Thumper

Hi. My name is Thumper, and I'm an AmericanEskimoPomeranianPekingese mix. I know that's a mouthful! Have you seen my tiny mouth? Is it any wonder they call me "the Underbiter" when I have that mouthful to say whenever someone asks what breed I am?? At least I'm cute. I can't imagine being a mouthful of ugly. I'm cute, and my humans call me "fluffbutt," "fluffnuggett," and "Mr. Dawg."

I have to admit that we all look very young in this photo, myself included. Gosh, my fur was white when I was little! And I hadn't discovered burdock yet, so I didn't know what tangles truly could do to a guy's fur. What misery! Ai yai yai. But that's not the point of this story. The point today is how I saved four humans. Yes, these three and one more. Stop sniffing each other's butts and I'll tell you how it happened.

Twenty-eight years ago--four to you humans--the pretty lady in this picture lay in a hospital bed in a coma. Her doctors thought that she was going to die, and they told her boys and her husband to get ready to lose her. But they prayed and prayed, and she got better little by little. First, her lungs began to work. Then her kidneys began to work. Finally, she learned how to walk again, and she was able to go home from the hospital! She still had a long time of recovery before she was completely well, and she would be alone in the house all day.

To keep her company, to force her to get up from her bed and move around a few times a day, and to make everyone in the family happy again, the Pixel Fund sent me to their home when I was just over one year old. I heard her husband say that he'd never had a pet dog before, but he was ready to have one. I made sure to spend as much time with him as possible. He left the house every morning and was gone all day, so when he came home I'd greet him by the door with happy tail wagging and jumping up to make sure he understood I wanted to sit with him.

While he was out of the house, I'd sit with the pretty lady until I needed to do my business outside. Then she'd take me to the yard and I'd get my private job done. If I did the big biz, she'd give me a special treat when we returned to the house! She and the man took turns feeding me. The taller boy played with me a lot. He knew just how to scratch my tummy and behind my ears, and I liked playing pull the blanket with him. Sometimes, he would play a little rough, but I liked that, and he let me bite him gently through my blankets.

The smaller boy didn't seem to know what to do with me at first, but eventually he figured it out, and we've been great buddies ever since. I get to sit with him in his chair almost every day. He's a wonderful snuggle buddy, and he rubs my fur and plays with me. Now that he is older, his dad trusts him to take me outside to do my private biz, and he is more patient with me than he used to be.

That wonderful picture was taken not long after I joined the family, and the pretty lady was beginning to feel so much better after staying in the hospital for two months. Having me as part of the family has made everyone happier, and they've gotten more exercise, and that has been so important to all four of them! Because of this, I can say that I saved the lives of four humans! What have you done?