Blooming like a rose

Big Mike has utterly captured not only my heart, but that of every visitor who drops in to see him. Painfully shy when he first arrived, the docile boy is starting to come out of his shell more and more. As this video shows, he’s even getting a little playful! Note how he does a gentle nibble of my fingers.

Big Mike 2

He still has his… issues? Happy to nuzzle me cheek to cheek, when I move my hands to his back, he shrinks to my touch. And his response to a stranger is usually to curl up in a ball. Is this evidence of his possible past abuse at the hands of humans? He is so dear I can’t even bear to think of it. But every day, he opens up a little more, risks a little more, raises his head a little higher like petals toward the sun. It’s such a beautiful thing to see.

His wounds are also coming along, but slowly. The shoulder abscess, which disgustingly gave up five foxtails to the vet’s tweezers, has finally healed up! But his leg continues to daunt our efforts at healing. Dr. Sue managed to suture the worst section of the wound; he managed to open it up again. She bound his leg tightly with wrapping; it slid off in one giant, snakeskin-like section. The problem, she says, is that his wound (hold onto your lunch) is so… moist. And binding it means it can’t get the air it needs to heal.

So yesterday she got creative, and affixed some sock-like fabric on his leg, affixing it with tape to his ankle, and anchoring it around his neck like a fashionable scarf. Tres chic!! Like a ballet dancer wearing leg warmers. Today he seems quite content with the arrangement and has made no effort to bite it off. Progress!

Despite the fact that I raised more money than I thought would be necessary for Big Mike’s care, he is plowing through the reserve with aplomb, with once- and sometimes twice-weekly visits for bandages changes. I am lighting a candle fervently that this latest technique will do the trick and help him turn the corner toward complete healing.

I know that this gentle giant’s forever home is out there waiting. Already I get tearful thinking about letting him go. But I’ll take consolation in knowing I helped him along the road to the beautiful life he – and every living creature – deserves.