She’s a sweet-natured yellow lab in an orange life preserver — possibly her owner’s excuse for a doggy sweater.
But Daisy Mae, who greets everyone with a cheerful chorus of bowwows and a wave of her paw, doesn’t have an owner. She was rescued more than a year ago from a wooded area in Longview, Wash., where someone left her to die — abandoned her because Daisy Mae suffers from a neurological disorder that impairs her ability to get around.
“It doesn’t stop her from trying,” says Allicia Crockett, who’s helped look after the dog for nine months. “If she sees someone approaching — if you throw a stick for her — she’ll leap up and run. She’ll fall in the process, but she’ll get where she’s going.”
Crockett is the founder of Mill Creek’s Rescue Pup, a regional foster family network for abandoned dogs.
Through the group, Daisy Mae has received treatment from some of the Northwest’s top veterinary neurologists, she’s been fitted for a wheel chair and she’s received weekly aquatherapy sessions at Splash Dog in Edmonds. She’s even being considered for stem-cell treatment — an experimental procedure that may reverse the effects of her disorder.
Finding a family is the only thing Rescue Pup hasn’t done for Daisy Mae. And Crockett is beside herself.
“If I wasn’t full-up, I’d take her myself,” Crockett said, holding the straps of Daisy Mae’s life vest while the dog wobbled full-speed towards a stray piece of garbage. “I know there’s a perfect someone for Daisy Mae. It’s just a matter of getting the word out to people that she’s looking for a home.”
That’s the intent of Dog’s Day Out for Daisy Mae on Sunday, May 4, at Doggy Haven Resort in Bothell, where Daisy Mae has been living rent-free for about three months. The event, which begins at noon, will feature carnival games for dogs and their owners, pet tips from local experts and other activities aimed at attracting area dog lovers who may take a shining to Daisy Mae.
The primping and pampering has already started in anticipation of her big day.
“Daisy’s scheduled for a bath first thing Sunday morning,” a Doggy Haven staff member sang out from somewhere in the building.
To that, Daisy Mae’s ears shot up. She let out a quick bark and slapped her paws on Crockett’s lap.
“It’s going to be so hard when she gets adopted,” Crockett sighed. “I’m so in love with her. But it breaks my heart to leave her every night. She needs to go home with someone; she will go home with someone.”
Specialists first diagnosed Daisy Mae with Cerebellar Ataxia, a disorder resulting from an under developed cerebral cortex. It turned out, however, that her brain was just slightly smaller than average.
That, in concert with an unexplained spinal cord malformity, prevent her only from walking normally.
She’s intelligent, healthy and house broken, Crockett said.
“There isn’t a sweeter animal on earth,” she added. “Yes, she has special needs; she’ll never walk 10 miles or climb mountains. Other than that she’s just good-tempered dog in need of a home.”
Dog’s Day Out for Daisy Mae
Doggy Haven Resort in Bothell is having a carnival to celebrate animals with special needs. The event also aims to place 14-month-old Daisy Mae in a permanent home.
• WHEN: Noon to 5 p.m.,
Sunday, May 4
• WHERE: The Doggy Haven Resort at 5303 W. Interurban Blvd. in Bothell
• INFO: Call Rescue Pup at 425-742-6072 or visit the Doggy Haven Web site at www.doggyhaven.com
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