Fletcher's amputation appointment is set for this Tuesday, the 28th. We'll be dropping him off in the early morning, he'll have surgery sometime that day and will have to stay overnight, but he should be able to come home by the following afternoon. We know this is going to take away the pain he's feeling.
I wanted to take this opportunity to share some bits about Fletcher's life before we got him. He hasn't always had the greatest of owners and it's amazing to us that he's as good a dog as he is.
Fletch was born on the track, but to an unregistered litter. Since the trackmasters are interested in pedigree and documentation and winning lineage, they were not interested in Fletcher, so he was given up as a pup for a fair price to a man who turned out to be an animal hoarder. He was kept in a wooden kennel that was too small for him. He tried to chew through it, which is why his front teeth are jagged and broken to this day. About a year or so later, the cops apparently came to bust the man for animal hoarding and it's our understanding that the man committed suicide right there in front of the cops...and Fletch.
From there, he was given to a foster group and shuffled around to foster families. A few months later, he was adopted by a guy who probably took decent care of him. He might even be the one responsible for teaching Fletch to lay down on command and jump up in anticipation when he hears a bread bag being opened, hoping he'll be tossed a piece. However, the guy eventually got a girlfriend who was not Fletch's biggest fan. One day, the girlfriend decided that in an effort to portray that he needed to chose between her and Fletch, she chose for him and dropped Fletch off at the Humane Society. And the guy never came back to claim him. Being a full blood greyhound, the Humane Society knew that the rescue groups would want to be notified as they hold a sort of jurisdiction over this breed. He was picked up by Rescued Racers and one of the ladies active in the group is the one who actually gave him the name Fletch. She said he just looked like a Fletch. We're unsure what he was called prior to this.
We know he went to another guy who had to give him up because his fiance was allergic and he went to another family who had small children and his size compared to the kids made the wife nervous, so he's been shuffled around quite a bit. But not anymore.
When Sam and I decided to adopt a grey, we had been searching Rescued Racers website when we came across the bio for Fletch. He seemed like the perfect dog, so we set up an appointment to go meet him and his foster dad. We hung out with Fletch for about an hour and by that point, our minds were made up and we started the adoption process as soon as we got home. Fletch was delivered to us the following weekend and it's been an on-going love affair ever since. Our world has revolved around him and I don't know that any decision we've made in the last two years hasn't involved him in some way. Even our decision to buy a house (he would get anxious with the constant coming and going of other tenants in the apartment building) and get another dog (he seemed lonely during our 8 hours at work) had a lot to do with Fletcher's well-being and comfort.
And we're not stopping yet. Fletch is an amazing animal who has somehow managed to keep a fantastic spirit and personality throughout his life even though he's witnessed and lived through some horrific and saddening experiences. He's worth it all. We love him so much!
P.S. Did I also mention that Fletch is Team Edward??
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