This is where the old stuff from the frontpage will go, so it doesn’t get too long.
12/13
Hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving!
After sad news like our update about Addison below, we do have some happy news to share! We have given Fred a forever home, and officially made him a part of our family!
Freddie
Fred is an old (maybe between 9 and 10, but probably much closer to 11 or 12 years old), blind Boston that was found wandering the streets of Baltimore in 2011, blind and afraid. He was going to be euthanized, but FOHA decided to rescue him and take him in! He appears to have had severe glaucoma in one of his eyes, and it had to be removed. His other eye is totally clouded up by a cataract, so he has been left completely blind. We also think Fred might be experiencing some cognitive dysfunction, something that old dogs get – kind of like a doggie Alzheimer’s. However, he’s still a very sweet, cuddly and curious dog – and he’s finding his way around the house, with no signs of aggression towards the other dogs in the house (unless they surprise him and get in his face, but come on, who would like that?)
We’ve seen Fred on the rescue’s list for years now, and we fell in love with him when we were given the chance to take him in as a foster.
Here’s a video about Fred from 2011 when he was first being fostered:
The video says he’s 7, but he was much, much older (we think). Now, he’s not quite as spry and walks a bit more cautiously and deliberately, but he’s very sweet and affectionate still – and he’s quite the chowhound.
He got adopted and returned twice for being aggressive with other dogs, but we wonder if that might have had to do with his painful eye condition that he was suffering from. His most recent foster home disappeared, and he was passed off to another one of the wonderful foster moms who was already caring for a couple of very sick dogs. She wasn’t able to give Fred the care he needed, thus we jumped at the opportunity to take him.
We knew from the start that Fred would stay here forever – after all, very few people are willing to take on an old dog, never mind an old, blind, possibly senile dog with a heart murmur and a leaky bladder – but we simply can’t help ourselves. We love him all the same. We adopted Fred as an early Christmas present to ourselves, and to him, so he can have the love of a family through the holidays, and for the rest of his life.
Happy Holidays everyone!
11/28
Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Here are some updates on our dogs:
Addison
We’re very, very sad to share with you that we had to say goodbye to Addison in the early hours of Thanksgiving. Her kidney disease was taking a serious toll on her heart and her appetite was nearly non-existent at this point. She couldn’t hold any food down and her blood pressure was through the roof. We took her to an emergency vet (the wonderful people at Mass Veterinary Referral Hospital) where they found her kidney levels were so far off the charts they couldn’t be measured by the standard means – in essence, she wasn’t getting better even after weeks and months of treatment, over 10 daily medicines, subcutaneous fluids administered at home, and a special diet. We had to do the right thing for Addison.
We and the doctors did as much as humanly possible for her, but in the end, she told us it was time to go. She wouldn’t eat, she could barely stand, she wasn’t holding fluids, and she just wanted to be alone – very unusual for her. We all miss her terribly, and not a day goes by where I don’t think about her and how she just loved to be loved.
Saying goodbye to our four-legged friends is one of the hardest things we’ve ever had to do, especially with it being just barely under 2 months since we’ve said goodbye to Duke. There’s never any way you can truly prepare for
Her past owners were extremely neglectful with her vet checkups and blood workups, so her kidney problem was undiagnosed until it was nearly too late. It’s possible that it could’ve been a side effect of some sort of tick-borne illness, which would make sense seeing that the previous owners refused any sort of heartworm/flea/tick preventative.
This highlights the importance of heartworm/flea/tick preventative treatments. Yes, they’re expensive, but not only were the last parts of Addy’s life expensive financially, we can’t even quantify how much she’ll be missed. All of this might have been prevented (or lessened) if the proper care had been given.
All that aside, we’re glad we could give Addison a caring home where she’d be loved and taken care of for her last days. She was such a sweet dog, and we’ll always remember her as a happy dog who wanted to be everyone’s friend.
Duke and Addy, together again
Nigel
Nigel is a Schnauzer mix who was extremely terrified of, well, everything. He had his own hiding spot in our house where he spent all day and night for the first few days he was with us.
Eventually he came out of his shell and by the time he went to his forever home, he was taking treats right out of my hand!
We’re told by his new owner that he fits right in and is already making himself at home, and we couldn’t be happier for him!
10/22
It’s been a while since I’ve updated, and a lot of things have happened in the past couple of months! Some good stories, and some sad. We’ll start with the sad stuff and get that out of the way.
Duke
- RIP Dukey
We’re extremely sad to let you all know that Duke passed away in the early hours of October 1st, 2013. My wife and I were with him when he went peacefully, at the vet’s office where a very kind and compassionate staff helped us through it all.
Duke was just over 11 years old, and we miss him very, very much, as will the many people who saw him and loved his sweet disposition and silly face. But though we’ll miss him, we are so glad that we could provide him with a loving, comfortable home for his last days and hours.
Thank you to everyone who donated to his page for his jaw surgery. With your help, he was able to live out his last couple of months being totally pain-free and doing what he loves most – killing squeaky toys.
Go here and here for more on Duke.
Nigel
Nigel is a very sweet wiry-haired… something. He’s a mix, looks like mostly Schnauzer, or maybe Airedale, or something like that. But more importantly, he’s terrified of people. He’s making more and more progress every day and coming a little bit out of his shell, but he has a long way to go. The good news is that he’s not aggressive in the least, despite how scared he is.
We’ll keep working with him until he’s ready to go to a good home – we think he’d be an excellent companion for a low-key, patient person.
Below you can see how he came to the rescue in some pretty rough shape. He was up for euthanization many times – the workers at the shelter said he was so sweet they couldn’t bring themselves to do it, but his time finally came – luckily, FOHA stepped in and rescued him hours before he was scheduled to be put down. We’ll keep you updated on Nigel’s progress!
Fred
Fred is the newest little guy to join our “old and blind” club. We unfortunately don’t have much paperwork on him – long story short, he was found wandering the streets of Baltimore – blind, alone and afraid. How horrible!
The rescue picked him up, and found that he was indeed completely blind, with his left eye in pretty rough shape due to glaucoma, and cataracts and lens luxation in the right. Unfortunately the left eye had to be removed because it was getting worse. The surgery was very tricky, because not only was Fred’s exact age unknown (we think he’s between 9-11 years old), but it was found that Fred has a pretty serious heart murmur. But, he made it through surgery – and made it to our home, where he’ll be likely living out the rest of his days. We’re more than happy to have him, he’s incredibly sweet and curious!
Also, Fred loves to wear “doggles”! As soon as his eye heals up, he’ll be sporting a sweet pair that we bought for him, and continuing to snooze it up on our couch in his brand new orthopedic bed.
Addison
Addison continues to do well! She did have another scare where she had to go to the hospital for a few days – when we brought her in, the attending ER vet was starting to use phrases like “we’ll have to consider some options”, which is just a charming way to say “you’re going to have to put her down”. But, Addy saw an internal medicine vet at WMVRH (can I say again what a wonderful place that is?) who specializes in kidney diseases like Addy’s. Addy was put on a special diet, and sent home with a barrage of medicines. During her last check-up, the vet told us that Addy’s kidney levels (which were astronomically high) were still very high, but actually improving!
It looks like Addy will be another long-term foster for us. She is high-maintenance in that she will require a specific diet and medicines for the rest of her life, some of which might be expensive. She also could go back into the hospital at any time if her kidneys take a turn for the worse, which is also some expensive treatment that most people looking for a new dog are, understandably, not willing to take on (except us crazies).
But, she’s so sweet and she is loving life right now, so she deserves a fair shot and we’ll give her everything we can possibly give her.
This is another good time for me to beg for donations (as one particularly tactful person put it). Addison’s treatments going forward are going to be expensive for the rescue and for us, the foster home. Please consider donating to, and/or sharing a fund set up by the rescue for Addison’s previous hospital stays and her ongoing care. Addison got fantastic treatment at the hospital, and she would’ve been long since passed away if not for the us and the rescue being so aggressive with treatment in the face of rising cost.
From reading this page, it would seem like the rescue only seems to get the elderly and the sick, which definitely makes up a small segment of the available dogs, but those are dogs my wife and I have chosen to take in – there are so many dogs that are living in foster homes right now that are waiting for their forever home. All money donated goes towards the transportation, intake, checkups and placement of adoptable dogs, which is a pretty significant cost – and that’s before whatever could be spent on a dog like Addison who requires thousands of dollars worth of treatments.
Every dollar amount, no matter how big or small, is appreciated so much by us and by the rescue. And we know that times are hard and not everyone has the means to donate, in which case we’d ask you to please share her page and her story. If Addison could thank you, you know she would!
We hope to keep you updated on what’s going on with these guys in the coming weeks! Thanks for reading!
Duke + Addy, together again
UPDATES:
9/23:
Addy is still in pretty serious condition at the Woburn Veterinary Referral Hospital. Her blood pressure is sky-high, and she’s not eating. Doctors have a few more tricks up their sleeve, so they’re going to give it their best.
We’re very fortunate to have her in a hospital that offers 24/7 care and monitoring, but the flip side of that is that it does place a pretty heavy burden on the rescue’s finances.
I generally hate begging for donations, but we wouldn’t feel like we’ve done all we could do for Addy if we didn’t ask, so please do consider donating a couple of bucks so that we can continue to give this little girl the best fighting chance she can get:
https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/0binc
If you can’t donate, please share her story and keep her in your thoughts. She’s definitely captured the hearts of everyone who has met her; we think that we can help her beat whatever is ailing her and get right back to being her charming self. We miss her a lot.
Thank you to everyone who has asked about her!
9/22:
We’ve been looking after Addison, a very sweet 6-year-old Boston Terrier who reminds us a lot of Kahlua and Roxie (if they could somehow be mixed together).
Her previous owner surrendered her, and I don’t get the impression that she was looked after very well. In fact, in 2010, Addy was treated for heartworm – which is an intensive treatment for dogs; 2 months of exercise restriction, a really harsh medicine, and uncertain future depending on how long the heartworm has been active. Her owner, after the treatment was complete, decided for some unbelievable reason to not continue heartworm preventative treatment. It’s completely incomprehensible, and infuriating.
Anyway, she found her way to our home, and came to us very, very skinny – about 16 lbs; we’ve plumped her up to about 19, where she’s supposed to be. We noticed she was drinking a LOT, and she was having little “accidents” quite often – presumably because she drank so much.
We took her for her routine check-up and vaccinations, and found that a lot of her blood levels were way off and of great concern. On Sept 20th, she was checked into the Chelmsford Animal Hospital, and has since been moved to Woburn Veterinary Referral Hospital so she can get 24/7 monitoring. The doctors still don’t know what’s going on – it might be some sort of crazy infection, or something worse. We all miss Addy a lot and are keeping our fingers crossed for this sweet little thing.
As far as the other dogs go, they’re all getting along great! Kahlua’s eye is healing up very nicely, and the doctors are very happy with her progress.
Duke seems to be having a setback of sorts – his vision was improving for a little while, but it seems like his old eyes are giving out, and he may be completely blind, but we can’t be sure until the doctors re-check him.
He’s been bumping into things, he sticks his paw out to feel where he’s about to step, and he’s been skulking around the house sort of bewildered. Poor guy. But otherwise, he’s in great spirits, and such a good boy. He loves to snuggle. I have a feeling he’s going to be with us for quite a long time, which is okay by me.
OLDER UPDATES:
Spike found his new home on 9/7! Spike took to his new home immediately, and his owners couldn’t be more happy! We’re so glad he found such a great home, he’s had such a rough life. Congrats Spike!
Donny probably thinks there’s a treat under there.
Meanwhile, Donny is finding himself in a bunch of new adventures with his new best friend!
Duke
Duke is feeling so much better, thanks to the kindness and generosity of family and friends who donated! Look how happy he is!
He’s having his eyes taken care of now; he had much better luck than poor Kahlua did, but he’ll still have to be on medicine for the rest of his life to keep the pressure in his eye down so that he doesn’t lose his eye(s). Duke’s vision continues to improve every day, but it will never be close to normal – he still has a very mature cataract in his left eye. He can see enough to get by, but he still bumps into things and gets very startled. He loves being scratched on his head, but not underneath his chin – his jaw must still be really sore.
He’s very snuggly and loves sitting on your lap. He’s really spunky for an 11-year-old dog, and a very good boy! We love him!
His GoFundMe page is still open – Duke is still up for adoption, but we’re preparing for the possibility that he might stay with us for the rest of his life. Because of that, I’ll keep his page open because every dollar helps. He’ll require eyedrops and ophthalmologist visits for the rest of his life. Otherwise, we’re happy to have him stay here. He’s sweet and gets along with the other dogs (as long as they’re not trying to steal his toys!)
8/12: UPDATES!
Long time no update! Lots of stuff happened, so here’s the short version:
- Max’s new name is Emerson. He’s adjusted really well to our house.
- Belle went to her forever home about two weeks ago! Her new mom drove all the way from DC to get her. They’re both very, very happy!
- Donny went to his forever home today. I’m going to miss him the most, probably as much as I miss Dove… but, c’est la vie for a foster home. I’m happy he’s going to a loving forever home. I sat up all night with him and Cupid while they played, and snoozed, and played, and snoozed.
- Cupid has a deposit on him and might go to his forever home this week! Another one that will be very, very hard to say goodbye to. Cupid has made amazing progress since he first came here. He’ll make a great dog for a great home.
- We rescued a little senior Boston Terrier named Duke. Read more about Duke here: http://www.gofundme.com/3wbhxg
- Just today we got a HUGE Boston Terrier named Spike. He’s 9 years old, and he was surrendered by his last owner because she was losing her battle with a terminal disease. After being surrendered, the poor guy got into a huge fight with another terrier mix named Bay, and he was banged up pretty badly. He’s going to need a lot of TLC. I suspect he hasn’t seen a truly loving home in a looong time – he has scars ALL OVER from his fight with Bay, but Bay has no marks at all. Apparently Bay was 100% the aggressor and all Spike was trying to do was get away. Poor guy.
- Max is an old gentleman.
UPDATE 7/15: We’ve just added Max to the list of dogs we’ve rescued! Max is a 10-year-old Boston Terrier who has been in a shelter in Acton, MA for a long time after his previous owner died – the surviving family dropped him off. Max has some trouble seeing because of his cataracts, and his back legs seem to be a little stiff. We’re giving him some joint supplements and feeding him some higher-quality food, so we hope that’ll make a difference! He’s very comfortable and settled in nicely.
Also, we’ve found out that there was a paperwork error and “Freckles” is actually “Belle” (just a name mix-up). Also, great news for Belle: she already has an application and deposit on her!
UPDATE 7/12: Donny is back with us for now! Selfishly, I’m so happy to see him again. He’s one of my favorites :-] But I’m sure we’ll find him a great home…. somewhere….. Cupid was very happy to see him return, the poor guy looked a little lost without Donny!
- Belle is a sweet girl, a little camera-shy though.
Also, we’ve just taken in a new little thing named “Belle”! This shy little girl just came up today via transport from Alabama; from such a long ride, she’s a bit timid and shaken up. She’s had a rough day.
Hopefully we can get her comfortable and into a great forever home soon! She’s started to open up a little bit but she’s still pretty tired from her trip and sore from her spay (done on 7/8).
mikeg's house of something something 
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