Charlotte

This is Charlotte. We think she’s a poodle and Lhasa Apso mix. Charlotte was brought to the shelter as a stray, probably 12 years old. She had not been spayed and had developed a cancerous mammary tumor that weighed almost a pound. (She walked with her back hunched up to keep it from dragging on the ground.) Within a week of being placed in an Old Dog Haven Final Refuge home she was spayed and had the large tumor removed along with another smaller precancerous tumor that had previously been undetected. Charlotte’s incision was very long and she had much healing to do. Being a smart girl, she learned to evade two E-collar “cones”. The first one she folded so she could get to her incision, but when her ODH mom looked at her she would quickly pull her back leg under the cone and pretend she hadn’t been licking. She also stood on that bended cone and tried to pull her head out of it. Charlotte finally had to wear one almost half her length to keep her from chewing her sutures out.

Once healed, Charlotte began patrolling the yard for squirrels, real or imagined. Repeat: “Being a smart girl”, she jumps on the table, eats the kitty food and jumps off really fast before her ODH mom sees her. Sleeping on the couch is pretty nice but not nearly as nice as sleeping in mom’s peppermint herb bed on a sunny day. She loves being pampered at the groomer, riding in the car, stealing all the squeaky toys, and barking at airplanes. There’s never a dull minute with Charlotte. She’s sweet and loving and very sneaky… and her ODH mom is so happy she’s here.

Update:  Charlotte was such a special girl and so loved her Final Refuge Mom that she stayed a wonderfully long time.  And we hoped she’d go on ‘forever’.  However, her health was declining and it was finally time to say goodbye to this dear girl.  She will be greatly missed by so many – her mom the most of course; and many others who got to know her through her escapades on Facebook.

From her Final Refuge Mom:

It’s taken me a few days to be able to write this. Charlotte was with me almost 7 years. Having an Old Dog Haven final refuge foster that long is almost unheard of, ODH told me she was their longest resident. She was just shy of 19 years old. Charlotte was a character and a good sport. She could jump 4 feet high and loved chasing and barking at the small aircraft that fly over the yard.

Thursday morning she was no longer able to get up and stay up. Her balance was gone. Did she have another stroke? Maybe, but her mobility had been slowly waning… maybe I didn’t want to see. She spent Thursday at work with me, bundled up warm and cozy. She kept an eye on me occasionally but mostly she slept. She was weary… and I knew it. It wasn’t fair to ask her to fight another fight.

After a big dinner and lots of kisses I let her go. I know this is how it always ends… and it sucks. “I could have missed the pain but I’d have had to miss the dance” (Dave Koz, The Dance)

My darling Charlotte, thank you for the amazing dance. May the Great Mother hold you gently in her arms… until we meet again