Elton's time

During the Sad Times, Elton's house was a plastic barrel. He spent a lot of time going round and round in circles and wondering what it might feel like to move in a straight line.

He could barely believe it when the New People came by to tell him that his life had just changed.

One of his first friends in California showed him the fun of rolling around on the cool green grass. Elton hadn't felt this good since he pushed up next to his mama as a young babe.

His good memories came rushing back to him all at once in this place ... He remembered what it was like to bounce and play like he used to when he was a wee pup.

He felt safe here and slept better than he'd slept in ages.

Every day was a new discovery. There were amazing new things to smell and taste in this California place.

And new friends who wanted to chase and laugh.

One day, the big furry friend took him into the 'big house' for the first time and said, "Look - It's time for you to leave this place. Where you're going, you'll have your very own house just like this one and your very own family. You'll need to remember what we taught you about not peeing on the big house floor, and not taking food from the people's plates. You just need to do this. Watch. You lay on the floor when you're resting and you wait for the people to tell you how beautiful you are. They do that a lot. You'll do just fine, little buddy."

Tomorrow, Elton leaves for his brand new life. We all plan on missing him like crazy.

Many thanks to the staff of Walter Crowe Animal Shelter of South Carolina for getting Elton to safety. He was the only adult dog from this family of dogs to survive, so is incredibly special to all of us. Carry on in the name of your tribe, Little Man. You do them all proud!