After rough start, pup finds lots of love

Bobby the boxer has a loving mom, friendly canine siblings and 151 Facebook fans - a life no one would have predicted if they had seen him just months ago.

Dumped on April 4 in a Carson City park, a passerby picked up the little pup and delivered him to Carson City Animal Control. It was clear that despite his perfect appearance, there was something wrong. He constantly moved like a bobble-head doll - and thus he was dubbed Bobby.

Animal Control Supervisor Pat Wiggins said the puppy was taken the following day to Lone Mountain Veterinary Clinic where he remained as doctors pondered his condition and shared his story.

Then one day, Joanne Lofthouse brought one of her cocker spaniels into Lone Mountain for a checkup. She saw the tiny brindle boxer sleeping in the vet's office and learned about his hard-luck life.

On her next visit, she held the puppy. Then, she said, she asked to take him home for the night.

By May, despite his obvious medical issues and that fact that he could no longer walk, she adopted him.

There was something about Bobby that touched Joanne deeply, she said. He was like nothing else.

"Why would you dump a dog this beautiful," said Lofthouse on Wednesday as Bobby did his best to reach a visitor with his tongue. "Even in his condition, I see the most beautiful animal and he just loves everyone. There's not a mean bone in his body."

Donations from strangers through the Carson Tahoe SPCA allowed Lofthouse to take and have him checked out by the University of California, Davis Veterinary Hospital in July. The diagnosis was cerebellar hypoplasia, an untreatable condition resulting from a lack of brain development at birth. Nothing will ever stop him from bobbing, and he will never be able to walk.

But his sweet disposition, and demand for attention, makes it easy for people to help, said Joanne. In the coming weeks donations will pay for a cart so Bobby will be mobile. And friends have volunteered time and money to help Joanne create a 13-by-13 foot space in the backyard so he has grass to wallow in.

His Facebook page under "Bobby Lofthouse" is quickly filling up with friends. Joanne updates frequently, imagining what Bobby would say if he could do it himself, and his friends talk directly to him.

And at home Joanne dotes on him.

"I may not be able to give him high-dollar medical stuff, but I can give him a lot of love," she said. "He's a special little boy and he definitely steals your heart."