THIS MONTH'S PROMOTION

The people have spoken! Over 150 people voted for Pet of the Year and the pet with the most votes went to May's Pet of the Month - SPIKE! He is an awesome dog with a stature of a king! Good thing too because he will hold the crown for Pet of the Year 2008! In addition to having his picture front and center at all four Pet Source locations, Spike and his owner have won a Pet of the Year Trophy and a $50 gift certificate to the Pet Source! Stay tuned for future issues of the Pet Source Times as we will run an article about Spike - 2008's PET OF THE YEAR!

Everyone give a round of applause for all the 2008 Pet of the Month winners! We would like to thank Annie, Bilbo, Casey, Chloe, Danica, Jill, Jules, Petruchio, Samantha, Tanaka & Tweak for being GREAT runners up and just all around cute animals!

SPIKE'S STORY

    We first met Spike at the Sterling Animal Shelter in September of 2007. We knew we wanted to find a puppy and there were many there to choose from. So many young, cute, energetic, loud puppies! But there, in the largest pen, was a 5-month old very quiet, calm, black lab mix just laying on his side ignoring all the noise of the other puppies. We had to hear his story.

   As it turned out, he had been sharing that large pen with his sister until earlier in the day when she was adopted. We knew we had to bring him home. After a few days, Spike came out of his shell and really started to become a part of the family. We fell in love with his timid, sweet personality but also became worried. He didn't act like a normal puppy. His actions and movements were that of a much older dog.

   Getting out of his bed in the morning was a long process, going up and down stairs seemed like a painful act for him. So, after many vet visits, x-rays, etc., we found out that the dog that was now very much a part of our family was most likely born with some major structural defects. Hip dysplasia as well as elbow dysplasia. We treated him with pain medication and glucosamine and were very careful not to overtax his fragile joints.
   In February of 2008, due to the pressure on his week joints, Spike dislocated his knee running up a snow bank in our yard. After approximately 3 long months of recuperating from surgery, Spike was back to his normal self. And now, a year after surgery, Spike is better than ever. He still has his glucosamine supplement every morning, but has not needed any pain medication for a long time. We think now that he's fully grown, the dysplasia is not as bad as when he was a puppy! He still hops like a rabbit when he runs and is not nearly as coordinated as other dogs, but we LOVE him and can't imagine life without him. Thank you all for voting him 2008 Pet of the Year!

Sincerely,
Gary, Heather, Isabela and Sofia