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

[Toolguy5]

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Hope everyone has a wonderful day.

[Toolguy5]

Burch congrats on ZuZu.

Pomeranians are very smart and STUBBORN. Our Pom Pickles knows every word we say. When we take her for walks you have to go her way or she will plant her feet and wont move,
When you call her to go out if she does not want to go you have to pick her up and take her out. Then she will just stand out there and try and wait you out.

[MetalGator]

ZuZu is really a sweet little puppy. She is so full of energy. I was having a hard time yesterday missing Lola but then I would watch ZuZu running around and playing and it would make me smile. ZuZu is very smart and is learning fast. She seems to really love people and other dogs so I am looking forward to our trip to see how she interacts with everyone.

Burch

[Shadow57]

So sorry to read about Lola. Very happy to see the cute new puppy. She sure is a doll. I thought I got one that had some pom in it, they called her a Toy Aussie. Since I didn't think it was even a breed I had DNA ran. She is 1/2 mini aussie, 1/4 Chihuahua & 1/4 Yorkie. I really didn't care what she was, we love her and she's smart. I find around here my old dogs really like the puppies even if they don't want to act like it. Good luck traveling with the pups, keep us posted as she grows up. I love puppies.

[MetalGator]

She is very smart. She has pretty much figured out the house and is comfortable in her surroundings. She got to meet the kids from next door yesterday. She was so excited! Her little tail was a blur. I am looking forward to taking her in the motorhome tomorrow. She will get to meet lots of people and other doggies. She seems to love everyone.

She is still driving Pinto crazy but Monty is tolerating her. He makes it known that he is the boss (he just thinks he is) but is giving her some slack.



Burch

[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