Serving Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, and other towns of the North Carolina High Country
Founded 05-05-05
February 15, 2007 issue
Three-Legged Ambassador Passes Away
Local Sanctuary Dog Touched Many Lives
Story by Celeste von Mangan
The three Wise Men of the East were called the Magi. They followed a star to a special newborn baby, bearing gifts for the child. One of the wise men was called Caspar. His gift was gold that helped finance the Holy Family’s flight to Egypt, a gift that symbolizes Christ’s immortality and purity. The name Caspar is Persian and means Bearer of Treasure. For his generosity, Caspar receives the gifts of charity and spiritual wealth.
A Canine Christmas Story
Our Caspar arrived at Christmastime too, 12 years ago, on a bitter cold night, injured, abused, abandoned, following his own star and bearing a gift no one could immediately see. No one that is, except the kind people who paid for this Christmas angel’s surgery, hundreds of dollars worth for a right foreleg amputation. Named after the Magi who gave the Christ child gold, our Caspar was a three-legged pit bull terrier mix. The gold he brought to us came from within, as we would soon discover.
The call about Caspar came on December 15, 1994. A family had found a homeless dog wandering the streets of Boone with a gangrenous right foreleg. They asked if I would adopt him into my homeless animal hospice and sanctuary if they paid for the surgery to amputate his leg, as no other organization could accept a three-legged dog for adoption, only for euthanasia. The saddest part of Caspar’s story is that the veterinarian who examined and evaluated Caspar for the family who found him said that this same dog had been in his office three weeks earlier with a broken right foreleg. His owner left with him, unwilling to pay to have the leg set. The dog was then abandoned.
On Monday, December 19, Caspar arrived at the sanctuary. At 8:30 p.m. I checked his bandages, said goodnight and went into labor two hours later. By the following afternoon on the twentieth, my daughter was born. Caspar proved to be a flawless nanny in the years to come. Dog and child picked and ate wild blackberries together, paddled in the stream and frolicked in the snow.
Caspar loved car rides and before his life was over, he traveled up and down the eastern seaboard, serving humanity and his canine counterparts as an ambassador dog. Everyone fell in love with Caspar. He accompanied me to New York, the White House and Chincoteague; to a talk at Lees-McRae College; and to more than one Blessing of the Animals. His story was told on television and radio, and Caspar became well known in the High Country as he helped to raise funds for homeless animals.
On a number of occasions, a circle of children formed around this three-legged angel. They pet his stump as they asked questions about his life, about how he lost his leg. Sometimes Caspar would meet privately with individuals who had lost a limb to encourage and inspire. By the end of the session, their faces would be buried on Caspar’s broad shoulders, tears of gratitude staining his fur. At one memorable fundraising event, Santa was appearing for photos with children. When it was time for one boy to leave Caspar and visit with Santa, he cried and screamed that he did not want Santa; he wanted Caspar.
Caspar was the local spark who helped open adoptions for handicapped animals, pit bulls and pit bull mixes in the High Country. These were animals who historically found it difficult if not impossible to be adopted. Caspar was a trailblazer, a canine pioneer. Caspar made it cool to have lost a limb; Caspar made it cool to be “pit.” For a good many years, Caspar spread his gold.
One day in January 2005, Caspar collapsed. I worked on him for several hours in the predawn dark of an Appalachian winter. By sunrise, Caspar was stable and I knew he would live. He had had health issues, including seizures, that I treated with acupuncture, moxibustion and diet, so I stepped up the therapy. In early fall 2006, Caspar faltered and I knew in my heart that my constant companion of almost 12 years, who had to be at least 14, would soon be leaving us. On October 6, Caspar breathed his last breath, by my side as always.
I still find myself waking in the morning, running the list of necessary tasks I need to attend to through my head, and at the top of the list is to make Caspar’s scrambled eggs and warm his goat milk. Then I recall that Caspar has died. The dog who played catch me if you can, the dog who punched out a plate-glass window with his one front leg and sailed through it to help me, the dog who made himself my protector and a teacher to many, was truly gone. I look around at blind Scarlett, one-eyed Raisin, ancient Max and all the others, and I see that it is within them that Caspar still dwells; his work of charity and life of spiritual wealth continues.
The Caspar Cares Memorial Health Fund For Homeless Animals
A new health fund has been established as a tribute to Caspar. Without the generous support from donations, dogs like Caspar would not have lived. The Caspar Cares Memorial Health Fund for Homeless Animals is intended to provide funding for homeless animals who need surgeries and/or health support: special food, medicine or hospice care. Many homeless animals are euthanized if they are ill, injured or handicapped. The Caspar Cares Fund is now up and running, collecting donations for those in need.
One of the first recipients benefiting from Caspar Cares will be a dog named Magic who was found impaled on a spiked fence. Magic has 60 sutures in her abdominal and groin area and she requires transport to the High Country because she is out of state. She will require hospice care and possibly surgery. Other immediate recipients include Nigel, a special-needs, special-breed dog, and Spider, an elderly cat with cerebellar hyperplasia, a neurological disorder.
Donations will extend to organizations such as High Country Friends for Life and the funds will be available to all homeless animals or those adopted by animal sanctuaries. This special memorial fund is open through the 14-year-old High Country animal sanctuary Kindred of the Wild and its adjunct hospice and foundation, Animals in Peril, a nonprofit organization.
To donate, please make check or money order payable to Kindred of the Wild and mail to 207 Dale Adams Road, Sugar Grove, NC 28679.