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.
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.
I was in Humble looking at a home to buy for an investor. The owner took me in the backyard to show me the back of the house. I saw something moving under a boat in the backyard. It was hard to tell what it was because the grass was almost to the top of the boat.
He said it was his girlfriends son Rottweiler and I called out to the pup. He came over to us. I tried not to show my alarm. Brutus, as I came to know, had protuding hip bones and backbone and ribs, his eyes were covered with a film of green matter and infection, not just a little in the corner but covering both eyes entirely. He was having trouble walking as well and limped on the back left leg.
I calmly asked the man what was wrong with his eyes and legs. He said I didn't know he had a hurt leg and then he went into the home and got a nasty, dirty washcloth and wiped Brutus's eyes. Once the matter was gone you could see the redness around the eyes but also the beautiful chocolate eyes looking up at me. It broke my heart but I left with a word to the owner that I had a home for Brutus once they moved. He said he didn't know about that but would call me on the offer on his home.
It was two agonizing days when I went back. I didn't get the home but I got Brutus. I had optimistically made an appointment at the vet for 6:30 p.m. hoping they would give him to me. It took persuading, $50 and a bill of sale to get him. Brutus jumped in my car and didn't look back.
Debbie of Lone Star Boxer Rescue and Mona of Rottweiler Rescue had arranged to help me with the cost of the vet. My friend Cheryll and my daughter Tierney met me at the vet. Tierney because she knows me and how these animals touch my heart and Cheryll, my friend of 30 years, because she wanted to be involved.
Brutus was 20 lbs underweight, had infected eyes by inverted third eyelid, suspect hip dysplacia, a cycst on his left hind "ankle" and a skin infection starting on his hind quarters. Mona, a wonderful woman with words of wisdom and encouragement, paid for his visit and all his medications and shots. The vet said to fatten him up and keep his eyes clean and give him his medication. He was 5+ years.
By this time it was 9:30 p.m. Tierney and I took him home, gave him a bath and fed him soft food. We introduced him to the other dogs Henry, Katherine and Audrey. He took the softest spot and settled in for the night.
Tierney fed him twice a day softening the dry food with wet food because he could not eat it. Hand fed him because he liked it best and hiding his medicine in a few bites. He romped in the huge backyard with Henry even though you could tell his legs bothered him. It was a beautiful sight.
That was three short weeks ago...Brutus gained 6 pounds his hips and ribs no longer showing, stood straighter on his back legs, no longer had eye infection and had two baths, lots of brushing and no more flaky skin. He loved to chase Henry and bark at Katherine to play. He had manners and sat for his food and gave you his paw. He gently took the cookies from my hand.
On Thursday I noticed he wouldn't get up much and did not eat eagerly as he usually did. He was really favoring his back left leg and really did not use it at all, running on three legs.
On Friday morning Tierney called me and told me Brutus wouldn't eat and wouldn't go outside. We got an appointment at 4 and took him in. All the time by Tierney's side. He had become her protector and friend.
The vet diagnosed an agressive bone cancer that had already eaten part of the back of the bone and was working on the front of his back left left. She said it was intense pain and did not respond well to pain medication. That we could take him home a while longer but he would not be able to play in the backyard, even though he might want to, or play with the other dogs. She said there was too much risk of a broken leg.
After talking with Mona, Tierney and I decided it was best for Brutus to let him go. Tierney sat on the floor and held him and talked to him as he peacefully went to sleep. We both cried the whole time, Tierney saying "It's just not fair and I am so sorry Brutus." I consoled Tierney that he didn't linger under the boat in that backyard with no food and water and in intense pain.
I told her as hard as this was, Brutus had our love and his dog companions for a month. He knew love, comfort, food and play.
Thank you for letting me share his story. Although full of great sorrow, nothing can replace that look in a dog eyes that goes from lost and hopeless to bright and carefree. I hope you see in this picture that look is there.
Thank you Mona and Debbie.
LoveMary and Tierney
We lost Paellan yesterday morning, September 18, 2008. She was a sweet, beautiful dog and we grew to love her quickly. She was only with us 48 hrs before she started feeling bad (coughing), just as Ike was rolling in to the coast. She was seen by two Vet’s but it was not enough to save her. She was underweight and just didn’t have the strength to fight. I have never seen an animal get so sick so quickly, nor had one steal my heart in such a short span of time. We miss her. This photo was taken the first time she went outside after the hurricane. She was not happy about it, she didn’t like walking in wet grass.
Jill passed away suddenly today, August 30, 2008. I’m guessing she was about 6.5 years old. She was rescued by LSBR from Harris County Animal Shelter the day before Good Friday in 2005. My nephew and I picked her up from the shelter then went to do a homevisit. Jill just curled up in the backseat and never made a sound. She had a horrible case of kennel cough, heartworms, and extremely emaciated. Jilly Billy was a sweetheart, always there for me, and always accepting of the fosters she let share her home. She was my little wiggle butt, loved being outside with me, and went upstairs to work with me everyday, I miss her terribly! Her canine siblings will really miss her too. Miles will miss the races they had out the door, Meris will miss her sleeping partner, and Christie will miss the companionship. Jill may not have been with me a long time but there is something to be said for quality over quantity and she will always own a piece of my heart. Just another reason why I’m involved with rescue. -- Debbie Lon
Condrey… Though not an LSBR rescue but a rescue nonetheless, our gentle and kind Condrey came to us by chance on April 5, 2008. She was a stray who was leashed up by John, a friend of the family, who then called us, knowing we have been involved in boxer rescue and love the breed. We could tell by the fleas and her weight that she had been on the street for quite some time. Despite her condition, she was a sweetheart with amazing manners. She got along GREAT with our other two LSBR rescue’s, Shiner and Berkley, who embraced her arrival as only a boxer can do. It did not take us long to determine that she was to be part of the family. We paid tribute to the friend who found her and took the time to catch her up by naming her after the street where he lives. We treated her heartworms from day one but they were just too far along and she crossed “The Bridge” in a matter of minutes on August 5, 2008. There is peace for the family in knowing that we gave her the best we could and that which she deserved for her last four months - she will be fondly remembered!
October 2004 started out as one of the worst months of our life — we lost our sweet white boxer Bella Donna and were heartbroken. THEN, out of the blue, a nasty, stinking, hairless, white boxer with sarcoptic mange appeared at our house. We found his home and returned him where the owner immediately kicked him, called him names for running away and stuck him on a chain in a mud hole. I was heartsick but still mourning Bella and left him there. The third time we ended up with him, his Daddy asked him if he was supposed to come home with him and Buddy turned and licked him in the face for a big YES, so we decided he was meant to be with us. How right we were. Those 3 ½ years with our special “Little Man” Buddy (Buddy Ray when he was in trouble), were 3 ½ of the most wonderful years of our life. He was truly our Little Man. He ran, he played and he loved with all of his heart regardless of how he had been treated before. He gave us more love in that 3 ½ years than most people know in their life time…. January 2008 began the worst 6 moths of our lives. Buddy had a tooth pulled and when he came home, he could not go tinkle. The vet thought he just had not come out of the anesthesia yet….. The vet, emergency rooms, more vets and then Gulf Coast Veterinary Clinic, where some of the most caring staff I have ever met exist. There we discovered Buddy had cerebral swelling at the base of his brain and in his spinal column and mega esophagus. Buddy came home and tried so hard to beat the sickness overcoming him but it was not meant to be. He ended up with aspiration pneumonia from the mega esophagus and it won….. The staff, Lori, Dr. Longshore, Dr. Ron, and Paula treated Buddy as if he were their own and I could see in Buddy’s eyes, he trusted them. Lori even sang his favorite song “You are My Sunshine” to comfort him while he was there. I can’t put into words how much that meant to my husband and me as we promised him he would NEVER be alone again in his life. June 10th at 9:15 AM, our precious, “Little Man”, Buddy Ray Ripkowski, crossed over the Rainbow Bridge and took a piece of our hearts with him. There will always be a place in our hearts that only he owns and we know when our time on earth is done and we are heaven bound, he will be there to greet us with that big smile of his and his “rough, rough, rough”……. Until then Buddy Ray, we love you with all our hearts and always will… Mommy and Daddy