Carter, Later Named Lazarus, Rises From the Dead

Pit puppy arrives in shelter, scheduled to be euthanized, discovered alive, rescued by FFHS, and now in forever home.

Email January 18, 2008, from Lou (Texas transporter and rescuer) to Cheryl:

Darling Baby Pit named Carter, Cage 20, 25 lbs. very friendly puppy. Available on Jan. 23, but if not adopted will be available that day or the next for Rescue. They will probably not keep him much longer than that. Let me know what you think. Lou

Email January 27, 2008, from Lou to Cheryl:

Cheryl, I was at Irving yesterday and Carter is still there. He is really cute. But he has not been adopted. I have tagged him. Can you still take him? They are very full and have a lot of Pit Bulls. I am already pretty booked for this coming week. Anyway, let me know if you can arrange to get him and I will meet someone to pull or maybe be able to get Russell that is at the Irving shelter everyday, to meet you. Please let me know. He should really get out of there this week. Thanks so very much for taking the two darling Pits from Carrollton. Lou

The shelter staff felt Carter had taken ill soon after Lou's last email, and decided euthanasia was best. Cheryl sent this email out to her friends January 31:

For Carter and all the other little pups that die in shelters every where, every day....we need to take a day and remember them, don't forget to look down....down at the eyes looking back up at us...just waiting for our eyes to lock with theirs...and in the moment, that very instant, that shared spark of hope that tells them they are now going to be safe in our arms. A candle is lit tonight at my house for Carter and all the other Carters around the world. Kiss your furkids tonight and find peace in your hearts and homes. Take care, Cheryl



On Friday February 1, Cheryl got a phone call from Lou. It turns out Carter was alive! The staff had gotten busy and did not rush the procedure on the normal euthanasia day. This email came out Friday, February 1 from Cheryl to her friends:

Everyone has probably heard by now that Carter is alive! By some miracle, the person doing the euth, got called away and when he got back, did not think Carter should be put down after all! I got the call on Friday and then the calls spread like wildfire! Carter is now named Lazarus and is in safety with Forever Friends! Thanks to all who had special thoughts for him! I think it saved his life! Cheryl

On Saturday February 2, Shelley (another of our famous Texas transporters) brought Lazarus to Cheryl across the TX-OK border. Lazarus was adopted soon therefater in March. The following email was received from his family on June 28, 2008.



Hello Tina and Cheryl! Writing to give updates on Misha and Laz (aka Carter). It
has been a challenging few months but the dogs are doing quite well. Misha had to have Orthopedic surgery on 6/16. She had a developmental problem in which the fragmented medial coronoid process in the left elbow joint broke off! She is much better and got the stitches out on Thursday...now her and Laz can resume play again...confinement for 10 days was tough! I recently took Laz to the vet, and he weighed in at 55lbs..only 8 months old! Hes a porker! Misha had lost 6 pounds prior to surgery and was down to 54lbs but is now back up to 58lbs! The doctor found very little arthritis and said she should make a full recovery. We have found through trial and error that bones, rawhides, meat of any kind is restricted to separate cage enjoyment only but that is to be expected with most dogs. They do fine playing though, but we have to keep rope toys outside or they go crazy and have knocked the coffee table over a time or two! It is stressful having 2 pitties, but fun nonetheless! We are hopeful that they will continue to bond now that Misha is on the road to feeling better. She began this problem in April and it took until June to get it done, so as the pain increased so did her agitation with Laz! But they love each other and we love having Laz around. He is going to turn into quite the home protector! He barks when the wind blows wrong!!! But its good! I have attached some pictures so you can see how huge Laz is getting! Take care and thank you for saving these 2 wonderful dogs so that they may help fill our lives with their love and companionship!





How You Can Help

Please support the effort of Forever Friends Humane Society so that they can help more animals like Carter find forever homes.

Posted by Marti Lombardi for the FFHS community of the Best Friends Animal Society