Suki: New Kid on the Block

After anxious anticipation we have finally welcomed home our new foster dog, Suki. She is a very lucky dog. You see, she was brought into a shelter in Texas, which is a strike against her to begin with, because she was an unaltered dog with a severe case of demodectic mange. A dog can't be spayed while they have mange, and the shelter couldn't afford to hold her for the 6-8 weeks until she was free of the mange for the surgery, so she was scheduled to be put down. A Ratbone Rescues just happened to be checking on another dog who ended up being adopted. The shelter workers mentioned Suki as an afterthought and the volunteer told them to hold her. It just so happened that the local Ratbone volunteer was taking 2 other dogs to the airport to fly to Seattle foster homes and a third dog, the same exact weight, that was booked in cargo for the flight couldn't get a health certificate. So Suki was able to take the other dog's spot and last night arrived in Seattle, hungry and terrified.

At first we thought we would have our hands full. She barked and snarled and wouldn't come out of her crate. But once she was fed and had some water she started playing with our dog Frodo and doing rat runs all around the house. In spite of the sores all over her body, she plays like any puppy and she is such a little lover. As much as she loves to play with Frodo, if there's a lap open somewhere she'd rather crawl up and snuggle with the humans.

She looks to be a pure bred rat terrier and will likely get up to around 15 pounds. She's a piebald tri-color type and her six big black spots are nearly symmetrical - almost like a ladybug's would be. The type of mange she has doesn't spread to humans or other dogs, other than from mother to pup.

The word "suki" is Japanese and loosely translates to liking or being fond of someone or something. It seemed perfect for such a loving little girl.