The story of Tumbler

Tumbler, a tiny Yorkie, well... tumbled into one of my client's life.

They had lost their beloved German Shepherd, Dixie, several months before and had sworn off dogs. It had just hurt too much to lose her and besides, life was busy.

But not always in the good way. They had a child with significant health issues which meant Mom had to quit work and not only care for their son, but get to and from the myriad of doctor's appointments etc.

They had a cat. They loved the cat. That was enough.

As any of you who read my Twitter stream or blog probably have already guessed, it wasn't enough, not by far.

Fate forced Mom to go to the shelter to help find a friend's dog. Joyfully, that dog was found and returned home, but in the same run was a fluffy Yorkie who insisted on doing strange somersaults. She asked what was wrong, but the shelter didn't know and they couldn't afford to pay for the vet bills to find out.

Ok, Mom had sworn off dogs, but she couldn't let this little one be 'red-lined.' So despite her better judgement, she adopted the 10 month old Yorkie. About 15 minutes later she was in my office.

While the Yorkie did appear to have a perchance for doing a forward roll then busting out some break-dancing moves, he seemed perfectly healthy. We would run some lab work, but I thought the pup was healthy, just strangely playful.

But what was she going to do? Mom didn't want a dog, let alone a weird little one. I reassured her that we could find a home since it was free of any parasites or diseases so why didn't she take Tumbler home just for one night while I tried to find a foster home?

Now, of course, I saw the universe's work in Tumbler and of course, I knew if that little one made it to her house it would be Tumbler's home, but I was going to let Mom figure that out for herself!

I was a little worried however, when Mom and Tumbler were at my door at 8am the next day.

Had I missed something? I had. Exactly how much this little dog was going to change my client's life.

It turns out as soon as they got home, Tumbler did his little routine and their son, who had been too ill to run or play, got off the couch and started mimicking Tumbler's routine. What a sight!

Then it was time to go to the pediatrician. The child balked. He hated it. He hated taking his medication. He hated getting poked.

But what if Tumbler came along? The boy brightened. Mom thought she could hide the dog in her purse, but as soon as they got to the office her son began chattering to the other kids about Tumbler. Everybody had to see.

While the nurses were reluctant to have a dog in the waiting room, they had never seen my client's son be so happy and interactive.

The entire doctor's exam the boy chatted on about the new puppy. This pediatrician must have had kids and dogs too, because he informed the child if he wanted to be able to bring Tumbler in, he had to take all of his medication AND do all of his physical therapy. Of course!

So there Mom was on my doorstep at 8am to hug me and tell me of Tumbler and her tumbling son. She always wanted to make sure I had taken Tumbler's picture down for adoption. I laughed and told her I had never put it up #duh

You would think after being in veterinary medicine for over 30 years I would tire of such a story. I am here to tell you, I haven't and don't think I ever will.

If you enjoy tales of how "littleness" over comes big odds, leave me a comment. I am working on a book and would love to know the market out there for it! :-)

And of course if you like Patterson-style thrillers I have written a very un-silly serial killer book entitled Plain Jane. Read 50 pages for free (to make sure it isn't too dark for you :-) at: http://bit.ly/b60jVe

Until next week! :-)