Muffin
Muffin is a puppy mill rescue from Eastern Europe. Part of her lower jaw is missing, which is why her cute little tongue is hanging out so much. She needs a little help eating, although she doesn’t seem to have any problem snatching poops when she has a chance (a bad habit she probably developed in her cell). She also had several ulcers that made her eyes quite fragile. She was almost five years old when she came to us, very neglected (she had the worst teeth I had even seen) and fearful, but quickly perked up and easily felt at home. She is now still going strong at 11! She has become Cookie’s best friend and likes nothing more than to huddle on our laps.
Gus aka Pti loulou
This little terror was surrendered by his owners with his buddy Domino. He was nine years old and had spent his whole life biting many fingers! He was like many Chihuahuas, misunderstood and the lack of training increased his bad behavior. He was not the fully confident brat everyone thought he was. He was insecure and used his barks, growls and teeth to keep his fears at a distance. It worked until he came to us and with the right rehabilitation, even if it’s been a rollercoaster, he finally calmed down and almost became a little angel. He had loose joints, glaucomas but remained pretty healthy until the end.
Raymond
We believed Raymond was some Yorkshire terrier mixed with a dinosaur! He had a round back, a long neck, short legs, almost no hair with the skin of a reptile. This poor guy was unwanted even by the organization that saved him from euthanasia and I got a “you won’t bother for long since he is going to die soon” when he was dropped off! That’s the truth behind many so-called rescuers, so phony and cold-hearted… He had not received the proper treatment for his hypothyroidism, so we did in addition to natural supplements for his weak body. The first few weeks were full of ups and downs, we thought we would indeed lose him quickly… But a little love added to the concoction helped him feel better for a bit, even if he was not the most friendly and demonstrative dog. Both his body and soul were damaged. In the end, many organs broke down, pancreatitis being the last straw. He had been with us a short year and although he had been more than a handful, we were glad to have been able to give him a loving and caring last home.
Maggie
I cried the first time I saw Maggie, and not just because her face showed she had been outrageously neglected. She was lying flat on the floor when a hand approached, terrified of humans. She had been found in the streets, a senior shamefully abandoned after she had been overly used for breeding. Her belly looked like a cow’s, with distended nipples, she had hardly any teeth left, a tongue hanging on the side (we were told she had probably had a stroke at one point, numbing a side of her face and making her gait a little woobly), cataract, keratitis, a slight cherry eye, a cyst on her thigh and a small mammary tumor. Once her physical issues were taken care of, we tackled the psychological trauma. She slowly learned to trust us and started to show her clownish side, dancing and shaking her big butt, which is why she was granted the nicknamde of “boogie-woogie”. She was fine the first few years despite some skin issues here or there until she had more severe pyoderma due to an underlying hypothyroidic dermatitis. All the meds were harsh on her immune system, we even decided to stop administering one drug because it made her dizzy… Some phytotherapy helped her at first and even if she bounced back, it all came back a few months later. She had kidney failure and passed away while on a drip at the vet’s, right before I was supposed to get her back. It was the first time I was not there when a dog died and this haunted me for days… She showed us how resilient dogs can be, giving us her trust others had so badly destroyed.