Name/Age: Axel - approx. 2 y/o
Family Members: Meredith, Steven, Hazel- 7 y/o, Wren- 6 y/o, Garcia- fur brother age 9
How long has Axel been in the family? Since Sept. 2018 as a foster; as an official family member since Jan. 2019
Professions: My husband and I are both high school teachers
Location: Hiram, GA.
Nicknames: Axel Rose, Ax Money, Bubba
5 words/phrases that best describe Axel?
Crazy
Soulful
Affectionate
Loving
Happy
What makes Axel unique? He is a tripod.
He flies through the air with the greatest of ease!
Rescue Story: Axel was a stray. He arrived at the Gwinnett County Animal Shelter with a hip injury (turns out he had the hip injury plus a broken pelvis) and sat there for over 60 days before he was fortunate enough to be chosen by Surgery for Strays. He had FHO surgery (Femoral Head Osteotomy) on September 18 and then he came to us a few days later. With all he had been through, he was still so sweet and gentle. I noticed immediately that there was something strange about the way his hip looked. It bulged and he wouldn’t use his leg. After heavily medicating him and seeing the vet numerous times, Axel had his back left leg amputated on November 20. He was immediately relieved. He has become unstoppable. His fur brother, Garcia, decided that this foster was meant to be his adopted brother. While Garcia had been indifferent to other dogs, he eagerly played with Axel and allowed him to snuggle up close to him. For my birthday last January, my husband okay’d the adoption and we told our kids and made a tremendous video announcement. Axel is soooo happy now! He has no clue that he only has three legs...
Pre-surgery
Post Surgery!
What is your favorite pastime as a family? We love taking Axel to my parents’ pool to play with their dog and to hang out with the family. He loves to get in the baby pool and soak himself. He also constantly checks up on all of the family. He must know where everyone is at all times. We also love watching movies with animals in them. Axel gets into them. His favorites are Benji and Lady and the Tramp remakes.
What is life like since you rescued Axel? Axel is loved every single day. He gets treats and pets. He has a fur brother who chose him as his playmate and companion. I am going through a lot personally as my father has stage IV cancer. Axel has soul dog potential. He knows when I need him to just be calm and relaxed. He looks into my eyes and makes me feel so much better. My son has also come around to becoming a dog lover. He was more about cats, but Axel has stolen his heart. My daughter has become committed to the rescue cause and especially wants to help pit bulls.
Photographers Note: First thing I noticed when I walked in their door was that this particular weekend I had back to back black pittie volunteers with sweet tri-color fur siblings. That doesn’t happen very often! Next of course I was greeted by Axel and his brother. They were both excited to meet a new friend and show me their yard. We haven’t had a ton of tripod volunteers and the ones that we have had, we were in a location that wasn’t really conducive to running around. I was amazed at how fast and agile Axel was during our session. He was just nonstop playing with the kids and having the best time. Which always takes me back to the resilience of dogs. They live in the now and adapt to what they need to adapt to. They don’t feel sorry for themselves, they just push forward and live their best life as is, such a beautiful thing to witness and something us humans could learn from. Clearly this sweet boy with all of his energy, happiness and let’s not forget the ability to take flight (see above) would not have been the same dog with a painful leg to drag around.