Today We Rescued Your Dog
by Pat Closher
Today we rescued your dog. We don’t know where you got him from - maybe you saw him in a pet store window or maybe one of your neighbors bred a few litters a year just to make some vacation money or because they loved their dogs so much that of course they wanted to have puppies. We don’t know much about how you cared for him either, although our vet thought that for such a young dog, his teeth were in pretty bad shape.
by Pat Closher
Today we rescued your dog. We don’t know where you got him from - maybe you saw him in a pet store window or maybe one of your neighbors bred a few litters a year just to make some vacation money or because they loved their dogs so much that of course they wanted to have puppies. We don’t know much about how you cared for him either, although our vet thought that for such a young dog, his teeth were in pretty bad shape.
Did you know they were going to keep him outside? At least it was a pretty mild winter. There were no heavy snows, not much heavy winter rain and only a few days of bitter cold. But for all of those weeks he had no companionship, no care, and no love.
For some reason, your grandparents took him to the shelter. Maybe a neighbor complained about him or maybe their own health gave out or maybe they just got tired of him. You know the local shelter is a kill shelter, don’t you? You know that their own statistics indicate that about half of the dogs that enter are killed, don’t you? Maybe your grandparents thought he would be adopted quickly. He is a purebred, after all. No one was interested in him, though, maybe since he’s an adult dog and not a cute little puppy. No one contacted the purebred rescue group either. They probably would have placed him quickly, since he really is a great boy. The shelter is a clean place and they take good care of the dogs. They get good food and they’re bathed and brushed. It’s still a shelter though, and is noisy and chaotic and frightening. He spent two months there in that confusion, away from everyone and everything he had known.
One day, we saw him on the shelter web site. We called and asked about him. The shelter workers were so happy to hear from us and were delighted to agree to bring him to a local pet store where they do adoptions. Do you want to know why they were so accommodating? He was scheduled to be killed that afternoon. He didn’t know that, but the shelter workers certainly did. It hurt them and he felt that, so he knew something was wrong. All of a sudden, though, the shelter workers were happy and excited and so was he. They bathed him and brushed his coat. We think they probably told him this was it - his big chance, or maybe he just knew it somehow. When we met him, we all fell in love.
He had to go to the vet to be neutered, of course, but then he came home. He has his very own 13 year-old boy. You know, it’s almost like watching one of those old Lassie movies, seeing how well they’ve bonded. He’s got good food and his own toys. He’s taken on walks three times a day, is regularly groomed and is taken to the vet for needed care. We’ll be with him always, even if we have to make that last, difficult decision, because, you see, he is our dog and we are his family.
He has a good heart you know, but then he is a dog, so that’s to be expected. He’s probably forgiven you and, with a dog’s grace, doesn’t even remember you dumped him. He’d probably even be willing to greet you at the Rainbow Bridge. But you know what? He’ll greet us and go with us at the Bridge, and then he’ll be with us forever, because he’s our dog and we’re his family.
The way we heard the story, you moved out of state and didn’t want to take him with you. You left him at your grandparents. Maybe you thought a lively, handsome dog was just the thing for them, and under better circumstances it might have been. Maybe they have been cleaning up your messes for your entire life and an unwanted dog was just another mess to clean up.One day, we saw him on the shelter web site. We called and asked about him. The shelter workers were so happy to hear from us and were delighted to agree to bring him to a local pet store where they do adoptions. Do you want to know why they were so accommodating? He was scheduled to be killed that afternoon. He didn’t know that, but the shelter workers certainly did. It hurt them and he felt that, so he knew something was wrong. All of a sudden, though, the shelter workers were happy and excited and so was he. They bathed him and brushed his coat. We think they probably told him this was it - his big chance, or maybe he just knew it somehow. When we met him, we all fell in love.
He had to go to the vet to be neutered, of course, but then he came home. He has his very own 13 year-old boy. You know, it’s almost like watching one of those old Lassie movies, seeing how well they’ve bonded. He’s got good food and his own toys. He’s taken on walks three times a day, is regularly groomed and is taken to the vet for needed care. We’ll be with him always, even if we have to make that last, difficult decision, because, you see, he is our dog and we are his family.
He has a good heart you know, but then he is a dog, so that’s to be expected. He’s probably forgiven you and, with a dog’s grace, doesn’t even remember you dumped him. He’d probably even be willing to greet you at the Rainbow Bridge. But you know what? He’ll greet us and go with us at the Bridge, and then he’ll be with us forever, because he’s our dog and we’re his family.
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Our beloved Hamish was recently sent to heaven. Hamish was diagnosed with lymphoma in early August and after several months of various conventional and non-conventional treatments, we made the difficult realization that all of Hamish’s strength and spirit could not beat cancer. Words can not express the immense sadness, loneliness and sense of void that we feel, but we take comfort in knowing that so many people have special memories of Hamish. From the many beds he “ate”, his favorite toy flamingo and fox, his love of all things meat, the joy of licking the ice cream bowl, whining for walks, his donkey bounce, sitting in his favorite chair on top of anyone who sat there, his love of car rides and dislike of motorcycles whizzing by, his visit to Santa Claus, his attempt at the Mutt Strut, and various other adventures, Hamish had a personality as big as his love for steak.
Hamish was a rescue dog who was initially saved by the good people at Lone Star Boxer Rescue. When he joined our family in 2001 he was in desperate need of love and attention and we were happy to shower him with lots of it. We may have rescued him from a lesser life, but Hamish truly rescued us and showed us that a dog can be so much more than a pet. He was our best friend and our first “baby”. He never left my side when I was pregnant with Liam and then when Liam was born he never left his side. Hamish was always very gentle and protective of Liam allowing him to pull his ears, abuse him with a toy, and give overzealous hugs. Liam loved to share his meals with Hamish and Hamish was always there to give Liam lots of kisses.
Hamish was an amazing dog who lived an amazing life.
Lola came in to our lives a short 4 years ago as our first LSBR rescue pup but gave us a lifetime of joy. Her heart was so big in so many ways and finally gave out on her November 10, 2008. We will forever miss her in our laps, under our feet at the dinner table and always ready with a big wet kiss. Everyone was her friend and she will be greatly missed by her brothers as well as her neighborhood play pals big and small. We miss you our precious baby girl, until we meet again. Love Momma, Daddy, Claude & Oz
His name was Moses.
His last day on earth began at BARC, and this is where he met Elizabeth, one of our LSBR angels. His leg was hurting him so badly, and she took him to the vet so his leg could be examined. Elizabeth tried to entice him with some pretzels, but his pain was so severe Moses couldn’t even think about eating.
The exam and x-rays revealed a very aggressive cancer. Things did not look good for this sweet boy, and even though we were willing to give him whatever time he had left in the world, the vet felt that he would be in too much pain to consider it “quality time”. This is always the hardest decision that our volunteers have to make, and even though we didn’t “know” Moses, this was no exception.
Luckily Moses had the opportunity to take a car ride, get lots of attention from Elizabeth, and was able to pass away peacefully in the care of the vet. And he no longer is in pain.
We want to be able to help all the boxers that cross our paths. We tried to help Moses, but in his case (due to his age, heavy heartworm status and overall bad health), the best we could offer was to simply “let him go”.
Rest in peace, sweet Moses.
Ladie What a true testimonial to her name. She was a true lady in every way, shape and form! We had a boxer before her, that we raised from a puppy, but when we were ready to finally find a new dog, we turned to LSBR. Not wanting to go through the puppy stage again. I have to say that our expectations were high — we both worked and had two very young children. The volunteers did everything they could to make sure that happened. When we first brought Ladie home, she carried a green toy around in her mouth, non stop because she just had a litter of pups pulled from her (so many emotional issues), really bad heart worms, and extremely skinny. But something about her just made us raise an eye. The first few weeks were tough. We had to keep her calm while for going heart worm treatment with Dr. Sartor’s office. They had informed us that it would probably take two to three rounds to treat her, if she made it at all. Long story short here, she only needed one round and gained 15 lbs in the mean time. He called her his miracle dog! From that point on, she joined right into our home and into our hearts. My oldest child, five years old, would look for her after school before saying hi to me. She loved her walks, and got along great with other dogs. And if you were sitting somewhere, she was right there to get a pet on the head. Some people say that animals can feel when their owners are in pain or hurting — that was definitely the case with Ladie. She would be right there, by your side if you were sick. She helped tuck the kids in bed at night, and helped my husband on the grill every time….. She was waiting for her share. She loved to sit on the floor with the kids — waiting for a story to be read to her. My favorite thing of all, I have to say is that she became VERY calm, but when the family got excited and would wrestle, she would instantly pop up, barking and want to play. Our girls favorite thing for us to do was to hold them upside down and Ladie would come over and lick all over their faces/ or tickle their feet by licking them. It was so sweet. She was just one of the kids, or should I say that I think she thought she was the other mother figure in the home. My husband and I would ask each other almost DAILY, “how in the world could anyone EVER give up this wonderful dog?” It’s a true mystery! I have never thought that there would be such a PERFECT dog in the world, like her. But she was in every aspect of the word. Perfect. On September 12th, the day of IKE Hurricane, Ladie started vomiting. I immediately called Dr. Sartor’s office. Of course they were closing down for the day, to prepare for the storm. We thought it was just a tummy bug and come see him after the storm. It didn’t get better. By September 15th (Monday), I couldn’t take it any longer and took her to the only Vet hospital open in town. After numerous test and long hours, they had determined that she had kidney failure, and it was “off the charts”, with no way to repair. We spent the next 24 hours saying good bye to her, and put her to rest on the 16th at 2:47 pm. She passed with perked ears and a sign of peace on her face. I can NOT tell you how much of a perfect dog she was! I could sit here all day, and you still might not believe me. The only thing I will say is that I will NEVER adopt/purchase another animal again other than from LSBR! They found the absolute perfect fit for our home, and the perfect fit for Ladie. I know that our lives were full filled with having her in it, and I believe that her life was full filled by us being in it as well. I couldn’t have asked for more. Much less, I would NEVER take back the short 1 ½ years we were blessed to have her in our lives. She made our lives better, just by being in them! I feel blessed. I miss her more than words can ever say, but I know that she is chasing squirrels and cats, and just waiting for us to join her one day and to hear her “jingle collar”. Thank you so much LSBR and Dr. Sartor, for making our lives a better place for the year and a half for having her in it. We are truly blessed! Thank you LSBR, The Ternes Family
Gertie was pulled from a shelter in November 2007. She was guessed to be about 10 yrs old, spayed, and heartworm negative when LSBR took her in. Gertie was a favorite of many and I couldn't help but name her after my favorite Grandmother. Gertie got along with the other foster siblings and promptly made herself at home in a donut bed where she was always close to the family. She was anxious to meet and greet guests while keeping a close eye on the pantry door at mealtimes were her favorite. We noticed Gertie had a problem getting around shortly after pulling her from the shelter. Her back end would often slip from one side to the other but she managed. In the last few months it became too much for her to get around on her own and she had to be carried bodily or by sling to be mobile. We miss Gertie and can't imagine how or why she would have ended up in a shelter but so glad we had what time we did with her. Gertie passed away October 9, 2008 and will always have a special place in our hearts. We all miss you! Debbie Lon
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