A very old stray {The Old Fella Story}

[Dixie_Flyer]

Went camping this weekend at a campground on the lake, had not been there for a few years. Once there I began to walk around looking at the different sites when I noticed a very old dog. He just lay there until I got too close then he got up on three legs and hobbled away. Just judging I would say he is at least 11 years old. Well back to my story. The next afternoon he wanders into camp and just sits there looking. He looked so sad, so the wife got a bowl of our dog's food and put it down for him and he came over and ate. He then walked over to our dog and the two of them sniffed each other over and then they lay down together for the rest of the afternoon. That night he disappeared.
The next morning he was back and was a little more receptive of me. I looked at his injured leg and found that half of his rear foot was gone. It had healed and was not causing any problem except that he was walking on the stub that was left with no foot pad which causes him to limp. His front teeth were gone except for one canine tooth and it looked decayed. His eyes were tired looking and showing his age. He spent the rest of the day just laying around looking for a handout and by afternoon the campground host came around and saw him. I enquired about the dog and was told he had been there for three years and that most of the campers were tolerant of him and gave him food.
So what to do? Do you pick him up and bring him home or do you let nature take it course. He can't harm anyone, he has no teeth and he isn't a nuisance unless you don't like dogs, and no one seems to mind him being there. He is gentle and likes other animals as seen by his interaction with our dog. He still would not let me touch him but he would eat from my hand. Enough said, what would you do???

On June 28th 2008 Old Fella passed away of complications caused by bone cancer. Fella spent almost three years with his new family and became the icon of rescued old stray dogs. He will be greatly missed but his foot prints have been left in our hearts forever.

Now Charlie, the ten year old rescued Golden Lab has come to be a part of the continuing Old Fella story. (*Note, Charlie took his journey to Rainbow Bridge unexpectedly September 30, 2008)Suzie continues to charm her way into our hearts with her antics as she has grown from a puppy into a young lady. Togther they will carry on the Old Fella legacy. Come join us in their daily lives and be a part of the best feel good thread in RV.NET history. The legacy lives on.


HIghways Article Puppy Love

Old Fella Burke County Animal Rescue

[dturm]

Beautiful!! Congratulations.

[Scottiemom]

Congrats to your family, Burch! Your new addition is so cute and I'm sure the dogs will come around. In addition to a new dog, they have to wrap their heads about the idea of a puppy! But they will.

Dale

[MetalGator]

Thank you everyone for the kind words. Lola was such a sweetie. It's just so hard because she was in very good health (so I thought) and was fine one minute and gone the next. It was so sudden.

No dog can every replace her. Donna wanted to get another little girl and said she knew Lola could never be replaced but that the void she left could be replaced. I wanted to wait awhile before we got another dog, however, the wife won. Meet Zuzu!







We got her on Saturday afternoon. She is 3.9lbs and was born on August 4th. She is a blue merle Pomeranian. She is sweet and absolutely loves Pinto. However, Pinto is not fond of her yet. She wants to play with him and he wants nothing to do with her. Monty just kind of ignores her. I think both my other dogs are still mourning Lola.

I really wanted to get another recuse dog eventually but Donna says we recused ZuZu from the pet store. She is named after ZuZu from "It's A Wonderful Life". Her name was Zoey so at least it's not too far off from what she used to be called.

We are going on a local motorhome trip over Thanksgiving so it should be fun to see how she reacts.

Burch

[Toolguy5]

Burch so sorry about Lola.

[DOTLDaddy]

So devastating, Burch. I don't get on here much anymore, and was very sad to hear of your loss when I did.

[Martyn]

Burch,

So very sorry to read this about Lola. Our hearts go out to you.

Martyn and Liane

[Wanderlost]

So sorry to hear about Lola, Burch. May happy memories bring comfort.

[riah]

So sorry to hear about your pup Lola! It’s so hard when they leave us, especially so suddenly! Hugs!

(We still have no idea what happened to our Raven kitty… she was in the yard at 7 pm and we went to bring her in not even a half hour later and she wasn’t responding to calling her nor was she in any of her usual spots. We just expected she’d come in the dog/cat door as she so often did, but that was Aug 21st and she’s still missing. )

Again, sincere sympathy and condolences, so very sorry for you all!

[MetalGator]

dturm wrote:
So sorry Burch. Acute issues like this are often related to the heart. One of the more common tumors in dogs is hemangiosarcoma. They can easily go undiagnosed and one major place they metastasize is to the right atrium in the heart. If that tumor ruptures, they can go into heart failure or acute death with a big bleed. This actually happened to one of our goldens and I never had a clue that she had the tumors until she died. This would be the first place I'd look.

Again, so sorry for your loss.

Doug

Thank you Dr Doug. I am still in shock because she was fine this time yesterday morning. However, I know a couple of nights ago she was panting all night long. She normally is really quiet at night. Then the panting yesterday before she passed. She was an older dog (12 years old) but she didn't look it or act like it. She was always full of energy. I am so going to miss her. My wife and I are just devastated because she was are little girl. We still have her brother Monty. He is just looking confused this morning.

Burch

[dturm]

So sorry Burch. Acute issues like this are often related to the heart. One of the more common tumors in dogs is hemangiosarcoma. They can easily go undiagnosed and one major place they metastasize is to the right atrium in the heart. If that tumor ruptures, they can go into heart failure or acute death with a big bleed. This actually happened to one of our goldens and I never had a clue that she had the tumors until she died. This would be the first place I'd look.

Again, so sorry for your loss.

Doug

[Scottiemom]

I am so sorry about Lola, Burch. Sounds really mysterious. Perhaps Dr. Doug will have some insight.

Bless you and your wife for loving your dogs beyond measure. We are entrusted with their lives and do what we can to make it a loved one.

Praying for you both and your other dogs.

Dale

[MetalGator]

What a horrible day. I just lost Lola and I don't know what happened. I noticed she had been panting a lot earlier today. When I got home from work, she was still panting and my wife picked her up and was holding her for awhile. All of a sudden my wife started yelling for me saying Lola is in trouble

I ran into the other room and Lola had watery blood coming out of her nose. By the time I grabbed my wallet and keys to run to the vet, she was gone. I have no idea what happened and we are both devastated. She had a clean bill of health on her checkup back in July. I don't know what happened...

Dr Doug, I know this isn't much to go on but do you have any idea what could have happened? I want to make sure she didn't get into something outside but if she had eaten something I would think the blood would have come our her mouth.


She was my little girl and I will miss her so much.

Burch

[Scottiemom]

SGTJOE,

Sounds like you have found a really special new friend. My son has a labradoodle and she is the sweetest. She also loves everyone and everything and gets along with my Scottie when we visit. They are wonderful dogs.

I forgot to wish Burch a safe trip to Kentucky and back. Be careful and stay safe.

Dale

[Scottiemom]

Hello FOOF's! My Brendon is doing great. Went through a scare thinking he might have bladder cancer. Scotties are 20% more likely to develop it than other breed and I have lost one to it. So when he started peeing blood I went into helicopter mom mode. I ended up changing vets and am much happier where we doctor now. They have a new urine test called a BRAF test and it is quite accurate for detecting bladder cancer. He tested negative, but it took a month and adding stronger meds to rid him of the infection.

I boarded him for the first time last weekend while I went on a 3 day cruise with my son and his family. Son boarded his dog at the same place, so I paid for Brendon and Lily to have a playdate every day they were there so they would know they weren't alone. He did very well and wasn't agitated or showing any stress when I picked him up.

We are getting hammered right now with Hurricane Nicole. I had everything put up and have the bathtub full of water. LOL

My biggest news is that I am in the process of purchasing a new to me motorhome. It's a 2021 Coach House and is exactly what I wanted. And it is just about 3 miles down the road. I won't have it here for about a month as they are finishing up the remodel on their home and living in it, but it is in very good condition and very clean. More about that later.

Dale

[SGTJOE]

Back on April Fools Day I held my Rocky Road Shih Tzu in my arms as he took his last breath. He was the last of my babies. In Sept my Daughter calls me about a dog that needs a loving home. She sent me a picture of him and then brought him down from SLC area to our home in St. George, Utah. The picture didn't show how big he was, he stands 25" to the top of his back. The last dog I had this big was when I was a little kid. He is a white curly LabraDoddle and his name in Noddles. I have never had such a loving dog in all the years I have had one. As big as he is he loves to climb up and cuddle. He even shares my pillow at night. He turned 1 year old on 27 Sept. He minds so good. Right now he is curled around my feet as I type this. Each afternoon we go for a walk in our neighborhood and I always carry treats for all the dogs. He greets all of them as a happy guy and he loves all my neighbors. He has never growled at any of the other dogs and they all like to play with him.