Clayton

Click on pug picture for larger image

Hi, my name is Clayton.

Everyone thinks I am about 13-14 years old. They asked me to tell you a little about myself. I don’t really like to talk about my past, as it isn’t a warm and happy story. You see, I was deserted in the wilderness, and dumped in a wet, muddy ditch, where I was stuck, unable to get out. I was alone and scared, abandoned in an area with fast moving traffic, predators and terrible weather…just thrown out like trash. I get a little emotional just thinking about it. A good samaritan picked me up and took me to the vet. From there, a local animal shelter was called, and Nancy, the rescue coordinator there, took me in temporarily and a nice lady named Barbara put out a plea via email for someone to help me, even though they thought the odds someone would help were so bad they called it a “shot in the dark.”

Well, the light shined on my darkness when APARN heard about my situation! They told Nancy and Barbara they would take me in without a second thought! They didn’t care that I was what they call a “senior special needs pug!” The only problem was that I was pretty far away. That’s when Cindy and Joe were contacted. They are pilots with a really cool group of people called Pilots ‘n Paws, and Joe was kind enough to volunteer his time (and his plane!) to fly me from the remote area to Phoenix! Joe and I stayed overnight at a hotel, and Joe fed me some yummy apples! Now, everytime I get a bite of apple, I always think of Joe. Nancy, Barbara, Cindy and Joe will forever be my heroes!

Once I was safely in my foster home, I went to visit the vet. Upon evaluation, it was determined that my missing eye had been surgically removed some time ago, and I have some pretty heavy pigment on my remaining eye, so I really can’t see very well. I also have some problems standing and navigating, possibly neurological or from an old injury. My teeth are really bad and pretty infected, so the doctor gave me some antibiotics. APARN is going to have my teeth cleaned once the doctor says I am okay for that.

Foster mom has this really cool stroller that she puts me in and pushes me around, and everyone who meets me says things like, “Oh how cute! Isn’t he sweet!” and they says I am like a sweet, trusting teddy bear! I sure like all the attention.

Foster mom said that APARN is getting me something called a Four Wheeled Cart, from K9 Carts! I can’t wait for that to get here. She said it will give me lots of freedom to get around on my own. Stay tuned, I bet she’ll take some pictures of me in it to post on this page!

Even though foster mom says I can live with her all my life if I want, she says if the right person comes along and falls in love with me, and would like for me to live with them, then all the APARN volunteers will miss me, but they would be very happy for me. But it has to be the right person. If you would like to be one of my special friends, and help APARN pay for my cart, please consider making a donation.

Thank you very much!
Love,
Clayton