Gidget

Sweet little miss Gidget arrived at the shelter with a matted coat, missing jaw, infected teeth, only one leg that worked right, a bent back, a prolapsed anus, and a mammary tumor.

It turns out that she had been found as a stray and turned into the shelter in 2013 — she was at least 13 years old then, and they had to shave off 1.25 pounds of her matted coat!  She was microchipped at that time and successfully adopted.  Unfortunately, her owner died, and she got passed around to several homes before ending back up at the shelter.

She was a shaking, terrified mass of tangled gray curls that barely weighed 3 pounds, and she promptly went for a visit to to the vet for a check-up, followed by a visit to a dental specialist who confirmed that her jaw had rotted away from infection, and that her 3 remaining molars were infected, so she went on a round of antibiotics.

We weren’t sure how long this little lady would hang on, but she has surprised all of us, and she’s now been 2 years and 1 month in her Final Refuge home!  She’s now on medication for her liver, for incontinence, and for pain, and sometimes has to wear diapers at night, but she still gleefully gobbles up her “soup” of wet food (mixed with warm water, which makes eating a lot easier without a jaw) and loves gumming soft treats.  Her tumor has grown to about 1.5″ in diameter, but it doesn’t seem to cause her pain, and she gets regular haircuts and pedicures with her brother, senior resident dog Dutch.  She can hear the fridge being opened from a mile away, and her sparkly little eyes shine even brighter when she knows you have food in your hand!

She rides every week with Dutch and her Final Refuge mom in their special blue sling bag to choir rehearsal as well as to church, where she is regularly blessed at the communion rail and is beloved by all the parishioners, especially the children!  She also gets carried around twice a day while brother Dutch gets in his walks.  Once a week, they get to run around Grandma’s grassy yard in Issaquah and get fed all kinds of forbidden people food like cheese and ice cream (because Grandma cannot resist that little face and her amazing Dumbo-like ears…pretty sure there must be something else other than poodle in her mix!).  She’s able to get up to Final Refuge mom’s bed via a special custom-built ramp, where she likes to sleep in her own little cushioned bed in the corner.  As the pain in her spine has increased, she has a harder time turning over for tummy rubs, but she still loves them, and always wants Mom’s attention at all times.

Gidget’s boundless spirit and zest for life brings joy to everyone who has a chance to meet this little lady, and we are so blessed to have her presence among us!

Update:  With much sadness, Gidget’s FR mom had to say goodby when her tumor began to cause her pain.  She is very much missed!