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

[Dixie_Flyer]

Only you can really know what is best for Wolfie and the family. Some decisions are hard to come by, but when you have tried your best no one can second guess you and you have certainly gone beyond what many would endure. Best to you and your family

[Gentle_Spirit]

Wolfie update.....

We just took a trip to Zion National Park Utah. It was beautiful, breathtaking and felt quite spiritual. However, Wolfie will not be traveling with us again. He tore up the motorhome screen again and then we took him to my mothers house in Henderson, NV. (We stayed there one night up and back). We put him in my mothers back yard while we went car shopping for a tow vehicle - when we got back he had torn down the screen on their sliding glass door. He just can't handle being left alone in a strange place. He eats very little on our trips and is generally just nervous and upset. It's not fair to expect him to be able to travel when he's just not suited for it. I don't want to put him through it again, also putting him on medication (tranquilizers) for days on end doesn't seem like a good thing to do. I have found a friend who is a groomer who has clipped Wolfie in the past and she will board dogs, so that's probably where he will go when we're traveling. During our trip, I took Wolfie to a doggie day care for one day. They said they put him in with a group and supervised, he was pretty good, but growled at a couple males, so he was put in his own pen. They did take him for 3 long walks and let him swim in the river, so he had a good time. I noticed on their paperwork, one of their questions was whether he was a rescue. That made me think.....we don't really know the details of a rescues past, what they went through, if they were abused or what. Although I do know quite a bit about Wolfie from talking with his previous (abusive, drug-addict) owner and the neighbor who witnessed Wolfie's treatment. We just have to accept them as they are and deal with it. Everytime we go and take him with us he loses weight, and I feel like I'm attached at the hip to him - so if he goes to my friends home where he's been before that should be okay, she has horses and lots of other dogs.

Anyway, just an update for those of you who are interested.....

[maltese-lover2]

Oops! sorry folks.

[Dixie_Flyer]

Mymaize wrote:
Richard. How are the kitties? Were they rescued?

Bette

The last I heard there was one kitten left and the mama cat as well.

[Mymaize]

Richard. How are the kitties? Were they rescued?

Bette

[Dixie_Flyer]

Okay folks we have to be careful from here on about the bricks. Please put your comments in a PM concerning this subject, it seems we are going over the bounds of the rules for the forum and we don't want to cause any trouble or be shut down. Thanks for your help in this matter.

[maltese-lover2]

On the bricks, I did 3 and on each one I did the first line Rainbow Bridge, the 2nd line was the pets name and month and year they crossed over and on the third line I put where we're from, i.e., Windsor, CO. Just an idea.

gigi

[Dixie_Flyer]

ljr wrote:

Dixie Flyer wrote:
....or who knows, maybe they will be buried with one of us when the time comes.

When my Dad passed away a few years ago I asked the funereal director if I could put the box with his dog's ashes in the casket. He said it was against the law to bury animal remains in a human cemetery (at least in OH). My Dad now rests with the box containing his prized bottle cap collection at his side.;)

One of the advantages of living in a small town is who do you know?

[ljr]

Dixie Flyer wrote:
....or who knows, maybe they will be buried with one of us when the time comes.

When my Dad passed away a few years ago I asked the funereal director if I could put the box with his dog's ashes in the casket. He said it was against the law to bury animal remains in a human cemetery (at least in OH). My Dad now rests with the box containing his prized bottle cap collection at his side.;)

[Hoops]

We are not doing the Rainbow Bridge, Think we will do the 3 lines, Hoops (line one), Ed, Becky,Missy (line2) Indiana on line3, is what we are putting on ours (haven't counted yet so may be revised a little. Mainly because anyone from this forum coming to the memorial will know you by the RV. Net handle rather than our real names. People visiting it not from rv.net won't know our brick either way. Just my thought.

[Dixie_Flyer]

chemisd wrote:
Ok, for those of you that are doing the bricks, what are you putting on them? I have 2 dogs that have gone to the Rainbow Bridge, so am considering 2 of them. Are you just doing their names? Are you putting your own? I thought of using the "chemisd" as our name, but that is really my husband's since he started reading the RV forum first, then I found the pet forum and just never changed it. Had thought of the dates, but that is too long also....so.....what are you putting?
And to keep it all about pets, Richard how is Izzy? 🙂

Izzy is doing great, still king of the house and loving his servants very much. He hasn't given us a raise in pay in a long time, but he treats us very good. He allows us to have him in our laps and he is also very polite about demanding his food and having his cat box cleaned out. What a wonderful relationship with our boss, wouldn't have it any other way.

[chemisd]

Ok, for those of you that are doing the bricks, what are you putting on them? I have 2 dogs that have gone to the Rainbow Bridge, so am considering 2 of them. Are you just doing their names? Are you putting your own? I thought of using the "chemisd" as our name, but that is really my husband's since he started reading the RV forum first, then I found the pet forum and just never changed it. Had thought of the dates, but that is too long also....so.....what are you putting?
And to keep it all about pets, Richard how is Izzy? 🙂

[Hoops]

Richard, great news about Forest River coming through on the tires. I know there has been a lot of complaints on the tires that are on some of these trailers. Please check your tires carefully. But am thankful your situation resolved itself so sweetly for you and Sue and now Ohio is a go for you.

Becky

[Dixie_Flyer]

Grillmeister wrote:

Dixie Flyer wrote:
Gosh life is great!

I have to admit that reading this everyday gives me inspiration to feel differently about lots of stuff and maybe to be a better person.

My inspiration comes from the family I have found on this thread. You will never know the joy I receive every time I make a post telling the continuing story of Old Fella.

[Dixie_Flyer]

I have to share this with everyone now that I have had time to get myself togther. Sue and I experienced a lot of trouble on our trip to New Mexico. When we got to Albuquerque I discovered we had two tires that were about to explode with broken belts. These were fairly new tires bought about a year and a half ago. We managed to limp into a tire store for the brand tires we had and had them replaced.

On the way home we experienced a tire throwing off its tread and doing over a thousand dollars worth of damage to our camper. This was eight tires that have failed on our camper since we bought it in 2005, all the same brand tires made in China. I was so discouraged and afraid to go anywhere else with the camper, as a matter of fact I was afraid to even take it to Augusta to have it repaired. I finally decided to have 16" tires with a load range "E" and wheels put on the camper at great expense. Our trip to Ohio for the Old Fella Rally was in jeopardy. I had decided I was not going to pull the camper anywhere until I could afford to make the switch.

Today I called Forest River who makes our camper to get some vital information about making the swap and talked with their sales manager Mark. He told me he would get back to me with the information I was looking for. When he called back he brought tears to my eyes with an offer by Forest River. They are sending me a full set of 16" tires and Aluminum wheels to fit my camper at no charge.

He will never know how deeply he touched my heart with his offer and now we can travel with peace of mind. He saved our trip to Ohio and made a friend for life. Forest River I thank you from the depths of my heart.