Last fall I
adopted a beautiful Husky/Malamute from you. I just thought I'd
let you know how she's doing. She's now a working dog for the
St. John's Ambulance Therapy Dog Program. She graduated today,
following 3 months of evaluations and probationary visits. Here are
some pictures of her.
Thanks for letting me adopt such a great dog. She's been a
pleasure to have.
Cathie
Update October '10 ...
Hope
came into my life at a difficult time and adopted me from the first
time I saw her. Having recently been in an accident which left
me in
pain if I walked, I asked my oldest son to come with me to the
shelter, so I could take a large Husky/Malamute (about 120 pounds) for
a walk. My reasoning was that if the dog was too strong, he
could get her back to the shelter without me being in agony for the
day. Hope, as the shelter had named her, proved to be a lovely,
gentle girl. Following that short walk, she went over to my car
and sat at the rear door of my car waiting for me to let her in.
My son smiled and said "I think she wants to go home with you."
Hope
was the perfect name for her. She proved to be a gentle soul.
At the time I was a HCA at a nursing home and doing modified duties in
the office. My co-workers knew I had just got her and asked me
to bring her with me. It turned out to be the perfect
arrangement. She loved everyone she met and the residents of the
home loved her. Within a year she was a Therapy dog. She
worked at another nursing home in the community where the residents
loved her. Many would buy her dog treats for when she came to
visit. It was the perfect profession for such a wonderful,
loving girl. Other days she would join me at work where everyone
looked forward to her visits, staff and residents alike.
She
got along great with all animals and thankfully my two cats quickly
became good friends with her. The three of them would often
sleep together. At the dog park, she would play nicely with any
dog who came along, and
made allowances for older dogs and puppies. Two years later, she
was diagnosed as a border-line diabetic. I began to watch her
diet more closely and discouraged the residents from sharing their
food with Hope. This worked for awhile and she seemed to be
doing better. Then one day she decided she wasn't going to work
as a Therapy dog. Normally excited to go, she refused.
Hope began doing this more frequently so eventually we resigned from
the program. As the months went by, I noticed her energy
dropping and she would occasionally let out a soft growl if one of the
cats decided to lay on top of her or walk over her.
Hope was contented to lay around on one of her beds, either inside or
outside. I never had to worry about her wandering off, she was
happy where she was. She still loved attention and would greet
everyone who came around. Then just before Christmas, I noticed
she wasn't eating as much as normal. By New Years Eve, she had
developed sores on the top of her paws. I booked her in to see
the vet. She was diagnosed with pancreatitis. For several
weeks we wondered if she would pull through. She just seemed to get
worse, sleeping most of the day and refusing to move, unwilling to eat
or if she did, she couldn't keep it down. Our youngest cat began
staying next to her for hours, refusing to leave her side. Then
we started her on insulin and home-cooked meals. Hope did well
on this combination, recovering quickly. Hope seemed to have
more energy and looked forward to her walks again. She would
even play with the cats once more, her grumpiness forgiven. Then
one day she was wandering around outside while I did gardening.
We were in the front yard where it's pretty level ground and she
suddenly let out a yelp. Hope had torn a ligament in her back
leg. Unfortunately she never recovered from this and we had to
let her go.
Hope
touched numerous lives during her brief time with us. I'm
grateful for her coming into my life. I have been blessed by her
presence and cherish the memories I have of her. Hope is, and
always will be, greatly missed.
Hope has been added to our Rainbow
Bridge webpage, and our thoughts and prayers are with her family
at this time.
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