Happy Story about a Happy Dog

I just had to share about the wonderful children at Ricardo Richards Elementary School. Of course, I'm a bit biased because I teach there, but our children always get the bad rap, and I just had to share...

We've had a stray dog hanging around our school grounds for about a week now. He was severely malnourished (literally skin and bones - and not even a bit of a rump for a butt), covered with fleas and obviously starving. He had a spot around his neck where some type of rope had embedded into him enough to leave him with a scar. I could go on, but I think you get the idea. Poor dog!

So, my husband and I decided to try to do the right thing and decided that we would try to adopt him. We brought him the vet yesterday, and awaited the call to see how his tests were. They gave him a flea bath, cleaned him up, drew blood, etc.

Unfortunately, the news we received was awful - He has heartworms and other worms and needs treatment. Unfortunately, on a teacher's salary, I knew that we could not financially take care of his needs and decided that we would probably have him put to sleep.

When the children asked about him today, I told them the story about his heart worms and explained that it would be very expensive to make him better. They looked at me and said, "We can save him! If it's just money, we'll just ask everyone to bring $1 to help him. Would that be enough?"

So, with their permission, I approached our administration, and they thought it would be a wonderful learning opportunity for the students, and agreed to "Save Ricky!" (Named after the school)

Normally, Fridays are "buy a snack day" - and most children bring a few dollars to buy a snack, but they were deciding to not have a snack, so they could "Save Ricky!"

So, he's now at our house, trying to figure out what to do with a pillow and a soft bed...and hiding his bones.

I just thought that this would bring a smile to some of you pet lovers out there!