portada time to read 2

TIME TO READ - RAISING SWEETIE
RAISING SWEETIE
After tearfully burying her beloved pet poodle, Sweetie,
Glenda Stevens, a Park Hills mother, would have to explain
what happened to her four year daughter, Sara. Sweetie had
been run over by a mail delivery truck, and not wanting Sara,
who was napping at the time, to see, Mrs. Stevens checked
for vital signs and finding none, hastened to bury the dog
before Sara woke up.
About two hours later when the child woke up, Mrs. Stevens
gently tried to tell the child about the accident. Little
Sara begged to see the grave and Glenda reluctantly took
her to the back yard where the dog was buried. Sara ran
ahead and when she was near the site she began to scream.
The dog´s hind legs were kicking wildly above the ground in
an effort to dig herself out.
Mrs. Stevens pulled the dog out and wrapped her in a
blanket. She then grabbed Sara and rushed to the nearest
vet. Sweetie had suffered a broken front leg and a broken
jaw. The vet´s opinion was that it would be cruel to let her
continue to suffer. Mrs. Stevens refused the vet´s suggestion
to put the dog to sleep, “She’s my baby and I love her.” She
felt that if the dog had survived both being hit by a truck and
being buried alive she must do everything in her power to
help her live. Besides, Mrs. Stevens recalled that Sweetie
had once brought help when she herself had fainted and
fallen in the bathroom.
Mrs. Stevens rushed Sweetie to a specialist in Saint Louis to
have her jaw fixed. Within a few days Sweetie was able to
eat soft food. She is reported to be doing fine although she
lost a few teeth and will limp for the rest of her days.
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