Fly Away Home
by Elizabeth Mitchell
 

     Mulligan is my 3 legged golden retriever rescue puppy. She was born the runt of the litter, with a deformed front leg. Her birth mom rejected her, and her breeder didn’t think she'd live or have much of a life so she brought her to the animal hospital to be put down at just two days old.
     Lucky for Mulligan (and for me) the girls at the hospital and one very kind veterinarian thought the tiny puppy deserved a chance to live and offered to take her to see if they could nurse her back to health.
     Mulligan struggled at first as she was half the size of her littermates. But over time she became stronger and stronger. She was fostered by her veterinarian and her dogs at night and she spent her days at the clinic socializing and playing with all the pups and people there.
     At 9 weeks old she was strong enough to handle the surgery of having her front right leg amputated. The next day she was hopping around chasing the big dogs. Two weeks later she was ready to come home.
     I adopted her sight unseen. My sister was one of the girls at the Animal Hospital who saved her. She emailed me that day "We have a very tiny little golden puppy, I don’t know if she'll make it though"... I followed her story; I had just gone through a divorce and lost a dog in the process. I knew what it felt like to be thrown away, unwanted. My other golden dog Morgan was missing her pal. We needed Mully as much as she needed us.
     We were in two different states, but that didn’t stop us. Mulligan flew from Buffalo, NY to Nashville, TN by herself. The airline treated her like royalty—last one on, first one off. I was told the pilot announced over the loud speaker that they were flying with a very special passenger. He told a little about her rescue story and surgery and all the passengers clapped for her!
     I'll never forget waiting in the cargo area lobby at the airport, not exactly sure what to expect, will she be able to walk ok? will I need to pull her in a wagon? As they brought her crate to me and opened it up―out popped Mully! as if to say "Hi Mom I'm home".
     I named her Mulligan, because it means second chance.
     Mulligan is now 5 years old, a happy healthy little golden retriever, full of life, ball crazy with a heart of GOLD. Mulligan taught me about unconditional love and being proud of who you are no matter what your flaws may be, and that you can do anything if you try.
     I guess I always knew that but it look a little fuzzy golden puppy to drive it home. I find myself now trying new things I avoided, because of Mully. Sometimes I wonder who rescued who.
     If you're thinking about adding a canine companion to your family please consider adopting a handicapped or special needs pet.
     Sometimes it's the things that aren't perfect . . . that turn out to be the most perfect of all!
 

Entry submitted November 29, 2009

A Very Sad Update: March 3, 2011
Five months ago Mully was diagnosed with Myasthenia Gravis. Her life started out RUFF & ended RUFF but Elizabeth sure hoped she gave her a happy life in-between. Feb 21, 2003 - March 1, 2011
Below, Mully's mom's words has shared her thoughts:

     With great sadness, I wanted to let our blog friends who have followed this blog over the years know that my sweet Mullypup died yesterday after a 5 month battle with Myasthenia Gravis.
     She died at home with Morgie & I by her side.
     When Mully was a baby pupster I had planted a bunch of tree saplings.. they were only a few inches tall & Mully kept chewing on one of them & it kept coming back bigger each time. 8 years later .. It's now a huge maple tree.. the biggest in my yard.. & has been called the "Mully Tree" for years .. so it seemed fitting to bury her under her tree with her beloved red kong ball.
     I feel like a big chunk of my heart has been ripped out. But I also feel lucky to have been her dog mom.

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