About Walt Whitman

This sweet, tail wagging senior looks up at us in awe with his deep soulful hound eyes when we sit next to him to rub his soft velvety ears and head. He has lived a life of abuse and neglect, yet is so miraculously gentle, loving, and easy-going. He was so timid and unsure--as if in disblief-- when we first showed him his warm indoor shelter, his very own bed and blankets, and his full food and water bowls.At his healthy weight, he should be about 45-50 lbs. He still needs to gain weight after being tied out and starved. Apparently, whoever did this to him got tired of looking at him and threw him over the fence into the exercise yard at the totally full high-kill shelter. We will neuter him in the first two weeks of December and are preparing to treat him for very faint HW+ diagnosis. He has some rope burns on his neck, his incisors are cut, and his teeth are in such bad shape that the vet I took him to in the same county as the rescue said it would be easy to overestimate his age, but judging from other signs like energy level he could be anywhere from 9-11. He has severe periodontal disease and won't eat hard food. He has a good amount of pep in his step, especially sniffing on walks. His tail wags a lot faster when he sees other canine buddies, kids, and new people. (We haven't heard him bark or whine once!) But true to his hound nature he loves more than anything to curl up by your side and nap.

Durham County
Durham, North Carolina