Today is one of those days in a rescue that you know are inevitable, but you don't want to think about.  We were contacted about a little senior beagle in a shelter.  She had huge tumors, almost as large as she is, and was probably going to be put down when her hold time was up.  She and another beagle were found on the side of the road.  We named her April and Myra took her home.  We contacted Andersons Corner Animal Hospital, and they agreed to operate on her.  They also offered to board her until the surgery.  I took her up there and the surgeon examined her.  During the exam of her many and very large tumors, he noticed her cough.  She was taken in the back for Xrays, there was an area Doc Rob was concerned about so he sent her Xrays to a radiologist.  Today Doc Rob called with sad news.  Little April has nodules on her lungs in addition to the huge tumors she has literally been dragging around.  If she had surgery and survived the surgery, she would have little quality of life. So the hard decision was made to let her go.  BUT she was surrounded by kind, caring and compassionate people that will feel the sting of her passing.  I have to wonder why whoever had her did not turn her in before her tumors grew so big.  To be dumped on the side of the road like a bag of garbage because she has health issues is something I can't understand.  I do understand that sometimes people can't help their animals with health issues because of financial reasons, but taking them to be humanely euthanized is a far better option that April's fate. I am always surprised at how emotional I get when an animal I have barely known has to be let go.

Rescuing special needs and senior dogs is not about finding them a home, but rather finding them the perfect home.  Sometimes it ends up being the foster that has the perfect home.  Ruby is an example of this. Ruby is a little senior girl that was at the Chesapeake Animal Shelter, turned in by her owner because she barked.  Myra took her in and it was found that she had massive dental issues and many mammary tumors.  After many visits to the vet, she was finally cleared for surgery.  Ruby had all her tumors removed and needed twenty teeth removed.  Ruby will spend the rest of her life with Myra, a tiny little backyard dog has been rescued and will live the rest of her life being loved and cherished, as all dogs should be.
Sometimes we are able to find the perfect home for a special needs dog.  Myra was called by the VB SPCA about a young beagle that was picked up.  She didn't walk right, but bunny hopped instead.  Myra took her to Doc Murphie and he thought she could be helped, but because she was young, surgery would have to wait.  After recovering from a bout with kennel cough, I brought her to my home last July.  Doc has a friend that is a premiere orthopedic pet surgeon and when he came down to work with Doc, I took Murphie up to Doc's so they could both look at her. At the initial visit it was determined that her growth plates were not complete and we would wait.  Murphie's injuries are extensive, one hip bone is out of the socket and the other hip bone had been broken and healed crooked.  Despite all this,  Murphie runs and plays with the other dogs in my house.  To see her play, you would never know she had such injuries.  During this time a woman, Suzanne, had seen Murphie on Petfinder and fell in love.  Suzanne lives in Northern Virginia and has traveled many times here to Va Beach to see Murphie.  Recently I took Murphie back to Doc's for another consult, and he and his friend determined that because of her injuries and the way her bones had healed, anything they might do could cause more harm than good, possibly even taking away her mobility.  Suzanne drove down to see Murphie and to speak with the both doctor's about Murphie.  Suzanne is an orthopedic nurse, who understands the things the vets had to say better than any of us.  She knows more than anyone the issues Murphie has and will have, and yet she still wants her.  It still brings tears to my eyes thinking about all that Murphie has endured but knowing that the perfect person loves her and will care for her the rest of her life.  These are the kinds of endings that drive those of us in rescues to continue to work so hard to save these discarded animals.