Back in January, 2007, a momma and litter came to rescue in bad shape -- their story is here.

One boy, in particular, caught my eye -- the runt of the litter that was no bigger than my fist, yet had a strong will to live -- so I named him Mighty -- and here is his story...

Here is Mighty's mom, Mitzi, as she came to the shelter --

-- basically starving herself tofeed her babies.

The litter, here, was overall healthy, initially, until a "foster" down South kept the babies -- poorly.

In short, when received them, 7 of the 10 babies died, two of them with the Southern "foster" --

-- I later found out this "foster" cremated the two pups in herback yard in a 55 gallon drum --

-- heartbreaking -- :(

On to little Mighty --

-- here is how he looked 1 week in to fostering --

-- just unattached, and seemingly dis-interested in much --

-- so, we started feeding him -- a LOT -- !!

I syringe fed him Esbilac liquid every hour, and he ate Oma's raw chicken veg mix (heated, of course!) as his main regimen --

-- here he is, with brother Harv, when I first realized this boy's will to live --

-- he was like a little hoover vac, easting food off my hand -- !!

-- and then, after his mean --

-- I know, I know, not any beauty school product, buy hey, that wasn't his intention --

-- he was hanging on, trying to live.

-- and then, as the days went on, his fur started coming out in patches --

-- as if it couldn't get any worse -- :(

You can see the size difference here -- Mighty is roughly 1/2 the size of his brother.

And this is where he spent many moments --

-- either under the blankets, atop a heating pad, or in my fleece pullover -- :D

Again, the boys and their size difference!

One week later, and Might's doing quite well.

What makes me happy about him is his responsiveness and alert eyes -- something he hadn't shown much of before -- GREAT NEWS -- :D

Here's the boys' eating regimen --

-- Might is still fighting here --

!

And then, I'd see him running around, looking like this --

-- and I knew we still had an uphill battle -- :(

Boom -- !!

Just like that, our boy went through a transformation -- !!

He was nice an weighty, and you couldn't feel a BONE on his BODY -- !!

Plus, he started shedding his old, ratty fur, and came in to a nice, sweet fuzz --

I LOVE IT -- !!

Also, our boy is much more alert, and his eyes are tracking together --

-- thankfully -- !!

-- gone are the blank stares on these boys' faces, and now they're exploring the world with a fresh new outlook -- :D

And this little man -- what a survivor -- weighing just a couple of pounds soaking wet, and finally coming along --

-- look at those eyes -- :D

So, to me, gone are the days of teetering with death, and in are the days of GROWTH -- !!

Mighty actually preferred the raw food over the traditional canned food -- and to me, that was wonderful -- the raw was all natural, more easily digested, and it KEPT THEM EATING --

-- without that desire, they would have perished -- :(

So, with that, these boys are on their way --

So that's where we are, all, made the best of a bad situation, and I was ecstatic that these little souls were pulling through.

All was being done in memory of Cooper, Dixie, Trixie and Pearl -- plus their three siblings that died before the transport up North.

And now, a little personality started coming through on our boy's face!

Beth in Georgia sent up a load of toys for the pups --

-- and they obliged -- !!

Slowly, Might kept developing --

-- nothing short of stunning, he is, our little Mighty -- !!

So, BIG THANKS to Beth for bringing a twinkle in these boys' eyes --

-- they're happy and healthy -- FINALLY!

What a long, hard trip this has been --

-- here's the first day I saw Mighty, after Erica had him in intensive care at her vet's for a week --

-- and then today, sort of a GQ-ish "what?" look --

-- we'll take it -- !!

And finally, my favorite pictures of the "recovery" -

-- his wrinkly pig look -- !!

So now, we fast forward another month, to a family that is very much hurting from the loss of their beloved, Drexel.

Julietts and Ram are wonderful people, and the collage below shows that love...

After a great home-visit, Juliette meets her newest addition --

-- complete with prom-king leash and collar -- !!

-- so with that, Mighty is off to his next chapter --

-- andit is sad, but triumphant.

And I say my good-byes --

:(

So, when life gets mundane, and non-rewarding, think of stories like this --

-- the little boy that could.

He fought with his entire life to get to this moment, and we were so proud to deliver...

-- and we remember, who he was, just three short months ago, when I expected to find his little body stiff and cold each morning when going to the crate --

-- but instead, found a little boy, vibrant and looking for life -- :D

And, to me, there's no denying this boy's new home --

-- that it's almost divinely chosen for him --

-- he's not replacing Drexel to Juli and Ram, he's just a new addition --

-- and they love him so.

"My mom has three little dogs- chihuahua mixes- who are over alot, so he's been getting schooled in the likes of little dogs barking at him- and the other day he chased and chased one in circles in the yard, they were playing- but couldn't catch her- they were having such a blast-
my 13 year old stepson, Malcolm, LOVES him-
Josie (2) is a little scared, she likes to check him out when he's in his crate, but I know they're going to grow up as the best of friends-
he loves my two cats, actually, loves every one,
the other night we went and visited a friend of a friend's animal sanctuary- thye gave us a special tour for our employees from the tattoo shop and us, because one of our artists tattoos the guy who runs it-
thye have macaws, alligators, chinchillas, sugar gliders, giant pythons, tortoises, rats, the list goes on, well as part of my determination that Mighty will be as well socialized as drexel, that is, to the nth degree, we brought him, and he did great!!
we started puppy class last night, and it went well, he really didn't know anything, but he's already learning stuff!
I can feel Drexel watching over us... God, I miss him so much, and can still drop tears at any moment, but Mighty is giving me such pure puppy love it really helps.
I will post some pics from the past few days soon-
yesterday was my birthday, and I couldn't have had a better one!
thank you all for your support,
eric you are awesome!! Thanks for EVERYTHING!!! and Tracy, and Jaime, the list goes on...
what a great community of good people.
xoxox
Juliette"

and further...

" he keeps fidgeting around in my lap, because he's alittle big for it, and I'm typing, but he doesn't want to get down!! Eric, I'm touched that we're "hallmark home" status- but it is true- our animals truly are family members and live like kings and queens-
the Drexel tattoo isn't even a memorial one! I got it like 10 years ago, when I was an early- 20 something still getting used to the power of my love for a dog- my Drex who taught me so much-"

Well, blessed are the joymakers --

-- and triumphant are the survivors -- :D

Thank you to everyone, each step of the way, who made this story possible -- I am so proud of our little man, and of his new family -- !!

We look forward to many future updates -- !!

Well, what a happy update we have -- indeed!

Juli writes --

"So I took Mighty and Lulu for studio portraits...

... and they CRACK me up!!

it was SO hard to get them to sit like that. Mighty kept trying to eat the little white plastic flowers that were in the astro-turf mat. And Lulu kept snarling at him every time he'd nudge her too much."

"Lulu IS an italian greyhound-
but ususally they're skinny and don't have such bug eyes.

she's 13 and is deaf and has heart disease (4 different meds twice a day!) but i love her!

you guys think these pics of her are funny, I have thirteen years of Halloween photos of her and drexel...oh boy!"

Well, what a moment for me, to see this boy all grown up, and thriving.

Also, to see him such an ambassador of the breed, living in an every day family, and glowing --

Here's Lulu, his little sister, who he used to look up to --

-- well now, with his growing as it is, she looks up to him...

... but I'm sure she's still in the driver's seat -- !!

So, to those who said it couldn't be done -- that he would grow up a man-eater and consume Lulu, the baby, and Juli's Boston home --

-- it isn't so.

Little Might is now Big Might, and he's a role model to how wonderfully these dogs can do when raised in caring, loving households.

I still am amazed such a little boy grew up to become such a handsome young man -- !!

Thank you to Juli and Ram and family for letting this boy thrive, and for keeping us updated --

-- Mighty represented so much hope to all of us as we watched him fight to survive, and now the fight is over -- he's gliding through life without a worry on his mind --

-- exactly as we'd hoped he would --

-- THANK YOU!