FIGHTING CHANCE SOUGHT FOR WHITE BOXER PUP.Byline: DENNIS McCARTHY Dennis McCarthy may refer to:
The pure-breed boxer puppies were going for $1,000 each, except for the white one in the corner -- the runt The frame that remains after a collision on a CSMA/CD medium such as Ethernet. Runts are undersize packets, smaller than what the network protocol calls for, such as 64 bytes in Ethernet. Electrical interference or faulty wiring can also produce a runt. of the litter. He was going for $100. ``The breeder breeder 1. a person with an animal enterprise involving the multiplication of the herd, flock or group. 2. a female animal used basically for the production of saleable young. said she was going to be putting him to sleep because white boxers have so many health problems and shouldn't be bred,'' David Culley David Culley (born September 17, 1955 in Sparta, Tennessee) is currently the wide receivers coach with the Philadelphia Eagles. was telling Theresa Padgett after she stopped him in the appliances aisle at Lowe's home improvement store in Burbank a few weeks ago. ``I walked over, picked the little guy up, and he licked lick v. licked, lick·ing, licks v.tr. 1. To pass the tongue over or along: lick a stamp. 2. To lap up. 3. my face. That was it. I gave her the hundred dollars and took him home. His name's Nakota.'' Padgett smiled and thanked Culley for stopping to talk to her. She had been around all breeds of dogs growing up, but this was the first white boxer she had ever seen. ``He's beautiful,'' the Valley Village woman said, petting Nakota, now almost 18 months old. ``Yeah, he is,'' Culley said. ``I saved him once. I'm hoping I can save him again.'' That's when Padgett heard the rest of the story from other employees in the store -- how they were trying to help Culley, who works as an assistant manager at Lowe's, raise money for the open-heart surgery open-heart surgery Any surgical procedure opening the heart and exposing one or more of its chambers, most often to repair valve disease or correct congenital heart malformations (see congenital heart disease). Nakota is going to need to live. The valve carrying blood to his heart is damaged and needs to be replaced. It's a delicate operation done by only a handful of veterinarians Veterinarians and veterinary surgeons (vets) are medical professionals who operate exclusively on animals. Well-known and notable veterinarians include:
``He's a great dog, and you can tell how much David loves him,'' said Dr. William Herndon William Herndon may refer to:
vet·er·i·nar·i·an n. who has been treating Nakota but doesn't have the expertise to perform the operation. ``David's gone a long way already in giving this dog a good life that last year and a half, and, to his credit, he's still trying,'' Herndon said. He and Nakota don't get out much, Culley tells Padgett. That bad ticker of his could go at any time, so taking him to the park to chase a tennis ball or run with other dogs is out of the question. ``Once a day, we'll go out for a slow walk to the end of the block, then come home,'' the Sun Valley man says. ``He follows me around the house and never leaves my side when I'm home. At night, he'll climb up in bed with me and lay his head on my pillow. We're buddies.'' Every two weeks, Culley takes Nakota to the vet so the fluid leaking from the hole in his heart into his belly can be drained. Each visit costs $200, a pretty big chunk of money for the assistant manager of a hardware store. Add the six medications Nakota is on, and you realize why Culley says he doesn't get out much, either. ``It's OK. We hang out together. Every spare minute I'm not working, I'm with him. ``Nakota didn't get a fair shot starting out in life, and that's all I'm trying to give him now.'' ``A chance.'' A few of Culley's buddies at Lowe's started a Web site for Nakota. It's www.nakota.net if you're interested. dennis.mccarthy(at)dailynews.com (818) 713-3749 CAPTION(S): photo Photo: David Culley sits in Sun Valley Park with Nakota. He rescued the white boxer from almost certain death as the runt of the litter. But now Nakota needs open-heart surgery and Culley is trying to raise money for the operation. Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer |
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