Posted October 9, 1998

Everyone who met Fella after he was taken into our rescue just adored him. He was everyone's baby, everyone's darling boy. It made no sense to any of us why he had been abandoned at a Petsmart in Greenbelt, Maryland in such bad shape. He had terrible skin problems, an open sore in his mouth, and he was severely overweight. He did not walk like a normal dog. He waddled, in obvious pain, whenever he tried to move around. He was a sad sight, indeed.

His foster mother came to love him deeply, and she wrote a moving memoir of him for his Happy Endings page when we finally placed him with a loving family in Tucson, Arizona. He was in much better shape when he went there, due to his foster's incredible care for him. She helped him lose weight and get into shape. She lovingly treated his skin and mouth conditions. All seemed well. All was well -- for a time.

Fella taught all of us so much. In the face of terrible pain, confusion and abandonment, his little tail never stopped wagging. He greeted each day with optimism and enthusiasm, and he kept on trucking. Little trooper that he was. His foster thanked him from her heart for all he taught her about life, about not giving up. We had hoped for many more happy days for this precious boy, but sadly, it was not to be.

We learned that Fella had developed a melanoma. Tragically, this was one condition from which he could not bounce back, and his broken- hearted adoptive mother could not let him suffer. She made the painful decision to let him go. I hope he is waiting at Rainbow Bridge for the people who love him. I don't think heaven would be complete without this priceless little "Fella."

I can still see that tail wagging like crazy the last time I visited him, as he danced his way around his foster home, before he made the long trip west where loving hands welcomed him. Those same loving hands let him go, and I know we have all lost something that can never be replaced in this lifetime. I can still feel his sweet velvety kiss as I said goodbye.

Thank you so much, Fella, for everything you gave to all of us in your short time with us. I wish we'd found you sooner. I'm so, so sorry we couldn't make you happy for a much longer time. You deserved that and so much more. Goodbye, my dearest little Fella.