Nelson

We found him in the middle of a street in Kansas City trying to drink water out of a crack in the road.

He had been beaten or struck by a car and was suffering from a broken jaw.

He had not been able to eat and was drinking rainwater wherever he could find it.

He weighed less than 30 lbs at this point and when we stopped to try to see if we could help him, he collapsed into Carla's arms.

The street we found him was in front of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, so we named him "Nelson." We took him to the emergency vet that night and the next morning Carla drove him to Manhattan, Kansas, where the Kansas State Veterinary School repaired his jaw. A week later he was eating and never stopped.

He weighed 90 lbs when he passed. He became a strong and sturdy boy.

We found him in May of 2004 and the vets said he was probably about six months old, so we backdated his birthday to Halloween, 2003. He was just over 11 years old when he died, November 29, 2014.

He came into our family of Borzois when we had Lara and Katia, and then Lara passed and we received Terra Rosa through you and Mary in Cincinnati.

Terra and Katia passed in 2011, and we got Nadia, Tamara, and this year, Kyra (Daisy) So Nelson has shared his life with SIX different Borzois, and they were the only family and friends he ever knew. He was a lucky boy to have such a harem.

He protected us all, announced "intruders" at the doorbell, and let us know when the FedEx truck entered our driveway. He sang beautifully when the telephone rang and always got Terra Rosa, and later Kyra, started singing too.

He was a wonderful companion, and the best friend to Borzois.

The title of the photo with the three is:


Terra, Nelson, and Katia: Together again forever.

Clif