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]

I hope by next weekend we will be camping at Clahoun Falls State Park. I really expect this trip to Camping World will be the last for reapirs, at least for a long time.

Mama had an upset stomach today, maybe the Joint Strong. She didn't tolirate it too good the last time she was on it. I hope we all get a good night's rest and wake up to bright sunshine in the morning.

[joelbaker]

Richard: Sign up for the service protection, it's well worth a buck or two a month. Once you're signed up give them a call and they'll come out and take care of everything. I've forgotten once or twice to take the service option and have been able to get everything sorted out by just getting signed up like this.

[Dixie_Flyer]

I have a lot on my plate this morning so I will keep this short. The weather is nice and it is beautiful outside. The fur gang is waiting for me to take them for a walk. I have to take the camper in this morning to replace the shower stall and Sue wants me to pick up a tree for the yard. I haven't started to get ready as I have spent much of this morning messing with the Satellite peole trying to get the picture back on. They asked me questions like "What kind of cables do you have hooked to your system?" Now how am I supposed to know all that? All I did was call the staellite people and they came out and hooked everything up. Then they told me there would be a service charge for the tech to come out because I didn't sign up for the service contract. I asked them how about sending the whole mess back and I was told I had a contract that ran until 2012 and I couldn't cancel the contract.

I am being stuck with pens and needles and nibbled to death by ducks? I guess that's life. Okay, I need to start moving and see what else the day may hold, talk with you later.

[Dixie_Flyer]

The rain stopped this morning here in Piedmont but the mountains are getting snow just a few miles from here. The weekend forecast is for nice weather so maybe we can get some yard work done.

The fur gang went for a walk this morning with Suzie leading the pack with her naughty self. Mama will hang behind sniffing everything from rocks to grass blades. Hobo will walk with me for the most part and I have to keep Peaches on a leash because she will graze like a cow if left by herself.

Okay, I am going to get a hair cut and stop by LOwes for a light switch for the hall way, talk with you later.

[Dashonthedash]

I just checked the latest 7-day forecast for Evergreen from nws.noaa.gov. The highs for the next 7 days? 60, 58, 59, 56, 62, 58 and 61. Sunday, which was supposed to bring rain, is now sunny. March is our snowiest month. Sometime, we're going to pay for this.

[Dixie_Flyer]

It rained here all day with the temperature in the upper 40’s and low 50’s most of the day. The pond has the most water in it I have seen so far. Tomorrow I will hook up the camper to the truck, pull it up to the garage and unload the front cargo hold one more time so the technicians can get to the plumbing behind the wall without stumbling over my stuff. This is absolutely the past time I am going to deal with this problem on the camper. If it doesn’t work this time it is out of here.

The fur gang was miserable today having to stay inside. We did get in an early walk this morning before the rain started so at least they were able to go out for a little while. I watch Mama’s struggle with her joints every day as she tries to get up and down and know she is not comfortable, but she does rest well at night when she gets her meds before bedtime. Suzie has learned to open the bedroom door to go outside. The door has a lever not a round door knob so all she has to do is grab it with her front paw and pull down and the door opens. The only way I can stop her is to lock the door. She has also learned to dance around on her hind legs. She has good balance and does it very well. When I give her treats she will rise up on her hind legs and balance herself until I give it to her.

Peaches is doing well and so is Hobo. Izzie is becoming a lap cat. Every time I sit down I can expect Izzie to get into my lap and settle into a deep sleep. Tomorrow is supposed to be a nice day with plenty of sunshine and warm breezes out of the South. Maybe I can catch some of that Georgia air as it comes in from that direction. There are times I miss Waynesboro and friends we left behind. I miss the walks to the city park and walking by the statue of Old Fella. There were times I would sit on the bench and look at the statue and remember when he and I would walk here and rest in the shade of the trees. I would watch the children as they would come to the statue and rub its head and talk to it. Old Fella changed our lives and left a huge paw print in our hearts. This summer as we celebrate him in Branson I will know his spirit lives on as long as he is remembered.

[Dandy_Dan]

Gary, 50's and 60's in Colorado just isn't right. We are still in the 30-40's range. Just got rid of most of the snow and the flooding and now they are calling for rain tonight, Friday and Sunday. Just cant seem to catch a break in the weather. Hope you get to take the new mansion out for a spin soon.

[Martyn]

Dashonthedash wrote:

Not going camping until May, because weather can be so unpredictable this time of year.

Ain't that the truth! We're going to Cherry Creek on the last weekend in April to make sure it all still works! :B

[Dashonthedash]

Richard, sorry to hear the camper's in the shop again.

Not going camping until May, because weather can be so unpredictable this time of year. We were forecast to get as much as a foot of snow here in the foothills (:B), but we only got a couple of inches. Temperatures are expected to be in the 50's-60's through the weekend, so I'm hoping to take the camper out for a drive Saturday.

[ByTheWind]

WOW. I have never seen a horse with such a sway in his back! Chance was the worst condition we came across as far as the back goes and I was shocked by him. Champ looks like a reverse camel! Glad he was in good health otherwise, and I can totally relate to the humane societies showing up. lol! We used to raise Transylvania Naked Neck chickens as well, and if you have never seen them they are normal looking large chickens with bright red completely naked necks and chests... hence the name, Naked Neck (also called Turken).
We had 20 acres a good portion of our field which was right alongside the road, and pretty much weekly we had well-meaning people stop, cops show up, or animal control/humane society (WITH HORSE TRAILERS IN TOW on one occasion) show up thinking we had the biggest abuse farm going and they were fully primed to clear us out of all animals. (Course after showing them a good 8 pounds of vet, surgical, farrier, dental, specialty, suppliment, feed and hay bills they backed off)

We had several people think the Transylvania Naked Neck chickens had been half-plucked and were bleeding out in their runs (with were alongside the barn, but visible from the road if you went slow)... I'll never stop laughing when I think of that one. The birds are never plucked, they are born right out of the egg like that... but from a distance to someone not used to them I can understand the shock.

*shaking my head* Some people. Well meaning of course, but they jump to conclusions so fast sometimes. Still amusing, in a way.


Dogdiva, I've been SOOOOO tempted to turn the trailer into a little portable farm! I could line the floor with sod and put me a bunch of Pygmy goats in there, or chickens, or a miniature horse or two.
Alas, no, it holds two vehicles and some personal items in storage tubs, there's a small custom living area in the front, we call it the "smugglers hold" since its not very comfortable. Nothing special... but soon as we jettison half the load back there I am SO getting some sod and some goats. lol!!

I had a problem getting rid of all of my stuff when we first started full-timing, I had a few collections of random items I just could NOT part with. Alot of that is still in the trailer, though over the years Ive learned to par down on alot of it. Slowly but surely I decide "I dont need all this stuff!" and Salvation Army or Goodwill stores in around 25 states have a bit of my stuff. I haven't had the heart to part with my 1974 Playmobils or my Ironwood carvings yet, and I still have alot of my Japanese collectibles yet. All in good time.

We've been through Texas twice, spent some time in Bridge City and Orange in September 2008 right after Ike went through working the clean up for a few months, we left in December and heaaded to Nevada.
And then we made a flying trip through last September 2010 on our way back to Missouri (where we currently sit, and will be til this summer) and we drove straight through, didnt stop at any CGs.
I will definitely keep you in mind though! We have plans to hit New England either this fall or next year, but we literally pick a destination by throwing a dart at a wall map so Texas could very well be on the agenda!


Dixie Flyer, didn't mean to hijack your thread. But thanks for the welcome. 🙂 Glad I found this forum, and definitely this thread. And it is very late of course, but thanks for doing what you did with Old Fellow and the others.

[Hoops]

Loved all the stories of past, Richard, hopefully this will fix your problem.

[Dixie_Flyer]

Great pictures! Welcome Wind to the Old Fella forum, it's always great to make new friends. Gary hope you will soon be able to crank up the new toy and head out for a camping trip. Mine goes back to the shop Friday to have the shower stall replaced.

[dogdiva]

Wind
Yessss "interesting is good" DO you have your animals in the trailer" or
living quarters or what?
If you come to Texas, I live and work in a campground on a lake and would love to have you stop here

[campingshadow]

After seeing the picture of Chance, I thought I would post this picture of Champ. In this picture he is 32 years old and believe it or not, in perfect health. We used to get people coming by the stable all the time and seeing him and calling the humane society on us. They finally got to the point where they quit coming out and just said "Oh yeah...that is Champ...he is fine". Champ had free run of the stable and used to spend part of his day resting his belly on the hay bales. He was a really sweet horse and he was ridden regularly until he was about 29.

[Dashonthedash]

I always seem to give my second greyhound Dot short shrift, but maybe it's because of the sudden nature of her passing. She was sweet, loving and shy, but she could be fierce in defending her "pack". Easter day, 2004, I volunteered to transport one of 8 greyhounds brought to Denver from a closed track in Harlingen, Texas, to a foster home. The night of the following day, Dot, Dash, Allan and I all went to sleep in our individual beds. Only 3 of us woke up the following morning. She was only 7 years old.


The good that came out of that terrible day: the dog I transported, a 21-month-old failure at racing school named Redline Design, became my Easter flower, Lily.