Bobby was found in a garbage can where he was thrown away because he couldn't walk. Some boys fished him out of the garbage can and were beating him with sticks when he was found and rescued by a client of the Beijing Agricultural University's Veterinary Teaching Hospital where I was a United Nations Volunteer.

At first the doctors wanted to euthanize him, but the client insisted that we try to save him, and so through a series of calcium supplements (he was calcium deficient and his back was broken from the weak bones) and acupuncture, he slowly regained his ability to walk.

Dr. Shu Dai, pictured playing with Bobby, is the veterinarian who began Bobby's treatments. I continued the treatments for several months. He is now four years old and is enjoying life in California, although I do take him back to Beijing to visit his old friends. When his back was broken, he lost the ability to empty his bladder, and so he must have his bladder expressed daily to eliminate his liquid waste. His control of stool is also lost, and he cannot control when he passes his stool.

Nevertheless, he is a sweet soul and very talkative. Despite all that he has experienced, he remains very sociable and friendly to all.