Abandoned, scared, alone and left for dead on the wide open prairie, Norah's life and ours crossed paths at just the right moment. I had no business taking such a long route home, but we're all thankful I did.

I had finished up a full day's work in Fort Morgan by lunchtime. It was a sunny day, and being in no hurry to get home, I decided to take a long, slow ride on the backroads of eastern Colorado. My meandering took me to the Pawnee National Grasslands. The Grasslands are a vast expanse of open, semi-arid shortgrass prairie, with pleasing views of the mountains. In the middle of this, on a road that was nothing more than a two-track, I spotted an extremely odd-looking animal. Excited, I stopped to look, when it dawned on me that it was a tiny dog! It was so unexpected, that's why it looked odd at first. I grabbed a beef stick from my lunch box in hopes of getting close to it, but that was unnecessary. It ran right over! I gave it a tiny bit of beef stick and could see immediately that something was wrong. It couldn't chew it right.

I picked it up and noticed how light it was, and that it was covered in burrs and sticks stuck in its fur. It was very docile. I immediately called our vet and asked if they could examine it right away. Since I planned to take it home before going to a shelter, I also asked for a dewormer.

On the 45-minute ride to the vet's office, I picked out as many of the stickers as I could while still driving safely. The little pupper crawled into my lap and watched the scenery roll by out the window.

When we arrived at the vet, we learned that she has a chip, so that was good. The doctor gave her a quick exam and declared a relatively clean bill of health... except for her teeth. Her teeth are in terrible shape.

On the chip ID site, we learned that she is 12 years old and her name is Norah! We filled out the contact form to reach the owner. We also notified the Humane Society and listed a "found dog" on the Larimer and Weld County Lost Pets Facebook pages.

No one came for her.

She got along famously with our two dogs, so we decided that instead of leaving her at the shelter, we would foster her until she was claimed.

No one came for her.

After six weeks, the Humane Society reached out and asked what we would like to do with her. Well, we had been in love with her since the first day, so we leaped at the chance to keep her.

She's an old sweetheart who keeps her larger siblings in line. She's generally healthy, but her old eyes are frosting over, and the biggest issue is her teeth. They are causing her considerable discomfort and she has gargoyle breath. We want her to live out her last few years in comfort, but we hadn't budgeted for a third dog, let alone a major medical procedure. We think that the cost to get them fixed was part of the reason her former owners cruelly abandoned her. We would never abandon her, but we hate having to wait to get her fixed up.

I got a quote from County Line Vet in Berthoud, Colorado. It is very reasonable, with the potential costs ranging from $900 to $1150. That quote is now in the photos.We're asking for help in getting this sweet old girl's teeth to a point that she is not in daily pain. Anything you can contribute will be greatly appreciated.

I have been asked by contributors to have the funds sent directly to the service provider. I checked with them, and they are willing to accept donations for Norah directly. County Line Vet can be reached at (7 two 0)Five 2 zero-4 three 6 one. They are a wonderful group of animal care providers.