Casa ahora

Little is known about Casa ahora’s former life  (name taken from “ella está en casa ahora” meaning “she is home now” in Spanish).  All we know is that she has spent most of her senior years abandoned, alone, and wandering the streets. Neighbors had seen the chocolate lab wandering alone at night for years. One even called animal control to get her help but Casa evaded them.  Several of them would set out food for her at night. But meanwhile, advancing age and the lack of veterinary care was taking its toll.

Finally, one person took her photo and posted on a lost pet website, where it was seen by a very kind man who specialized in trapping stray dogs as well as finding lost pets. He set out to find her, and find her he did.  She was captured, without a lot of difficultly, with some canned cat food and a humane trap.  She was then turned over to a local rescue. It was found Casa made at least one trip through a humane society, in 2018, where she was chipped, but the registered owners failed to answer either of the two phone numbers or email.  Who knows how long Casa had been on her own?

Through the local rescue, she received veterinary care, where it was found she had severe arthritis, spondylosis, mammary tumors, was losing her eyesight, had rotten teeth, and had had many previous ear infections that had been left untreated. Although the rescue helped Casa with her teeth and removed the mammary tumors, with her advanced age and other physical problems, adoption prospects for Casa seemed very remote. That is when Old Dog Haven came to the rescue.

A little over three months later, life is very different for Casa. Through Old Dog Haven, she has received medication, supplements, and about every possible treatment for arthritis, including regular acupuncture treatments. She still has trouble getting up sometimes, so Old Dog Haven supplied a Help ‘em Up harness for her, which makes it much easier for someone to assist her. Daily gentle walks have helped her regain some strength, although she will probably always have balance issues.

And slowly, Casa is learning to trust people again.

What does Casa ahora’s future look like?  She still faces serious health problems, but three things are for sure.

1. Casa will always have the best veterinary care available to keep her happy and comfortable, cheerfully provided by Old Dog Haven.

2. She will never be alone again. After so many years on the streets, Casa seems to cherish company. Whether with her family, her somewhat yappy little poodle brother, the resident cat (and self-appointed senior dog babysitter) or her much loved heartbeat stuffed puppy, Casa will never have to face life alone.

3. That she will hear “Casa, you’re such a good girl!” so many times and get so many ear scritches and shoulder rubs that she forgets about all the people that abandoned her, the people who didn’t think she was worth veterinary care, and the people that chased her away when she was hungry and alone.

Because Casa ahora is home now.  Forever.

Update:  From Casa’s mom:

Sadly, Casa’s physical burdens finally grew too much for her to bear and we needed to let her say goodbye.  She passed away peacefully in her very own home, surrounded by the family that she loved and loved her, secure in the knowledge that she was, indeed, a very, very good girl.