"I fall asleep in the full and certain hope
That my slumber shall not be broken;
And that though I be all-forgetting,
Yet shall I not be all-forgotten,
But continue that life in the thoughts and deeds
Of those I loved."
--Samuel Butler
This is from her wonderful parents, Andrea and William in Idaho.
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Hi Jon,
Hope all is going well. I have some news on Bette that
I wanted to include you in. You know how horrible her breath was?
Well, we took her in to see what was causing it, and it turns out that two of
the teeth she still has are broken all the way down into the gum line, and she
has infections in them. It certainly hasn’t stopped her from
eating, and she’s up to 6.4 lbs. My vet was leery about putting her
under anesthesia, due to her realllly slow heart rate, so we had labs run to
see what kind of shape she’s in. My vet was shocked by the results
– she said if she didn’t know that Bette was 15 years old, she
wouldn’t have believed it. All of Bette’s organs and proteins
and everything are in excellent shape – she is very healthy. Except
for her teeth. My vet is pretty confident that they can do a light
anesthesia with a local pain killer and pull those two front teeth within a
couple minutes. They are too deep and attached to just tug them out. As
much as we hate to take the risk with any anesthesia, we also don’t want
her walking around with raging infections in her teeth and being in pain.
She eats well, but she doesn’t want anyone touching her mouth or trying
to look in it, so we’re assuming they are causing her some pain. In
the interest of quality of life we’ve decided to go ahead and have those
teeth removed. It looks like she could still have a good amount of life
left if we can get her over this little hurdle. I hope you agree with our
decision – if it wasn’t hurting her or they would just fall out on
their own we wouldn’t bother with them, but since they’re infected
I don’t think we have much choice.
Her surgery is next Thursday – she’s on
antibiotics for a week to try to get rid of the infection. I’ll let
you know as soon as she’s out how she’s doing. Because of her
slow heart rate they’re going to put her on an EKG while they pull the
teeth so they can monitor her and bring her out if she starts having trouble.
Cross your fingers and think good thoughts. We love her so much, and
I’ve taken a bunch of pictures so hopefully I can get those sent to you
soon.
We’re having a banner week on dogs – we’ve
got 2 of them having seizures and on meds now. Groucho has ear infections
and has to have his ears cleaned everyday due to the cropping job he got to
make him a “show dog”, the crazy pom has been having confusion
episodes all week, and now Bette’s teeth. Oh the joy of
seniors. Sometimes I just look around here and have to laugh. Dog
toys and dog beds everywhere, crazy dogs barking at walls, blind dogs wandering
around, Gladys falling into her food dish and needing a bath, and the constant
sound of dog snoring, somebody has to go out and pee every 5 minutes, everyone
eats a different food and has to be fed separately, and you can’t sit
down without someone pawing at you to be in your lap. It’s a wonderful
life, but sometimes I wonder if we must be crazy. I wouldn’t give a
single one of them up, and we’ll rescue another one once one of these goes
on from here. I think we spent about 300.00 in vet bills this week, and
we’ll have Bette’s surgery next week. I was seeing what you
were going through with Bullet – you’re doing a great thing.
The costs pile up and sometimes you just can’t win, but it’s worth
the fight. I wish we could help you out some more, but we’ve got
our hands full over here, as you can see.
Best of luck with Bullet, and wish us luck with Bette
Davis. She is such a joy – I can’t imagine this house without
her in it now.
Best Regards,
Andrea
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Note from Jon: I gave my blessing for the surgery and I know it will make her feel much better to have those back molars removed. I'm just so glad Bette has such caring parents.
Hi Jon,
Just read your update. Thank you for including
us. I just wanted to let you know that Bette Davis is doing
wonderfully. She seems very happy.
We’ve kept her name, because every time we say it she
wags her tail and gets up to look for us. Since she obviously associates
good things with her name, we’re not going to change it. Quite
often when we get dogs, they either don’t respond to their old names, or
they respond in a negative manner. Bette’s response tells us that
she only associates happy things with her name, which is a big thumbs up for
you.
She is a little doll, and her personality is coming out more
that she’s settling in. Her favorite sleeping place is on a
comforter by the love seat in the living room. It’s near a heater
vent, and under the picture window, so she can lie in the sun and be nice and
warm. If we talk to her while she’s sleepy she rolls over onto her
back to have her belly rubbed. She has another blanket that she
absolutely loves – she rolls around and growls at it and digs herself a
little den. She gets on very well with other dogs. At night she
sleeps in the big dog bed at the foot of our bed with Groucho and Gladys.
They are a pair of 14 year old Brussels Griffons that have been mates for 11
years – they are grandparents together. Gladys is deaf and blind,
and she and Bette spend the better part of the day curled up and sleeping
together. If Bette gets up to go out or is in the living room with us, it
won’t be 10 minutes before Gladys is wandering around looking for her.
She is a great eater – in addition to her own food,
she will steal the other dogs food. They eat hard food, so Bette grabs a
couple pieces and takes them to the living room where she’ll lie down and
gum them. She’s getting around very well and seems to be a bit of a
night owl. She becomes most active around 11pm when she’ll start
wandering around, checking out the room and the other dogs. She’s
only had one accident in the house, and always goes when we take her out.
Overall, she seems to be happy and healthy. She always
perks up when we talk to her and she’s perfectly happy to just lie on the
couch and let someone pet her. She’s so soft – it’s
like petting a rabbit. After looking at those gigantic ears and doing a
bit of research, we’re thinking she might possibly be a Papillon
mix. I haven’t found any other breeds with ears like hers. In
any case, whatever her origins, she is a sweet, beautiful little girl and I
hope we’ll have her company for a good while yet to come.
Thanks again for rescuing her and for letting us bring her
home.
Best Regards,
Andrea
It was last Thursday morning and I woke up early to prepare for Bette Davis's big day. It's strange to adapt to a routine and then, one day, it disappears. I imagine for Betty it was even stranger than for me. This little five pound creature has been alive for 15+ years and now she was finally heading "home".
I remember walking into the Downey shelter the day that I bailed out Bette. Rows and rows of dogs were barking, throwing themselves against their kennels to get second chance at life. I tried my best to keep my composure that day as I looked into the eyes of dozens upon dozens of dogs that probably wouldn't be alive for more than a couple of weeks. It wasn't until I walked to the very last building that I couldn't hold back my tears. There in the isolation ward were the oldest of the old...dogs that had lived a decade or more and then were abandoned by their owners.
I saw Bette Davis in the darkness of her cage; her ears would perk up at the sound of my voice and I asked if I could take her out and hold her. Her fur was matted and flakes of dry skin were caught in the tangles. By this time, my eyes were a leaky faucet. I stared at this pathetically old, sickly creature, wondering how she wound up in such an undignified and scary place.
I payed the impound fee for Bette and she came home with me on the spot.
The rest of her story has been detailed in my blog except for her big day last week.
Bette Davis and I drove to the airport with her sitting on my lap. I was talking on my cellphone with William (Bette's new dad) while I walked around the airport terminal looking for him. We found each other and sat down on a bench by the window and Bette popped her head out of her travel bag. It was love at first site for William; he was ecstatic to hold Bette and meet the dog that he'd flown so far to adopt. He signed the adoption papers that I require and I kissed Bette on her nose while putting her in William's pet carrier. She had no clue what was happening or where she was going, but she was very relaxed during the process. We said our goodbyes and then it was time for her to start the newest chapter of a very long doggy life.
Bette lives in Boise, Idaho with her human parents William and Andrea and she has four other small senior dogs as her best buddies. She now sleeps curled up with another old dog in a fuzzy pet bed and spends her days lounging around the house and waiting to eat.
((I love you Bette and I know you'll probably be around for 15 more years...it's just your special way))
Are we there yet?
I feel guilty for not writing more in my blog lately. It's not always that I'm too busy...I think laziness also gets the best of me. I've been more defined by my schedule lately than my thoughts or feelings. Sometimes a moment to myself means no computer, phone, or television. I attended the HH Backer pet expo in Chicago for work; my boss had food poisoning on the flight from Los Angeles and then I had the luck of getting it two days later. What a miserable feeling to be so far from home and feeling so horrible and helpless!
However, I must point out that I met some incredible folks in the pet industry who made my time very enjoyable despite my stomach. I met the owner of Earthbath, which is a line of pet shampoos that I use on my own dog. It was great to tell him how much his products have done for my dog's coat and see his reaction--I even got a free shampoo =) I also made friends with a couple of our company's customers and it was great to hear how much they enjoyed the collars that we sell.
The title of this post is Boise because I received a call from Boise, Idaho from a woman interested in Bette Davis. She has two senior Pomeranians and a Brussels Griffon and she fell in love with Bette Davis from her pictures. Andrea and her husband adopt senior dogs and let them live out their last peaceful years (or months) in their quiet home. I immediately felt a connection to Andrea over the phone; she seems very sincere and was well educated in the issues and challenges that older dogs face. Another bonus is that her husband works for an airline and is willing to fly down and pick up Bette Davis; I am also invited to come to Boise to check out their home. I haven't decided which option to pick yet, but I'm going to speak with their veterinarian and have them send pictures of their home and other dogs. I'm just so thankful that there are such kind people out who take would take the effort to help out a little old dog like Bette from thousands of miles away.
Much love to everyone....... Jon
Bette Davis stayed at my friend's condo while I was in Las Vegas. She was left alone for just a minute or two when she walked onto the balcony and fell from the fourth story to the ground below. She was still breathing and didn't look injured. They rushed her to my veterinarian where she had x-rays done and her heart checked. By some miracle, they couldn't find a single thing wrong with her. She came home that night and when I arrived from my trip, I couldn't tell that anything bad had happened.
I guess this is a lesson to everyone to always watch where your pet is (especially a friend's pet). In a split second, they could be gone. Hopefully, Bette will be okay...but she's not out of the clear yet. Doctors and their tests aren't infallible.
Does anyone else have a cautionary tale they'd like to share? E-mail me at savedogs@gmail.com and I can post your story on the blog.
I look at her tiny face and those enormous ears and I can't imagine how anyone left her after 15 years. Bette is impressing me so much. She's relying on her sense of smell and her memory to get around the house. She mostly stays in her very large crate with tons of fuzzy blankets. I let her explore the house for a little while every day; she also enjoys sitting on the grass and smelling the breeze under the sun.
I feel comfortable with her in my care. The anxiety of having a rescued dog is virtually non-existent when it is a smaller, older dog. I'm happy when she's happy. Next week I'll be in Las Vegas for a pet convention, so I'm trying to find the best possible caretaker for her. She is by far the easiest dog I've ever cared for. She only wants her yummy canned food and some "ear scratches" and she's good to go.
I have to commend the makers of Eagle Pack dog food for contributing to the well-being of my rescue dogs (and my personal dog). Their holistic food changes the dog from the inside out. Bette has started to walk much better and her coat is healthy and shiny.
Sugar Bean is adopted! The little munchkin is now happily with the Stone family, who lives just across the street from me. I've visited her twice and she is doing fabulously. She sleeps in bed with her human parents and her step-sister pug Sally. They love her and so it has all worked out.
I went to Downey Shelter on Monday and bailed out another dog. She is a chihuahua/pomeranian mix. I've named her Bette Davis because of her big, expressive eyes. She was abandoned by her former owners after 15 years! She is mostly blind and can barely walk--but I'm working on getting her good nutrition to help her bones and antibiotics for her doggy cold. Here are her first pictures with me. She's a little sad right now, but that will soon change. I'll post more updates soon.
Take care, Jon.
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