This Ole Dog Rescue

08/29/2024

What is it with the sad sack eyes, lol! Campbell always looks like this. He uses his ears to express his emotion, they go down, they go up, they go down, they go up! He's such a big cutie!

08/28/2024

Oh that face, Benny! I can tell his personality has changed since he came here. The seizures and the medication have all changed his behavior. The vet and I discussed that it could very likely be a brain tumor but what would we do, nothing. So we will just ride out our time and enjoy this sweet and sad looking face ❤️

07/19/2024

I guess one of the advantages of having a senior dog rescue is that when you hurt your back and you can't do much but sit in bed with a heating pad on your back all day, the dogs are OK with it!

05/07/2024

This is a rescue that I work with here in Texas. I believe they have close to 180 dogs in Foster homes. The most important thing that she says is if you are looking for a dog, adopt one, don’t buy one from a breeder. There are purebred rescues out there looking for good homes for dogs that have been abandoned and surrendered. Just do a little extra work. If we could shut down backyard breeders and limit the other breeders, maybe we could get a handle on the over population of dogs and the amount of dogs that get euthanized every single day in our country. So many rescues and shelters are having to shut down because of lack of funding and lack of donations. It doesn’t take much, a commitment of five or $10 a month can make a difference.

04/01/2024

And we’re back. Benny was up all night, every two hours with diarrhea, a little blood in his stool as well. He got two doses of Keppra last night because he had the seizure at 10:30, a half an hour after he got his medication. And then this morning, another seizure at 9:30, a half an hour after he got his medication. So, running a full panel on him to make sure everything else looks OK, doing a f***l, fluids and potentially adding to his seizure medication to get them under control. So, keep praying for my baby boy. He’ll be here at least through the day

03/31/2024

Back to the emergency vet with Benny. Because I’m sure he threw up his seizure medication yesterday morning and I was unable to get it down him last night he woke up this morning seizing for almost 30 minutes. Although he has stopped seizing, my concern is that he will not be able to keep his medication down and he has not had any fluids for almost 24 hours. So, I think the safest thing to do is to give him an injection of Keppra and give him some fluids throughout the day to stabilize him and then bring him home.

This is one of the reasons I limit how many dogs I can take in. The cost of having older dogs is substantially higher, sometimes averaging thousands in the first year just for medical. This is not for hospice dogs, this is just for older dogs that have not had the medical treatment that they’ve needed because they’ve been abandoned on the streets or their owners are older and sick and can barely take care of themselves, let alone take care of their animals, as much as they love them. Even though my medical costs are outrageous right now, it’s worth it for me to make sure that Benny is stable.

03/12/2024

On our way home from the hospital after having had surgery overnight. Out of the stomach came fibers from the rug, elastic, and a ton of grass that he was eating to try to make himself throw up. Two weeks of pampering for this baby and then we are going to try to address the nausea that he seems to feel on a regular basis. We’re going to be trying over-the-counter acid reflux medication so we will see how that goes. Thanks for all the kind words and prayers, Hospital bill wasn’t quite as much as I thought but still almost $4000! Better than the original estimate of $6500!

03/06/2024

If you are not following my rescue, please head over to my page or Instagram This Ole Dog Rescue. I have updated both with my linktr.ee account that lists my social media, ways to donate, website, etc. thank you to everyone who has been following this new journey of mine and thank you so much to all that have donated! I have my Amazon and my chewy wish list posted!

Linktree makes room for all of you. Get everything you create, curate and share, wherever it’s scattered online, and put it back together again in one place – your Linktree – where it can be discovered with ease.

02/29/2024

Thank you to Bruno‘s Place Grooming for donating this dog wash station to the rescue! He was on marketplace selling these and when I told him I had a nonprofit for senior and hospice dogs he offered to donate it! With the expenses racking up, this was a huge Gift!

02/27/2024

These three loves will be going up for adoption. If you are interested message me and I will direct you on where to fill out an adoption application. First is Holly, a beautiful Brittany or English spaniel. Very, very sweet. She will be spayed in a couple of weeks and then will be available. Next is Jack, an amazing Dutch shepherd. Great temperament, completely house trained, he would be an amazing dog for a family with a couple of kids. And last but not least is Susie. She is such a love, she is housebroken and potty pad trained. She doesn’t need a lot of activities so she would be perfect for a single person or older couple who just wants a dog to love them. She is OK with other dogs but she would really be best having one human to herself. If you have any questions on any of these dogs feel free to email me at [email protected] or message me here.

02/14/2024

Susie recovering from the mammary tumor removal. He also took a couple of small polyps off as well. One that he said would turn into something similar to what Campbell had! So grateful for a good surgeon! Results of the tumor to follow.

02/02/2024

Lab results for Midge came in. It was cancer, a soft tissue sarcoma. He’s confident he got the whole thing and it did not spread. I do feel a couple of other small lumps under her skin so I will keep an eye on those and will take her in to just have them looked at. Midge had a really hard time coming out of this anesthesia and is not yet back to 100%. She’s getting there, just not there quite yet. So, thankful that I had it removed and we will keep an eye on her and keep her happy and comfortable ❤️

02/02/2024

Holly’s vet appointment went well today. Bloodwork came back fairly normal but she does have hookworms. So quarantined in the barn to make sure she is not near the other dogs. I feel bad that she is that far away but I’m out there with her several times a day. Also, made some homemade food for her to add to her normal diet to try to get some weight on her. She was 38 1/2 pounds, should be somewhere around 45 since that breed does run slim. Follow up in two weeks so we will see if we can get a pound or two on her. In the meantime, the other dogs were in their crates for three hours! They were pretty excited when I got home but no damage, no crates torn apart, everyone was safe and healthy, thank goodness! I thought it would take much longer but I was able to safely crate them in just a few weeks! This gives me the ability to run out and get some things done when I need to without worrying about where I’m going to house the dogs safely.

02/01/2024

Well, I know I said I was full but sometimes circumstances dictate that you take one more. Meet Holly. We really don’t know much about her history so she is going to the vet tomorrow for some bloodwork. A kind human was saving her from a bird dog training farm. She was of no use to them so they were going to take her out and shoot her. They’ve been trying to feed her but she is not gaining weight so I will be working on that, primarily. She is going to be separated from the other dogs just because she is so frail and they are pretty large and a little pushy from time to time. She is very sweet and I’m hoping once we get the blood work and a little bit of weight on her she can integrate with the rest of the group.

01/30/2024

Midge is home and resting quietly. She was quite out of sorts when I picked her up and it took her a while to relax once we got home. Hopefully she’ll be back to her old self tomorrow.

01/30/2024

Campbell’s test results came back and all of his growth was benign. No cancer which is a great relief. I am on my way to pick Midge up and the vet said that her growth looked suspicious so we are sending it out to be tested. Prayers that it comes back benign. We should know next week.

01/30/2024

Midge is at the vet now to remove this lump. She was very, very nervous when I dropped her off, poor baby. On the upside, Scooter, Benny and Timmy were all put in their kennels, Campbell was left out. Even though Timmy and Benny were barking when I left, when I got back an hour later all was quiet and calm! Susie was also sleeping in her kennel in her quarantine area. I may be able to leave the house safely for a few hours after all!

01/28/2024

Quick update for everyone. No more seizures for Benny. Prior to this cluster they were happening about every 2 to 2 1/2 weeks so we will see what happens in two weeks. Susie‘s cough is getting better but she is still quarantined for another week and hating every minute of it! She is just a social little girl who wants to be around you all the time. And, it’s finally warmed up and not raining so walks today for everyone! Scooter and Midge go together, otherwise everyone else gets an individual walk. Everyone got their fill of sniffing and walking and now they are all napping! This week we have an appointment for Midge to get her cyst removed and hopefully some work on the fence.

01/26/2024

Update on Benny. No seizures, thank goodness. However he has become a little more anxious, pacing around the house. He finally settled down after about an hour and a half last night but was up in the middle of the night for 2 to 3 hours walking around the house. If I don’t get up with him he stands by my bed and barks at me. This morning, up at 6 AM and just now, 4 1/2 hours later, after going outside and breakfast, he is settling down to take a nap. I’ll be following up with the vet today to see if they have seen this behavior after starting on Keppra or is this just the period where his body is getting used to the new medication. Even when he naps I feel like it’s not a very deep nap as the minute I get up or move he gets up and follows me around. I will keep working on it to keep him comfortable and happy.

01/25/2024

No seizures for 12 hours! Set my alarm for 6 AM to give Benny his morning seizure medication. Fingers crossed we can get them under control. By morning I actually had a body width of space on my bed to sleep! Now if I can only work on getting gassy dog butts facing the other direction!

01/25/2024

Everyone is resting peacefully tonight. Campbell is in the living room on the large ottoman. Benny had another seizure tonight at 6 o’clock, right before he was due to get his Keppra. I was able to get it down him and he recovered quickly, it was a short one thank goodness. So, I’m happy to have him on the bed tonight so that I will wake up if he seizes again. If he seizes overnight I will have to take him back to the emergency vet so praying the medication will work. Now, to figure out where I’m going to fit in on this bed!

01/24/2024

Well, Benny is home. Although, a half an hour before I got to the clinic to pick him up he had another seizure. This one was a small one and after speaking with the vet we were both comfortable that it was OK for him to come home. We discussed plans moving forward and decided not to move forward with an MRI, feeling the treatment would be somewhat the same for the potential results. So, he is being treated with Keppra to control the seizures and a steroid for 21 days to help with his skin inflammation. If after two weeks the seizures subside we will continue with this treatment, if they increase we will look at increasing this medication, using a combination or switching to another medication. Benny did walk to the car when I went to pick him up but he is resting peacefully so I’ve decided to leave him in the car for a while before he faces the other dogs and their curiosity. Thank you all for all your well wishes and prayers. We will keep a close eye on Benny. Thank goodness I am able to be home for the next several days to keep a close eye on things.

01/24/2024

Well, as we were all celebrating the success of Campbell’s surgery, shortly after I got him home and settled Benny started seizing. This time it wasn’t just a few minutes, he seized off and on for 35 minutes. After 10 minutes I called the vet and I got him in to stabilize him and then drove him to the emergency vet. I’m leaving him here overnight to make sure that he gets monitored and gets some fluids and medication if he needs it. I just had a short visit with him and he is resting peacefully, thank goodness. My poor Benny boy 😔. He will be here overnight and hopefully I can pick him up tomorrow. Then he will be going on medication to control his seizures. If you would like to help with this $2000 emergency vet bill (or the $1500 surgery bill from Campbell ) anything is appreciated! You can go to the website at www.thisoledogrescue.org, Venmo thisoledogrescue or PayPal [email protected]. Checks can also be mailed to This Ole Dog Rescue, PO Box 1998, Glen Rose, TX 76043. Keep my sweet Benny in your thoughts and prayers tonight!

01/22/2024

OK, meet the latest resident at the sanctuary. Susie was picked up as a stray, estimated to be around 10, has obviously had multiple litters of puppies. She was on the euth list for Friday and the person who rescued her reached out to me to see if I could take her. She’s a small little 50 pound pup, very wiggly, very friendly. I normally don’t take dogs in this quickly but we had a couple back to back that needed us. My goal was to only take in 5 the first year and here I have six the first month so we will be taking a break, settling in, getting everyone kennel trained so I can leave the house. Plus surgeries coming up for Campbell and Midge. I had to bring Timmy, a.k.a. Pumbaa, with me because he will bark nonstop when he doesn’t get his way. I had to extend the Ottoman leg rest on the minivan so that Timmy could rest peacefully, lol! I knew that would come in handy!

01/18/2024

I guess it’s dinner time! This drool is mostly from Benny although there is an equally large area that I can attribute to Scooter. I guess I will add mopping to my breakfast and dinner routines 🫧🧽🫧

01/17/2024

Oh Campbell, my big sweet boy, I knew this was happening behind my back! Climbing on my bed to take a nap. By the way, I do make my bed every morning but this is how it ends up when dogs take over, lol! Thank goodness he has not tried to climb up to sleep at night otherwise I would be sleeping on the couch 😳