Today is Sprite's 15th Birthday

Little Sprite is a Dachshund (maybe Chihuahua mix) that became our foster dog in early December 2010. He came to us through Coast-to-Coast Dachshund rescue (one of the rescues we work with). He was a mess when he arrived. He was almost 14 years old when a rescue worker took him from a home where an elderly couple raised him. The husband had passed away and the wife went into a nursing home. When he was rescued, he had fleas, so the initial rescuer had to give him several flea baths and comb out the fleas.
   - Rob drove to Frederick, Md. and met the rescuer and brought Sprite home. Sprite was a calm little guy, but wasn't even housebroken at almost 14!  His breath was so bad that Rob had to drive home with the windows opened in the wintertime.
  - The Rescue paid for Sprite's vet visits: He needed 20 teeth removed (the rotted teeth caused the bad breath), it hurt him to eat, poor thing. We de-wormed him, had him on anti-biotics for about 6 months, and he had to be neutered, too. It took about 6 months for his teeth and operation to heal. Meanwhile, he learned from Dolly and Franklin how to be housebroken. He had accidents (and got over a urinary tract infection), but is now housebroken and happily wags his tail. He has a heart murmur and arrithymia, and his kidneys weakened this past summer.  Cranberry pills have helped with his kidneys!
   - He's very obedient and finally after 12 months comes to us for a head scratch and affection. We could tell that he never had any affection from his home of almost 14 years. He was also never picked up- and now he loves sitting in our laps while we're watching TV. He loves his soft treats, and grunts for dinner and breakfast. Even though 15, he still goes up and down stairs by himself. He also walks 2-3 times a day with Dolly and Franklin - about 1/2 to 1 mile each time.
  - We formally adopted Sprite this summer, knowing that with his health a change of households would be very bad on his little heart. We love our little senior boy so very much and are so happy he's celebrating his 15th year with us. Happy Birthday Sprite, our little "peehead," and "squeety-mouse." He "Squeets"  or grunts while waiting for dinner!