Somehow the little lost dog may have known the East Ridge doorstep where he sat would prove to be his salvation.
Wandering around East Ridge for several months, none of the community’s residents had success capturing him. He was a mass of matted fur, obviously neglected, and either abandoned by someone or had wandered inside the community.
“One of my neighbors called and asked me if my dog was outside,” explained Greta Brasington. “Although my dog, Katie, was inside, this poor creature was right outside my front door. I also had seen him wandering in East Ridge and offered him some food but initially he wouldn’t get close.”
Greta called her friend Marjorie Swensson, the daughter of former East Ridge resident Mary Frances Robertson to seek her advice since she did a lot of dog rescue work.
Marjorie and Greta took the dog to the closest vet and found that the dog didn’t have a chip.
“It was difficult to even tell if the dog was male or female because it was so matted,” she explained. “You couldn’t see his eyes and he looked a little wild. But they determined that the dog was between five and seven years old and an unneutered male Shih Tzu.”
The water was completely black when the dog was bathed. Marjorie took the dog’s pictures and posted them on Facebook with a plea for the names of groomers who specialized in extremely matted dogs.
A dog groomer from Wilton Manors in Broward County, Samantha Strong, almost immediately responded and volunteered to help at no charge. She wanted to do a good deed and begged to be allowed to groom the dog. A few days later she arrived at East Ridge and very lovingly removed most of the matted hair from the little dog’s coat. But the dog resisted being trimmed near his face.
“My regular groomer who comes for Katie was able to complete the job and his beautiful face was revealed,” Greta said.
She decided to name the dog Wilson, after the volleyball that served as Tom Hank’s companion in the movie, “Cast Away”.
Wilson has been inoculated and microchipped and under Greta’s care, gaining some weight on his skinny body.
Wilson gets along famously with Greta’s dog, a 12 year-old Maltese, and has fit perfectly into the household. He loves going to the East Ridge dog park with Greta on her bicycle and socializing with other dogs.
“Mr. Wilson has become so attached to me and he makes me so happy,” she said.
How did Wilson transition to be called Mr. Wilson?
Greta explains, “Just watch him walk. He struts like a king with his head held high. Mr. Wilson simply suits him more”.
Comments are closed.