Roxie

Sweet Roxie and another dog had to be rescued from a trash-filled house when thankfully a neighbor heard then crying and called police. We are not sure how long they had been alone, but apparently were left behind when the owners moved out. Both dogs were taken to the nearby shelter where Old Dog Haven was contacted because this darling dog was so sick and old, the shelter knew she would never be adopted. One of our wonderful temporary fosters took her home for the first two weeks so she could be bathed every other day due a terrible flea infestation and yeast infection over most of her body. Roxie was immediately started on the proper meds for the skin problem and for the very severe ear infection, which has apparently left her deaf. Roxie was so thin when she came to ODH that you could actually count every one of her ribs. She also has a fairly large fatty tumor swinging from her tummy which fortunately is considered benign and does not seem to bother her. We have chosen not to remove this due to her age, which is guessed to be 15-16 years old. When Roxie  started to feel better, she was transferred to her Final Refuge home to start her new life. It has taken numerous trips to the vet to try and get all her issues under control, but she is feeling much better now. The ears will be ongoing, as one of her ear canals was so damaged from years of neglect, even the vet found it almost impossible to see into the ear canal, much less get meds into it. The other ear was sadly, not far behind! Roxie really dislikes the daily treatment for this, but she tries very hard to be patient about it. The skin problems are also clearing up and she seems more comfortable now.

When we asked the vet what breed they thought she was, the answer was “I have NO idea!!”. Her legs are quite short, her body is quite long, her hair is also long, and, she has a very curly tail! But her Final Refuge mom and dad thinks she is darling just the way she is. And just to add to her cuteness factor, she has a “beauty mark” above her lip! She is probably one of the happiest dogs we have had the pleasure of caring for, always wagging her curly tail and prancing when she runs! She gets along very well with all the sisters in her pack, and even loves the cat. We are working on teaching her hand signals, and she seems to be picking up on that rather quickly. She is very smart, and when she is not in a deep sleep, she watches everything around her and doesn’t seem to miss a thing. She follows her mom every place, loves to go for walks in the pasture, and is always up for a ride in the car. Considering all this dog must have been through before she was removed from a terrible situation, we would say she is the true example of unconditional love.

Her family is so happy she is with them and THANKS OLD DOG HAVEN for saving this dog from the terrible end of life she would have otherwise had!

 

Update:

After about a year with her Final Refuge family, Roxie started to show signs of the rough life she had endured before coming to ODH. Sadly, her eye sight became very compromised, the tumor hanging from her tummy continued to grow and become very heavy and the arthritis in her back became even more apparent. With all that going on, she still attempted to follow her “mom” everywhere, but even that became much more difficult. With very heavy hearts, we knew it was time to let her go. We whispered in her ear with a list of all the ODH dogs that had gone before her to “look up” when she got to the other side. And we are sure they were all waiting to welcome her!

When her Final Refuge “mom” describes Roxie, words like kind, gentle, brave, determined, loyal and loving quickly come to mind. Roxie was an old soul when she arrived here, probably around 15 or 16, and we only wish we had been the ones to have enjoyed her for every one of those years! She was a real treasure and has left a huge hole in our hearts but we are so glad we could call her “our dog” for the time she was with us. Thank you to ODH, her wonderful vet and all the generous sponsors who supported dear Roxie. Without that help, she never would have had the terrific medical care that gave her everything she needed to end her life in a MUCH better way than when we found her! Rest in peace sweet Roxie, you were, and always will be LOVED!!!