"Angels Find Each Other"

That was the first line in an email I received awhile back from a woman that wanted to help us with Marlee's needs. Since our first email exchange, this woman has been extremely generous with us in so many ways, and has definitely proven to be an angel to us. The other day we had the surprise of opening a package from her that included doggie jackets, Standard Process Veterinary supplements, some Eukanuba dog food that Marlee LOVED, and a kit to make our own doggie treats. (You'll get pictures of that when we make 'em!)

Here is a picture of Marlee in her new jacket:



While some dogs don't care for outwear, Marlee loves hers. Her tail was up right away, and she seemed to have a new spring in her step when she went outside. :)

Thank you, Sue, for your wonderful heart! I have no doubt that the love and generosity you share with others will come back to bless you in many ways. :)

We've been blessed with several new donations over the past couple of days. Here is what one of these sweet people had to say:

Thank you for having the compassion to take in this sweet dog. May she become strong and healthy and return the unconditional love you and your family have shown her. It touched my heart and i wish you well! I have an animal family of my own and I am very fortunate that they are all healthy. I have had expensive vet bills in the past and i know how challenging and stressful that can be.

Happy Holidays to you and your family!

This experience has made me believe that animal lovers may be some of the kindest, most caring people on the planet. Thank you all so much!!

Great comment from a donor today

Today we were blessed with a generous donation from someone today that shared this:

Happy Holidays! I'm a friend of S's, and when I heard about Marlee and read your lovely blog about finding and rescuing her, I knew I had to make a donation. I commend you on your determination to help a pet that hasn't been so fortunate in the past, and I am happy to be able to help in some small way. I have three kids, now teens, and when we finally got a house of our own, we got a rescue dog. She's a Jack Russell named Gracie, and we can't remember what life was like before she was part of our family. Sometimes the best things happen when you open your heart to the possibilities.

Blessings to you and your entire family, including Marlee.

I really love what she said about the best things happening when we open our heart to possibilities. When we decided to keep Marlee we could see she was going to need a lot of TLC, but we had no idea how much trouble she was in with her health or how expensive caring for her would get. Even after learning the deeper issues for her, we felt like Marlee is a valuable soul, and we wanted to commit to her for life. As the financial side of that decision got increasingly difficult, it was sort of an epiphany to me when I thought, "Hey...I could ask for help."

I tend to be a very do-it-yourself kind of person. Asking for and receiving help isn't my first instinct. I'd much rather be helping you than asking you to help me! 9 years ago I was on bed rest with a high-risk pregnancy and had to have friends and loved ones helping with meals, childcare, cleaning the bathrooms, and laundry. It was a really humbling experience, but a good one, because it forced me to learn how to let people know that I needed help, and to humbly receive it. As you probably know, if you've ever been able to help someone else, it is also a blessing to be able to do something for someone else. So many people who came to help at that time in my life said, "Hey---lots of people have helped me out along the way, and it's a joy to be able to pay it forward."

In this situation with Marlee, it's uncomfortable to not be able to just pay for all of this ourselves. However, it's good to be reminded that people (and animals!) need each other. It's good to go ahead and admit we have a need, and to see how excited some people are getting when they are able to help us. Regardless of the amount of type of donation, the point is that people are deciding to get involved, and being able to experience the joy of being a blessing. It's been really, really neat to be able to write back to those that have so generously helped us, and to share a cyber hug. Several people have told us about their own rescue pets and how much of a positive impact those pets have had on their family. I know that we are getting some valuable life lessons from sharing our life and home with Marlee. On days when she has accidentally peed in the house or wakes me up at 2am to go out *again* I can sometimes be tempted to feel a little grumpy about it. But then I think of the wonderful people that have come alongside us to love and care for Marlee, and it gives me a boost. I remember that I'm not in this alone.

Thank you!

My Kids Thank Our Generous Donors

My Husband Talks About Marlee

An Encouraging Blessing Today

I was out and about with five of the kids for most of the day. First we did our usual work shift at the local emergency food pantry, and then we went on a trek to meet a family that I know from the internet! :) After a fun day and lots of driving, I got home to a generous donation for Marlee from a sweet woman named Susan. And to top it all off, she wants to knit Marlee a sweater! How cool is that?!

I have met some awesome people thanks to this site. What an encouragement! With this latest increase in Marlee's medication I have been wondering how the money was going to work out. Double or quadruple some meds, plus throw in winter needs for the doggie, and Christmas for six kids, and things start to look rather...interesting!

Thankfully, we created a straw bale dog shelter for Marlee for the times when she is outside. It only cost $15 in straw, plus materials we already had here at home. Marlee really, really hates to go into her crate or any other small places, so I didn't think she would be willing to use a dog house outside. The straw bale house idea was something I came up with, thinking the straw would probably be warmer insulation than a plastic dog igloo or whatever, we could make it bigger than a regular dog house (which might mean she'd be more comfortable going into it since she seems to really fear small spaces), and in the spring we can use the straw in our garden.

We don't leave Marlee out a lot, but since she has some bladder control issues, if we are going to have to be away from the house for a few hours, we usually leave her outside. She needs a place to get out of the rain and wind, and now she's got it. She still prefers not to go into it, but has shown that she is willing to if necessary. Fortunately, we're home almost all of the time, so it isn't much that she has to be out, but now I feel a lot better that she has her straw shelter available. Marlee has two buddies--cats from next door that love her and come hang out with her every day. The cats are very impressed with the straw (I even created a little niche in the back corner so they could stay cozy in there and still get to hang out with Marlee in the winter) and have already been enjoying the new pet hangout.

Our next project will be the ramp. My husband thinks he is just going to make a ramp for all of us to use, since there doesn't seem to be a good way to make a ramp that is just for the dog. She really struggles with going down the three deck stairs, and I'm sure once it gets even slightly slippery she won't be able to safely do it at all. So....my handyman husband will be hard at work figuring out a solution to this! If you have any suggestions, let us know. We're open to ideas. :)

Marlee Update Nov. 13

This month I took Marlee for some more lab work to see if her thyroid medication is doing the trick. Poor girl--her thyroid levels are still way low, so for this month we are going to double the medication and see if that helps. However, the vet said that for as low as her levels are, he suspects that we will have to quadruple the original dosage. Which means,of course, quadrupling the cost of that particular medication.

Oh..and did I mention that we will have to do lab work again at the end of this month to figure this out?

Sigh....

This is an expensive undertaking so any help we can get is sure appreciated. However, we're happy to see Marlee all filled out and doing well.

Our next challenge is that we need to build some sort of handicap ramp for Marlee to get off our deck this winter. once the steps get slippery she will be totally unable to get herself into the yard. (it's only 3 steps, but she is really nervous about it and a lot of times we just lift her down to the ground)

We also need to get a dog house of some sort for her. She isn't able to control her bladder very well all the time, so we can't leave her alone in the house for longer periods of time when we have to be gone. So she is going to need a cozy shelter out there. Thankfully, KY winters aren't generally severe, but they are quite rainy. Marlee really hates to go into small spaces. She still resists going into her crate (though we continue to use it and encourage her to get more comfortable with it). I have my doubts that she would even use a dog house if he got her one. I am seriously wondering if it would work better for her if we made a straw bale dog house for her. I'm thinking it would be more cozy, we could change the size of it if we needed to, and in the spring we could use the straw in the garden. Sort of a thrifty, earth-friendly, clutter-free doggie habitat. What do you think?

Lastly, I want to thank Michele, who was kind enough to send me some coupons for free dog food and several dollars off dog food. I am happy to receive coupons for dog products, so if that is a way you want to help out, just let me know! :)

Thanks for your kind support.

Til next time
Erica

Yay!

What a fabulous first day! Another $20 donation, plus someone contacted me by email to ask about sending some items. You people are wonderful! Thank you for the support.

Notes from our Donors

I plan to personally thank every person that takes the time to donate to help Marlee. Here are some of the notes I got back:

You are very welcome, I wish I could give more but we are a little
tight ourselves.  We have a rescue dog ourselves, she is a part pit
bull who was abused but you couldn't tell now as she is one of the
friendliest dogs I have ever known and she seems to have forgotten all
about the abuse she had suffered in the past.

I am very glad there are people like you who care enough to try and
help out dogs like Marlee.   Good luck with everything!  Oh by the way
putting your vets number up there was a great idea, that is what
convinced me you probably were not trying to scam me, so hard to know
sometimes and that was a good way of proving it.

Another animal lover,
Bill

Our First Donation!

Good news. We already have our first donation! I am so excited!

Marlee, October 8

Today Marlee went back to the vet for a thyroid check and for more meds. The good news was that she is now up to 35 pounds, which is just a pound away from what the vet said he thought would be a healthy weight for her. It is so good to see her healthy.

In the month that she has been taking meds to clear up her bladder infection and to help her thyroid, kidneys, and liver she has gotten happier and more energetic. (although she is still a very low energy dog)

She was handling the blood draw pretty well, and then I had to leave the room for a minute to supervise my two little boys that I took along to the appointment. (they were checking out a 3-legged cat that lives there...very impressive how fast that cat can move!) When I came back into the room Marlee was shaking a lot. I thought she was upset about the blood draw and the tech told me that she only started to shake when we left the room! I guess that she is attached to us, or at least knows that we love her. Poor sweet girl!

The bad news was that this was yet another $81 expense, even with the little discount that our vet gives us. Today is the day that I have decided to reach out and ask for help.

Marlee, September 2

When I took Marlee to the vet for her checkup (she had gained a few pounds, which was great!) our vet wanted us to get a panel of lab tests done to see what underlying health issues she may be dealing with. Within 24 hours we learned that she has:

hypothyroidism
kidney disease
liver disease
pancreas disease
muscle wasting disease or just significant muscle wasting because of being malnourished
and, finally, a bladder infection.

No wonder the poor girl is none too perky.

So, in addition to the many other expenses that have come with rescuing this dog, we now had another $70 to the vet for three medications, and we can look forward to more of the same as long as she lives. I am not sure how we are going to be able to do this. Expensive, sick, elderly, deaf dogs are way outside the realm of our usual budget.

Marlee, August 15

Marlee-the-rescued-dog is living the high life here, with plenty of food and clean water, warmth, shelter, safety, TLC (all of which she apparently didn't enjoy in her previous life), PLUS perks such as hand-sewn beaded monogrammed capes to wear on cool mornings. For a deaf, geriatric, half-starved dog, it doesn't get much better than this!


Marlee is still very weak. The vet noticed that she has very poor muscle tone. Our hard floors are quite slippery for her, and often she is unable to stand up or walk on her own. Sometimes when she tries to get up and walk out of her kennel, as soon as she gets on the hard floor her legs splay out in four directions and she collapses. P-i-t-f-u-l, I'm telling you! The poor, poor thing. She is just so bad off in so many ways. She sometimes eats and drinks while laying in her splayed-out position, and we usually need to help her get up and walk out of the house when it's time to go out. She isn't strong enough to go down the deck stairs, so we have to carry her down those too. She can walk alright once she gets on the grass, and is learning to use just one corner of our yard for the bathroom.

She does so few "normal dog" behaviors that it is a news item around the house when she does. "Marlee ate a piece of food off the floor!" "Marlee licked her own paw!" She's really just the most unusual dog I've ever met. It sure makes us wonder what on earth she has been through in her life to be in such a condition.

Last night she was kind enough to bark to be let out a mere FOUR times after 12:30AM. Thankfully my husband was here to take care of that. (and the accident that happened when he didn't get to her fast enough) We are trying to get her digestion settled into a more predictable, non-nocturnal routine, but since she came to us starving, it's not completely straightforward yet.

Marlee, August 11

So the doggie that we rescued from the road lived through the night. However, we hadn't realized how chilly it would get. The poor thing is so skinny that she was shivering when my husband went out to see her this morning. She couldn't even stand up.

We got her wrapped up in some blankets and brought her into the house. Here's how she looked around 7am:

Such a sweet face!

Here's a full body shot of her this morning. The picture doesn't show it that well, but her hair is very coarse and full of burrs. When you pet her you realize that she has almost no body fat at all. She's very, very thin.
In this picture you can sort of see the back of her neck and the bad condition of her fur. She looked a lot worse in person.


We called our local vet and were able to get her in there bright and early today. Thankfully, what they learned is that although she is very underweight (only 24 pounds) and somewhat dehydrated, she doesn't seem to have any illnesses except for some worms. (yumm!)

The vet said that he would guesstimate her age to be 5-7 years, so we were way off there. We had thought that she was maybe 6 months old.

And, the big twist is that she seems to be deaf. Which explains some of her behavior when we first found her in the road. Oh, she has cataracts too. So she probably couldn't even see me at first either.

After we got her home my husband gave her a hair cut to get all the nasty crud off of her, and then it was bath time:


She was mighty dirty. Here's what the tub looked like afterwards (and, yes, it was actually a clean tub before she got in there):


The big question at the vet's office was: What is going to happen to this dog now? Did we want to keep her?

What can I say. My compassion for the hungry, sick, and needy of the world extends to animals as well.

So now apparently we have a dog. At least until we get her back to health and see what's what.

The kids are so excited. They are saying things like "This is a dream come true!" and "God sent us the perfect dog!" She doesn't show even the slightest bit of aggression. Very submissive. She seems to have almost no expectations from people, either good or bad. We wonder if she has been around people very much at all. She is very calm. Of course, she doesn't have the strength to be anything but calm. So, things could change as her health improves. The vet thinks that she should gain around 12 pounds to be at a normal weight.

I can see that it will be a challenge to figure out how to train a dog that can't hear. She doesn't react to any finger snapping, clapping, or vocalizations. How on earth do you correct and teach a dog like this? I will be googling "training deaf dogs" right after I'm done writing this.

We brainstormed about possible names for her. The kids were suggesting things like "cocoa puff" and "oatmeal chunk" and "jasmine." As I was watching the dog out the window and thinking about how cute she is, and about her being deaf, I thought of the talented deaf actress Marlee Matlin, and realized that Marlee would be a perfect name for her. Everybody agreed.

So, meet Marlee, my deaf, worm-ridden dog. My guess is that she's here to stay.

How We Found Marlee

On August 10, 2008 we saw a pitiful dog staggering down the middle of the road. Cars were slowing down, honking, and going around her when she showed no response. We went out to try to call her to come off the road, not quite sure what we were getting into. Her behavior was so odd that we wondered if she had rabies, or had already been hit by a car, or what.

Despite our efforts she just kept walking down the middle of the road for about 10 minutes. Eventually we used some food from the dinner table to coax her to the side. Then we could see that she was emaciated--truly starving, and in quite bad condition. Her fur was filled with burrs, and she was very weak. She ate the food we gave her, but showed no signs of being aggressive toward us nor about protecting her food.

A neighbor was driving by while we were on the side of the road. He stopped to say that he thought he had witnessed a dog being dumped out of a truck farther down our road earlier in the evening.

We had planned to call the dog warden to come take this dog away, but once we saw her weakened condition, we felt that if we turned her over to someone else she would probably be euthanized right away, because she didn't seem to have much going for her. We decided to let her sleep in our fenced in back yard overnight, and take her to the vet in the morning.