Everybody, meet Minnie! She’s an 11 year old Shih Tzu, originally from Hawaii. She walked up to me when I was on my porch in Hoover Monday night. At first, I couldn’t tell if she was a dog or skunk, she was so matted and filthy. As soon as I stepped off my porch, she approached me and I also noticed she had a horribly swollen eye, bulging to the point that it was protruding from underneath a thick clump of matted hair and mud. Seeing no one around and unable to find any collar or tags, I immediately brought her inside for some water, then took her to the emergency vet for them to scan for a chip. Turns out, Minnie did have a chip, but it had never been registered. At this point, there was nothing else the vet could do, so we took her back home. After two baths and two hours of trimming mattes, (during which time Minnie didn’t fight back or bark at all), we called it a night and went to bed. The next morning, we took her to our family’s usual vet. By some incredible sleuthing, the vet techs were able to track down the manufacturer of the chip and find out that it was activated ten years ago in Hawaii. By contacting various Hawaiian humane societies that use that brand of chip, they found a match. Sure enough, googling the name of the woman who adopted the Shih Tzu chipped on that day, we found that she now lives in Hoover, Alabama. The vet called her and asked if she lost her dog, and we were shocked to hear that “Minnie ran away during our fireworks on the 4th of July and I’m tired of her so I just let her go.” This means that Minnie was lost, walking through the woods in Hoover, for 10 days. The woman said the vet could bring her the dog back, “but I will just get rid of her”. They asked if she would surrender the dog to me instead , and she immediately agreed, but declined to provide any medical history or personal information about Minnie at all. But, with Minnie now safe and legally mine, the vet could begin treating her. They had to fully shave her to do the exam and allow her skin to heal from the super tight mats, (they had definitely been growing for months, not just for the 10 days since she had run away). We got drops for her eye, which should help with the swelling, but due to such a long period of neglect by her previous owner, she has lost total vision in the eye. There is a chance that if the drops don’t work the eye will need to be surgically removed. Additionally, Minnie has not been spayed and had toenails so long they had grown back into her paw pad. Despite all of this, however, Minnie’s precious personality shines through. She’s so, so sweet and completely non-aggressive. After four days with her, she still has yet to bark or make a sound. She’s a huge cuddler and an absolute goofball, rolling around on the floor and spinning in circles when you smile at her. Additionally, she is great with our cats and has had no problems with other dogs, either. And this girl loves car rides, too! We are starting a go fund me to raise money for Minnie and her quickly mounting medical bills. While we love her and are happy to do whatever she needs, we definitely were not expecting the extra expense of an elderly Shih Tzu! Anything at all is greatly appreciated.