Lisa's Web, Where Red Dogs Rule.
Asili Poteza Tumaini
November 7, 2009 – November 30, 2009
On
November 11th a client brought in a newborn Rhodesian Ridgeback puppy
that she was having trouble with. He was little, unable to nurse and couldn’t
regulate his body temperature; signs that his nervous system was immature. I
was asked if I’d be interested in fostering him. Of course, I immediately
answered and brought home the little Ridgeback.
After pondering different names, including “Jim Bob” and “John Boy”, as I needed to call him something, I decided on one more befitting his African heritage:
Asili Poteza Tumaini
His name means “never lose hope.”
I would have moments when I would look at Tumaini and think that there was no way he was going to get better. I felt that I needed to have a more positive outlook for him and his name became a reminder of that.
Over the two and a half weeks we spent together, I soon found that this little puppy was a fighter. He doubled his size, something that all newborns should do but I wasn’t taking for granted. He had a great appetite and was eagerly accepting being tube fed. He would smell the formula and his little nose would start sniffing and he would open his mouth in anticipation. Ryan, my Vizsla, happily accepted the role of “big brother” and was never far from Tumaini. If ‘Maini was awake and moving around in his box, Ryan would come find me and would get me to follow him upstairs to the pup, this usually happened at feeding time when ‘Maini was most active. Ry would clean the pup and lay on the bed close to ‘Maini when I would have him out for some snuggle time.
During Tumaini’s stay with me, I always hoped that he would get better and he would be able to have a normal life. I brought him, with his breeder, to Kingston Animal Hospital to see Dr Mark Russo for an acupuncture session, hoping the acupuncture would help his nervous system develop. Dr Russo hoped the best for the little pup, showed me some massage techniques that I could do at home, and when the appointment was finished whispered in Tumaini’s closed ear.
Tumaini was able to touch a lot of people’s lives while he was with me. He visited my mom with me, met my sister, brothers and nephews. He had to go to work with me and was fawned over by all the girls there. He was visited numerous times by his breeder and her sister. His eyes opened over Thanksgiving and his puppy teeth started to come in by Sunday.
On Monday, his day started out very early (as usual), he “ate” great, did his “business” and went back to sleep (conservation of energy). At noon time, I fed him and he almost immediately went limp. I brought him to work, took x-rays of his little body, had him checked by the doctors, and determined that this may be a onetime occurrence, and since he didn’t seem to be suffering, I brought him home. A couple hours later, he was doing poorly again, so I called work to let them know we were on our way. He left peacefully with friends by his side, holding his tiny paw.