Any chance his panting is a reaction to some medication or sedation they did on him today to diagnose him? Poor Nookie, poor Aly.

Maybe he feels the heat WE'RE having up here all the way down there?

If everything happens tomorrow, and you give him to the owner's daughter, will you tell her she should report in to Pet Talk and let us all (and you, most of all) know how the poor sick boy is doing? Tell her there's a whole community who wants what's best for him, and maybe, if she did grow up with him, she does too.