Our beloved dog was an orphan. Some cruel person abandoned a mother dog and her pups by the main road up the way from us. One of our neighbor's was driving being a guy and the mother and pups ran out in front of his pickup truck and he kept going. My neighbor gathered up the mother dog and pups and took them to the vet. The mother and one of the brothers had to be put to sleep as their injuries from being hit were grave. There were 3 pups who survived.
Later that day when I came home from work, I noticed a lot the neighborhood kids and adults coming in an out of our place. Something was up. When I went through the front door, I was greeted by our kids, pleading with me, "can we keep him?". Of course I said the obligatory, "absolutely not!" and he was our buddy for the next 15 years! He was only about 6 weeks old.
Here's a photo of K-ci when he was doing well:
His mother was a beagle and the vet who first treated him thought his father may have been long-haired dachshund. He resembled a golden except he had a long body and short legs. He was such a good boy and everyone loved him.