Greetings from soggy, houndly Maryland. Despite the many H2O events the last few days, Bernie and I have been enjoying our romps in the park. Fall is here and the squirrels and deer are out in the mornings just begging to be chased. Last week I treed 5 squirrels on two separate trees at the same time. I was quite proud of myself. Life is definitely good.
Life wasn't always so good, though. Almost two years ago, I was left at a kill shelter in Floyd County, Georgia by my owner. I had an eye infection that had gone untreated for a long time. One Saturday morning, a nice cat rescue person named Liz was at the shelter looking to take photos of the dogs to put on the web so they would have a chance at being adopted. She saw me shivering at the back of my cage and couldn't believe it--my eyes were so infected they were barely visible. She pulled me and took me to the vet, thinking that at least I would be put to sleep and would not have to suffer any longer. The vet took a look at me and declared that all I needed was eye surgery and a bit of TLC. So there's Liz at the vet with me, a very large hound, with no idea what to do next. She called her colleague who told her to call the Washington Animal Rescue League. She did and they promised to be on their way in a few days. In the meantime, they took good care of me. When I came up to Washington, the vets continued to treat my eyes and the adoptions staff made me available for adoption. As a senior hound girl, I think they thought I'd be around for a while, but within a few weeks, I was living it up at hound central with Mom, Dad, and Bernie. I still remember everyone at the rescue league. When I go to the vet I greet all my former caretakers with great enthusiasm.
Below is a pic of how I looked the day I was pulled from the shelter. Mom says it still makes her cry. To end on a happy note, a video of me howling is also below. Enjoy!
5 comments:
Oh Marmalade, I'm so glad to hear your happy, cheerful howls. (my human mom's sniffling again after reading your story - she's so glad you're in a loving forever home).
Thanks, Bentley. We hope to have new and improved howl footage up soon. You are a beautiful bloodhound--I love the pic of you surveying your "kindgdom". Now back to my nap...
Hi Marmalade!
Thanks for sharing your story. I hope many people will consider rescuing older dogs, they are treasures!
I see that Wimsey recommended Yummy Chummies. If you would like to try some, and can't find them, just let me know. We would be happy to send you a package. They are made from wild Alaska salmon. I have a delicate stomach as well. Edie does not understand how I can digest an entire pillow, but not certain types of food...
Glad to hear that you are treeing critters. My coonhound sisters certainly enjoy that activity, although up here where I live, there are actually very few squirrels. They have tried to tree moose several times, but have not been successful quite yet. I'll let you know how that works out!
Enjoy your fall weather. I am plowing through snow already!
Gus, Bloodhound of the North
Oh Gus, I would LOVE to try Yummy Chummies... We can't get them here at all. If you don't mind sending some to try, I would be most grateful. I hope it snows this year--last year I was chasing snowflakes--Mom thought it was really cute. As for treeing moose--wow--that would really be something!
Marmalade,
If you would like to e-mail your address, we will get some Yummy Chummies in the mail for you!
soundhoundz@gmail.com
I also have eaten Science Diet Sensitive Stomach kibble for a long time, and it worked really well. My coat is glossy and thick. We recently switched to Eagle Pac, a food that is popular up here with mushers and other types of working dogs. Science Diet is now almost $60 a bag here in Alaska, and with 3 dogs to feed, it is just too much.
I will work on sending snow your way. We are due for about 6 more inches tonight. Edie is not happy. Winter is sooo long up here. The snow will not go away until May!
Looking forward to hearing from you,
Gus, Snowhound of the North
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