Pet Name: Gentle Ben
Pet Home: Vass, NC
Pet Breed: German Sheperd
Pet Parent: Jean and Dan
Pet Story:
Ben was a walk-up. He just showed up one day. Wherever he had been he had not been well treated. His skin was so badly infected we thought he had the mange; the leather collar around his neck that was so tight it had worn his fur off. The frayed rope on his collar suggested he'd been tied to a tree.
Several of his teeth were broken or missing and he weighed eighty-five pounds. He was hand shy, which implies that he was physically mistreated.
My wife, Jean, is the real life equivalent of "Dr. Doolittle". After her care, he "turned into" the dog in the photo. His coat filled in and his final body weight tipped the scales at 120 pounds. He was huge.
With all he had been through, he had every right to not be the gentle soul he was. He was the gentlest dog I have ever known - as evidenced by the photo. Two of our kittens adopted him. Gentle though he was, I believe that he would have walked through fire if my wife were in danger. He is missed.