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MORE ABOUT BART

I know everyone has been eagerly awaiting pictures of this little dude. I really wish I could also send you pictures of what he looked like BEFORE the "shearing." I am telling you, you would not believe this was the same dog. Me and Jenn kept joking tonight that maybe they switched dogs on us at the emergency clinic.

As I mentioned last night, some of the mats were the size of softballs. One of the techs at the emergency clinic told us that one mat — which started in one of his armpits — was somehow "attached" to another mat at his paw which caused him to not have full extension of that one leg. The matting was so thick and severe that they figure that's what kept the fleas and ticks from actually getting down to skin level, they just couldn't make it through the mess.

BTW, I was talking to the woman in that neighborhood who helped us get Cora, the pit bull girl, and she tells me that one of the teenagers she knows told her that he actually knows the family the dog used to belong to. He says that he has been told the reason this dog was "put out" was because he had fleas ... could be another one of the many stories we have been told about Bart but it's entirely possible this could be true.

He doesn't have the best haircut ever but given that the folks at the clinic are not groomers by trade and given what they started out with, I think they did a fantastic job and I just can't believe how good this little guy looks.

He is now at my vet's office. As I mentioned in an earlier email which I think some of you somehow didn't get, Bart is incredibly healthy given that he has been out there for about a year. He is HW- (big sigh of relief), has tested positive for Lyme but is showing no symptoms at the moment. He does walk kind of "funny" with his back legs, they don't seem to bend at all, but maybe this is just the way he has gotten used to walking because of the matting. I'll have my vet check this out, hopefully he doesn't have any orthopedic problems or arthritis but if he does we will deal with that. His bloodwork was normal otherwise.

He is estimated to be about 18-24 months, his teeth are perfectly white and clean, his ears look good although he keeps shaking himself, not sure if that is because he feels funny without all that mess or because his ears are bothering him. We'll make sure he doesn't have ear mites. We don't yet have a "sample" so we can test for intestinal parasites but he was given a Drontal at the emergency clinic so hopefully that should take care of things.

All in all, I am absolutely dumbfounded at the excellent condition this dog is in — given what he looked like and how he has lived for the last year. Just goes to show you, can't really judge a book by his cover . . . or is it a dog by his fur ; )).

Those of you who have actually seen Bart and know how badly matted he was I'm sure will be just as shocked as I am to see what was under all that fur. How incredibly adorable is he?

It's been a hell of weekend and another lesson in never giving up hope!