(In the photo, left to right: Belle, Missy (Mast cell tumor survivor, so far) Duke, Gidget (retired therapy dog) , and Boston.
We were looking for another dog and we had heard about rescues and decided that would be the way to go. While we were researching them, I got word from my breeder that she had taken in a couple of Bostons and was looking for home for them. We went to see her (and them) She had a little girl and I was looking for a female. I fell in love with her and while we were doing the paperwork, my husband was sitting in a chair. This skinny brindle boy hopped up in his lap and sat there the whole time. When I finished paperwork for the little girl and said we could leave, my hubby looked at me and said “What about him? We can’t leave him here.” So we came home with two dogs. He was a brindle and a male – neither my favorite. His story was that he was found in an abandoned house. It was a known “crack” house and the theory is that the owners were in jail. It is estimated that he was there alone for at least six months. He was going in and out the doggy door, feeding himself from garbage cans and whatever the neighbors would give him, drinking out of the toilet in the house and sleeping in his crate. When found, on top of his crate was his rabies tag and all his paperwork to register him – his name was Boston (known as Mr. B in our house) and he is a purebreed. He was about 10 pounds, all skin and bones, full of parasites, filthy and had really bad teeth. He was two years old. We took him home, cleaned him up, fed him and loved him. He is no a whopping 23 pounds, and “my” dog–doesn’t leave my side when I am home, follows me even into the bathroom, has to be in the chair with me and sleeps on the bed with us. He is the first of our Bostons to be allowed to do this. Needless to say, the dog my husband wanted six years ago and I was not so sure about is now my faithful protector and MY own sweet boy.
The other rescue is a NEBTR and actually is a permanent foster with us. Her name is Belle. She is a tiny little thing. I saw the emails about this little old lady who had been abandoned in an apartment in PA. The owner left town and left a note on the neighbor’s door stating she would not be back and to “feed the animals”. Belle was there with a six month old kitten. The neighbor was a college girl who did the best she could but did not have the time or resources to do this permanently. NEBTR was working to find her a place but everyone was full. I could not stand the thought of her going to a shelter and even though I had not planned to foster until I retired and was home more, I decided that I needed to help the approximately fourteen year old girl. So I drove three hours to PA and met another volunteer, Kym, who had driven down to pick her up and then drove up to meet me. It was January and it was snowing. Lovely. When Belle came to us she weighed just 12 pounds. She has a cataract on one eye that requires drops every day. The vision in her other eye is limited as it is blue. She has a grade II to IV heart murmur, about six teeth left, and was bald from her shoulders back and looked as if she was having a rectal prolapse. It was understood that she would be a permanent foster with me as due to her age and health issues. She just would not be a good candidate for adoption. In the first two or three months we had her, she did nothing but eat, go out to do her business, and lay in her little bed. I changed her diet and found that she is allergic to chicken. We have fattened her up to 14 1/2 pounds, her hair has grown back. Due to a better diet with more fiber, etc. the rectal prolapse is not an issue. We still put drops in her eyes. She has no trouble eating. She has come out of her shell and shown us that she is a funny feisty little old lady. She jumps up to sit with my husband, loves to have her back scratched. Wants to play with my younger dogs and she quickly learned to be first in line for treats.
I love all my pups dearly. We have three more at home besides Belle, and Mr. B. These two have a special history, though and have earned a special place in my heart.
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