June 1993
October 20th 1998

Story of a Nekkid Dog.

I'm not sure exactly when Hero was born. He was about 8 weeks old when he and his sister Mimi and their powderpuff brother were found in the middle of a dirt road leading to almost no-where.   Someone, for some reason, had left them to die in scorching August heat. Quite by chance a Humane Society visitor used the road that day, saw them huddled together and stopped to pick them up.  Although the powderpuff was very hot and dehydrated, Hero and Mimi were horribly sunburned as well. The good samaritan brought them straight to the shelter and surrendered them.  I happened to be there that Saturday afternoon doing a volunteer stint and I was asked to look at them while they were being re-hydrated and cared for. No-one had much idea of what they were - possibly nothing more than a really bad case of mange?  I had never seen a hairless Chinese Crested other than in books and even then the photos were of adults, not puppies. Also, what was this fluffy one with them? A terrier mix of some kind?  I was pretty convinced that that they were Cresteds and I asked permission to take them home with me for 24 hour care. They were sick little babies that first night - skin bright red and hot to the touch. I smothered them in aloe vera and kept giving them fluids and gradually they responded. What little moppets they were - typical puppies once they started to feel better; terribly affectionate and clingy with that sweet puppy breath and the softest baby skin. I was almost completely smitten but my household at that time was geared towards greyhounds, not nekkid dogs, far less puppies. 

Regretfully, I decided to put them all up for adoption and when they were well enough I took them back to the shelter and put them in a lobby cage.  The little fluffy brother was quickly adopted by a nice family but the two baldies got nothing but strange sideways looks and I got asked odd questions! Were they sick, had they had chemotherapy? LOL  On the Sunday afternoon when I had pretty much given up hope of finding a suitable home for them that weekend, a family arrived with two teenage daughters.   They had recently lost the family dog to old age and were looking for a pup.   Somehow they just gravitated towards my two babies with cries of 'Ooh's' and 'Aah's'.   They wanted to adopt both of them and once their application was approved Hero and Mimi left the shelter for a new life.  My house was quiet that night - Chloe and Whistle my greyhounds looked folornly over the baby gate into the family room hoping to see the three odd little ducks they had watched over for two weeks. Gradually life got back to normal and thoughts of their soft little bodies faded but never quite disappeared. I called the family a few times; all was well, the pups were happy. In time their spay/neuter certificates were cashed in so I knew that commitment had been honored. Somehow I lost the family's phone number and time continued to slip by......

It was a year later, near as I can remember. Arriving at the shelter, I went in to the lobby to cast a quick eye around the cages and get an overview of the small dogs available for adoption. High on top of a stack was a cage with a Chinese Crested !

Hero's Story, Continued