Good evening!

I am excited to join this family of folks like me who have a "wonderdog" in your homes. My nickname for my best buddy is Tank the Tripawd Wonderdog, but I know in this setting, every person on this forum is in the presence of your own "wonderdog" or "wondercat."

My best friend is a six-year-old lab/pit mix who just moved into my home in rural South Carolina three months ago, but it feels like we've known each other forever. Tank had been living with my sister, but they were downsizing their home and she regrettably did not have room in their new smaller home for a 60-pound bundle of pure energy like this guy. That's how our lives became interwoven for the rest of our days together.

I had met Tank when I visited my sister and stayed in her guest bedroom. That first night, Tank jumped up onto the guest bed and snoozed 'til morning. Each time I had visited since, he stuck close to me and shared the guest bedroom. We became fast friends.

Tank lost his right front leg in an act of senseless violence. His previous owner shot him for some unknown reason. Tank showed up at my niece's house, his front leg barely hanging on and his back right leg shattered. My niece rushed him to an emergency vet, who performed the amputation and saved his life, and then implanted pins in his back leg. 

Tank was nursed back to health and became a fixture in my niece's home, but when she became pregnant, she looked to relocate Tank a new forever home. My sister agreed to take in Tank and cared for him about a year until their recent lifestyle change. 

And now here Tank rests in what WILL be his forever home. I've had to make some lifestyle changes of my own; I was an unrepentant workaholic before Tank arrived three months ago, but now I have made a commitment to achieve a life/work balance that is more healthful for both of us. He has the best of everything I can possibly provide, and he has my love and respect for being such a cheerful survivor.

Tank has been a tremendous blessing to my life, and as a brand-new doggie daddy, I'm still very much in the learning curve. I'm a writer and broadcaster by trade for nearly 40 years, so I decided a couple weeks ago to chronicle this journey of discover with Tank in a new blog entitled CALL OF THE MILD, owing to Tank's mild-mannered personality and blithe spirit despite the horrific trauma he has lived through. 

You can visit the blog at http://www.call.....hemild.com. I look forward to interacting here in this forum with others who also have committed their lives to caring for a "tripawd wonderdog" (or "wondercat"). God bless you all!