I apologize in advance for the obscene amount of photos. But in my defense Cairo is so adorable I didn't know which to use so I went a little bonkers.
This is my dog, Cairo. He is about 10 years old now and obviously he is hella adorable. When I first found my furbaby it was the summer prior to me starting college. My mother and I were volunteering at the local humane society and at that particular time they were so over run that a few pups who were not ready for adoption had to be put out onto the adoption floor with signs explaining they were not yet ready for adoption. Okay. No problem. So as we are going around walking the dogs, my mom says "Sabrina come here. Look at this guy." I meander over to one of the small cages meant for puppies or small breeds. inside at the back of the cage is this pathetic looking little dog who won't even make eye contact. My mom points to a sign on his cage that says he had been rescued from an animal testing facility and was not yet available for adoption due to a lung infection. When we look a little closer at the pup we notice that he has lesions all over his body but specifically ontop of his head. His eyes are also red where they should be white and he is cross-eyed. My mom immediately says that if she had the money she would adopt him. My response is "I do." and we run off to track down someone to find out how we get on a list to adopt this mutt named Cairo.
Cairo and his Kermit while Jasper gives them the stink eye (pictured above)
We're then told that we cannot get on a list to adopt him because they are not so sure he is going to make it. Upon hearing this my mom and I hatch a plan that we will come up to see Cairo everyday. This we hoped would accomplish three things. 1) Having someone come and see him every day would lift his spirits and we hoped would help him fight off the lung infection. 2) If the staff saw us there everyday, then we would be more likely to be chosen as his family. 3) When he did come up for adoption we probably be the first there to put our names in. Over the weeks (maybe a week and a half) we watched this scared little pup start to make eye contact and we would find him waiting for us, tail wagging upon visual confirmation. Pure love.
On one of our many walks.
Sure enough when the day he came up for adoption came we were first on that list. We were told within a week that he was officially ours and we just had to wait until his kennel cough went away. That same week is the week that my dad died suddenly due to a heart attack caused by a car accident. The only normal remaining route that week was going to see this dog. The day after my dad's funeral Cairo came home. I still remember I got home after my mom had picked him up and he was running around I his yard, enjoying life. Cairo has had some special needs over the years, mainly he has food allergies so you have to be careful what you give him. Also he has separation anxiety, which caused him to eat a chunk of my old apartment door while my roommate and I were at work. The next day I took him to the vet and Cairo went on doggie prozac. Thankfully I have been able to wean him off of them, which was the goal. Cairo's skin lesions did eventually heal up, although it took years, specifically the ones on his head. Through research, I found that what he was subjected to primarily was eye drop tests. Basically they would take this puppy, fasten his head to hold him still (creating the lesions) and then hold his eyes open and drop liquid in them. This caused the redness and perhaps the cross-eyed look of his. Still thinking about that happening to my Cairo makes me want to cry. My mom told me from day one we were not to pity him, it wouldn't help him. Over the years the redness has almost entirely left his eyes.
For experiencing such cruelty in the beginning of his life, Cairo is such a ball of love. He loves people. All he wants is love and attention (okay and your food). He still shows signs of the abuse. When you call him over to you sometimes he cowers. It is the most pathetic thing and it is heart wrenching. Whenever this happens I try and use my sweet voice and sure enough his little piggy tail (the thing is basically a whip) starts wagging and tentatively his head comes up. But most of the time he is the BOUNCIEST love of all. He loves snuggling right up against you under the covers but he will not put his head by you. Cairo rules dictate you must deal with his dog butt. A small price to pay if you are constantly cold like I am and love puppy snuggles. I've always been a big fan of adopting animals from shelters. Most haven't experienced the trauma Cairo has but what I hope his story illustrates is, even dogs who have been abused still have so much love to give and should not be feared. Their hearts have be broken and they just need your love to help heal them.
