Blackie had a very loving, devoted owner for most of his short life. Blackie's owner and he lived in a room behind a kind lady's house who let him do work around her place for rent. Blackie's owner was mildly retarded, and his dog was everything to him. He was devoted to his dog, and his dog was devoted to him. Blackie and his mildly owner were absolutely inseperable. Blackie was always at his side, sleeping on the bed with him in cool weather, and under his "outside" cot in warmer weather.
Alas, at five months, Blackie went to investigate a truck stopped by the house, and was run over by the rural letter carrier. His destitute owner and his "landlady" (he did chores for his keep) tried to find a vet who would save Blackie. The terrified woman with Blackie and his Master drove frantically from one vet to another, trying to find one who would treat Blackie. They couldn't put any money up front, so this was difficult. They kept driving to San Saba where the landlady knew a kindly country vet, who took pity on Blackie and saved his life by amputating his leg.
Except for that terrible experience, Blackie had never been separated from his Master by more than a few feet (while waiting outside the bathrrom door), until his Master died suddenly last September, of a peritoneal abcess.
Predictably, Blackie was almost berserk with grief when his Master was taken away by the ambulance, and he was frantic searching everywhere on the property where he could find the scent of his Master.
Finally, after six days, an old neighbor lady took Blackie to her home, thinking that removing him from the place where he was trying to find his Master would calm him down. This lady had Blackie neutered and gave him all his shots. He was and is worm-free and healthy.
A missing hind leg is no inconvenience for Blackie, but a loving owner should discourage him from excessive running or Frisbee, since all the pounding which would be absorbed by two hind legs is going onto just one. No point in "wearing it out!"
When Blackie visited the vet, he had been frantically mourning his Master and was a litle skinny. He weighed 62 lbs. He is calm and filled out now, and weighs a little more than that. The owner of Blackie's mom deliberately bred her to a really handsome AKC-reg. black & tan (saddleback) German Shepherd who weighs about 95 lbs.
No one knows why his owner named a gorgeous red dog "Blackie" but Blackie does have that typical black GS-like tipping on his hair. He is double-coated like a shep and has a very shep-looking head.
When the lady who is caring for him now took him home, he was wearing three strands of twisted wire for a collar, but he is doing better now....
The very best home for Blackie would be with a new Master who can give him lots of one-on-one. Blackie is not a barker, unless there's a reason! But he does whimper when he sees his people leaving.
He needs a fence higher than he can reach with his paws, because he will climb over at first, until he realizes he is in a loving place.
He has been completely non-aggressive toward his hostess' 5 dogs, but they are all little and female, except for one neutered male Border Collie. How he might be with big male dogs is unknown.
Please help this beautiful and unusual dog find a loving permanent home. The lady who has him now truly loves him, but she is a breast cancer survivor, 70 years old, and thinks that it would be unfair to a dog who has gone through so much to "outlive" another owner.
When the lady first took in Blackie, a friend said, "you won't have any trouble finding a home for him; it's an old German saying that three-legged dogs are good luck." Blackie hasn't had a lot of good luck yet in his short life.
If you are interested in adopting Blackie, contact Sybil L. Autrey at
slau11@yahoo.com or 264-1792
