Rolling Dog Farm Blog

Little Bailey, a miniature Dachshund, arrived today to get a new start in life.  He came from an animal hoarder case in Great Falls, which you can read about here.  The Deputy County Attorney had called us about Bailey several weeks ago, and we had agreed to take him if no one else came forward to adopt him. 

The hoarder’s dogs had been moved to the fairgrounds, where they were cared for by the local Humane Society and volunteers.  One of the sanctuary’s friends and supporters, Christian C., became the "camp coordinator" responsible for the operation at the fairgrounds, and she brought Bailey out to the ranch this afternoon.  The first photo shows Christian and Bailey soon after they arrived.

Bailey has an old back injury which apparently was never treated, leaving him to wobble on his rear legs and drag them quite a bit.  His upper back looks normal, but about halfway down all of a sudden the vertebrae stick up, leaving his lower spine sharp and bony.  However, he is amazingly mobile, as we discovered after we put him outside to pee.  At first he struggled for a minute in the fresh snow with his back legs, then he found his footing, and off he went down the drive!  I had to dash after him to scoop him up. 

Fortunately he does not need a wheelchair to get around.  We are, of course, going to get him a complete medical exam to find out what is going on with his spine and back legs.

The second photo shows Bailey in our living room, where he was anxiously awaiting dinner!

(Click on photos for larger image.)