Hazel

Thanks to Mutt dad and veterinarian Dr. Art Colyer for writing a loving tribute about his Muttville success story Hazel. It was also published in Honest Horses Magazine in September 2012:

I am often amazed at the extent to which some people will go for the benefit of pets and even more amazed when someone’s generosity benefits an animal with which their relationship is only temporary. My wife and I are parents to Hazel, a 12-or-so-year-old Chihuahua mix that was found last year running loose in the Bay Area. Muttville took her in and she was soon placed in a foster home. Unfortunately, over the course of just a few weeks she was diagnosed with severe progressive cataracts in both eyes which quickly rendered her completely blind. The wonderful doctors at Veterinary Vision felt that her eyesight in one eye could be restored surgically with a lens transplant so her foster parents signed her up for the $3500 the surgery and in no time Hazel could see once again.

We heard about and saw a photo of Hazel and decided to make the trip to San Francisco to meet her. She immediately reminded us of our elderly dog, Humphrey, who had recently passed. We were cleared as a suitable long term home for Hazel and we took her home. She is a delight! She has fit into our menagerie without a ruffle, and she has adopted our lifestyle as though she had been with us our whole life. She’ll hike with our pack on occasion as far as five miles, never balking or complaining. Being older, she sleeps a lot making her wonderful to travel with or keep under the desk on her bed at our veterinary clinic.

I often say that one of my favorite things about being a vet, aside from working with animals and the people that care for them all day every day, is seeing the best side of people most of the time – the side of people that is so willing to give with little regard for repayment. Hazel is a great example of this kind of “paying it forward”. Thanks to all the foster parents who give so much to help Muttville dogs find their perfect “forever home”.

https://muttville.org/story/20130506-hazel

Are you the proud parent of a Muttville dog? Send us your story! Include three of your favorite photos and send it to success_stories@muttville.org with the subject line 'Success Story'.