02/16/08: Windchill Rising – his big day

http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/articles/index.cfm?id=60418&section=homepage

02/16, 7:29am: This is Windchill’s big day. All of our energies will be focused on getting him on his feet. Late last night he was slipping back into his funk. He was showing some spirit with the visitors here last night but even before our last volunteer left at 10pm he was slipping back into it but perhaps it was just exhaustion from his earlier efforts to push up on the hay bale. We think once we all start working to get him on his feet that his spirit and probably adrenaline will kick in and he’ll want to help. He’s a fighter – he’s been battling overwhelming odds and has more than gotten his mileage out of a “1% odds.” If, correction: when, he survives this that little guy should really buy a lottery ticket!

We’re encouraged by his spirit today, he’s trying to sit up which is a good sign he’s trying again. Kathi just moved Dance back in with him, we rotate the ‘moms’ to give them a break. We think he has a crush on Dance, he gets excited and starts ‘talking’ quite a bit when she moves back into the stall next to him and she dotes over him like a mother hen. Annie acts more as a protective guardian, checking out each individual as they come in to see the little guy and then standing by in case they do something she doesn’t like. So with Dance encouraging him, and his volunteers helping him get up today, I think he stands a really good chance of seeing his stall from above instead of below today. Pray pray pray pray!