but the truth is, this dog has made me more human.”

New home, new name, new life—just another Cinderella story. At the end of Alexandre Dumas’s “The Count of Monte Cristo,” are the words: “wait and hope.”

To every unwanted senior dog, lonely and neglected, please “wait and hope.” Somehow, somewhere, someone wants you and we will find you. You are all loved.

“Is time my redeemer?

Loneliness my only friend?

Just once in a lifetime

Strangers share a common end….

Somewhere, somehow

At sometime someone cared

Maybe just for a moment

Or maybe for a lifetime…”

-Eva Cassidy, “Somewhere”

mariem3 | 05.17.11