Fozzie Bear...

I am writing this while my Fozzie Bear is still alive… though he is so weak and can hardly stand without falling, he still happily barks at visitors to come and greet him. The pain in his legs has gotten to the point that he cries quietly all day, so at least now he is comfortable these last few days - I made sure of that… The hardest part is that his mind is fine, it's his poor body that has finally worn out…

I met Fozzie when he was so tiny he actually looked like his Muppet namesake. (Namesake, is that right?) He had that short stubby puppy-bear nose and big wide eyes, all fluffy black and brown… He still had his fourth leg, but it was wrapped with "Please Adopt me" written on his bandage (by CC, my lil sis, who was a vet tech at the hospital - she was the one who told me about him). It was as thin as a stick and he used it like a little cane, though he was able to run around with it, tapping it every second on the floor. The story was he had been hit by a car and a junky was holding him - with the 4th leg dangling like meat - trying to sell him for drugs. Luckily the guy who gave him $20 brought him directly to my vet - and into loving, caring hands.

I hadn't had a dog since I was a kid, but as soon as I saw Fozzie, he was my baby boy. They removed his leg and he came home with a giant bandage that stretched all around him, and a big, wide smile. How can you resist a little puppy with three legs that's always smiling??? Fozzie didn't know he only had three legs - it didn't impact him until he was around 7 or so and the ACLs on both back legs had torn. Two operations later, he had metal parts put in his legs to help him walk again… We called him the Bionic Dog at that point.

Baby boy, never a complaint…

When I first wrote the short story "Spring - Untitled" - which later became the source for ANAFAE - I saw Fozzie as her guardian Fauz Fenris: a three-legged dog that grew a fourth leg of flora when Mother Nature stood by him… His personality burst from the pages. It is going to be hard to continue ANAFAE with him gone, but at the same time he will live on and on now…

Fozzie loved his big sister, Sugar, and especially loved his little sisters Daisy and Zendra. He raised my puppy, baby Nola, well. They all loved to chew on his neck while lying on their backs beneath his chin - Fozzie seemed vicious as he opened his wide jaws, only to gently touch their necks in play. He was always the most gentle and nurturing when new kittens were adopted - they would bat at his nose as he stared at them wide-eyed.

Fozzie went very peacefully, he had a wonderful, happy life - so hard to say goodbye... The doc found a large mass while examining him, so the time was right, to be sure...