Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Lexy’s Little Angels Dachshund Hospice and Hotel, .
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Hospice care for elderly, terminally ill, or emotionally damaged dachshunds, and pet sitting dachshunds for owners who travel and do not wish to kennel their dogs.
Look at this beautiful face. This is Oliver. He is a Chiweenie, about a year and a half old. He stayed with us about a year ago when he was a baby and he and Sedona formed a fast friendship, being about the same age. Today when they met again they picked up right after they left off, running and playing and wrestling. They were joined by the dapple gang, and Zippy and a few others, and it was a lively afternoon. He is just here for the long weekend but he will make the most of it!
Just had the cutest little guy for the weekend. Meet Paul. His owner decided years ago she would have a dachshund and his name would be Paul. It’s not a great picture because he was never still. Wiggly, active, friendly, loving, all the right stuff, and completely besotted with Sedona. He got along with everybody. I look forward to his next visit. Please pardon the bits and pieces on the floor…I have a toy killer staying with me.
Mother’s Day. A time for reflection and memories and to ask yourself a few important questions.
WHAT was I thinking getting this many dogs?
WHERE did they all come from?
What do you have in your mouth?
What was your name again? Let me see your collar tag.
You know if you run out that door I am going to have to chase you, and running bent over screaming “COME HERE, COME HERE,” is a very poor look for me.
When did I start keeping Chewy in business?
I wonder if I could exist on grain-free kibble?
WHO did THIS?
When did my vet bill surpass my mortgage?
And lastly,
HOW much do I love you all? (Not sayin’ I would not trade you for the Ferrari I could afford for what I spend on you).
We have lots of visitors here this week. The two smooth red sisters, Wilma and Harriet, are back for almost a month while their parents go on a fabulous transatlantic cruise. They did a little extra eating over the winter but are running it off here. They claimed their chair once again.
The two dapples in the photo are not together but happened to be still. The one in front is Dexter, and he is here until end of May since his mom is having hip replacement surgery and did not need her baby underfoot during her rehab.
The lovely girl behind him is Clementine, and she comes to us with Roy Rogers, my favorite Yorkie. I agreed to sit Clementine back when she was younger and looked like a dachshund/miniature Aussie cross. She kinda kept growing, so they did DNA testing on her, and she is half mini Aussie, but the other half is Bassett Hound. Their parents are in Hawaii for 2 weeks.
Last is the lovely smooth red in the bandana. That is Schatzi. You may remember I was her foster mom and she was adopted by a lovely couple who split their time between California and Prescott. They are in D.C. for a week on a museum junket, so Schatzi came back for a week with her bestie, Sedona.
That makes 16 at my house this week, and while some will go home and others will come in, that is going to be my number for the rest of the month and probably May. With this many dogs I don’t travel much any more, but I get to do it vicariously through all their owners who bring me stories and pictures and little mementos from their trips.
It is with a sad heart that we helped our oldest hospice resident, Scooter, to the bridge this morning. His quality of life had diminished in the last six months and he was in pain with arthritis and weak tendons in his legs no matter what medication we tried. Most mornings my first job was to help him get up off his bed and started towards the kitchen for breakfast. He spent most of his time sleeping on his bed in the TV room and really did not want the other dogs near him. Just about anything I tried to do with him or to him got me bitten as I think he was afraid of hurting. He is pain free now and with the others from Lexy’s who have gone before to wait for me at the bridge so they can show me the way. RIP Scooterman.
I am afraid once again I need to stress procedures at my house when dropping off or picking up dogs. Recent visits have resulted in pure pandemonium for me and all the dogs because clients come in, leave the door open, stand around, wander around, go over and stick their hands over the barrier to pet the 16 or so jumping/barking/excited dogs on the other side, and then they are amazed when someone bites their hand. Please, please, PLEASE follow my instructions to keep both dogs and visitors from harm.
Dropping Off: when I answer the door come in quickly and SHUT THE DOOR behind you. Do not immediately turn your dog(s) loose. Sit down holding your dogs. The quicker you sit, the quicker mine will stop barking. If you turn your dog loose in my living room, the FIRST thing they do is p*e on the rug or the furniture, both of which are slowly being ruined by visitor dogs because mine are not allowed in there. When you are ready to leave, hand me your dog(s)’ leash and make a quick exit and SHUT THE DOOR. If one of my dogs breaches the gate inside, please give me a moment to get them back behind the barrier…DON’T OPEN THE DOOR.
Picking Up: once again, come in, SHUT THE DOOR BEHIND YOU, and SIT DOWN. I will get your dog to you. DO NOT go to the inside barrier and try to lift your dog over. That will result in somebody getting bitten. I will try to have all your dog’s belongings (and maybe your dog(s)) already in the front room. Please stay seated as much as possible. The more you are up and walking around, the more noise my dogs will make. Don’t try to get in and out in a hurry…that NEVER ends well. DO NOT open the door and attempt to leave with your dogs if any of mine are in the front room. I know which ones will make a dash for freedom and I am incapable of chasing them. If they are a visitor or a new foster and they get out, they do not know where they are and will run blindly.
I am asking this in the name of my sanity. I will often have 14-18 dogs here. It is chaos if they all bark or if they get out. And in that chaos somebody or some dog is going to get hurt. I cannot stress shutting the door enough. Standing around chatting with an open door is a recipe for disaster. I have been very lucky in six years I have only had two escapes, but one of them ran blindly up Waltann and right into traffic on 51st Avenue and stopped traffic (and my heart).
Thank you in advance for helping with this. I look forward to every visitor and don’t want to greet you with the news that your dog escaped and ran away, and I don’t want you to end up in urgent care because you couldn’t wait to see your baby after a trip.
This is Lucy practicing her paw lift. She is my newest foster from Happy Tails Dachshund Rescue. She came from an unhappy home and needs some time to normalize, and my pack is just the gang to get her there. She has been in an apartment and I have never seen a dog enjoy her freedom like this girl. She just goes in an out the doggie door like she cannot believe she can, like someone is going to take it away or it won’t be there in the morning. She will get her vetting done later this month and then she will be ready to adopt. She is sweet and friendly and gets along with all my dogs. She is very frosty in her face but is only 8 years old.
Carlos is back for his first weekend of the year while mum and dad go skiing in Colorado. He is such a sweet dog and all the other dogs just love him. He has always been a little on the portly side, but mom switched him to The Farmer’s Dog dogfood which is made and portioned especially for him, and he has lost 3 pounds and looking very slimmed down and handsome!!
Rainbow Bridge: Setting the Record Straight
Most anyone who has loved and lost a dog has most certainly heard of the poem, Rainbow Bridge, a tribute to pets that have passed. The poem has touched the lives of millions of pet lovers around the world.
Most often, it has been shared, posted or inscribed with "Author Unknown" attached to it. Paul Koudounaris, an art historian and a founding member of The Order of the Good Death, was on a mission to find the poem's true auther.
Through his research, Koudounaris found records of 15 separate claims filed under the title "Rainbow Bridge" with the United States Copyright Office, dating as far back as 1995. He compiled a list of 25 names he found that had any connection to the poem. Then, he found the name Edna Clyne from Scotland, in an online chat group. A little Googling led him to the name Edna Clyne-Rekhy, whose authorship of a book about her late husband and their dog made him jot her name onto the list — the only woman and the only non-American.
"What initially would have seemed like the most unlikely candidate in the end turned out to be the most intriguing candidate and, of course, the actual author," said Koudounaris. When Koudounaris contacted 82-year-old Ms. Clyne-Rekhy, she had no idea that the poem she had written more than 60 years ago to honor her childhood dog had brought comfort to so many people.
Major, a Labrador Retriever, was Edna's first dog. "Major was a very special dog," said Edna. “Sometimes I would just sit and talk to him, and I felt that he could understand every word I said.” Her mother used to ask how Edna had trained Major to be so gentle and obedient, and she still laughs about the question, explaining that she had never trained him at all, it was natural between them.
Major died in 1959, when Edna was 19 years old. The day after he passed, Edna found a notebook and pulled a piece of paper from it. As she began writing, she felt as if Major was guiding her pen.
"Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge," the poem begins. When she was finished, she wrote "Rainbow Bridge" at the top of the piece of paper, then showed it to her mother, who responded, "My darling girl, you are very special." Afterwards, she put the piece of paper away and didn't show it to anyone else for a long time.
Years later, she showed the poem to her husband, Jack Rekhy, who suggested she publish it. But, Edna didn't want to, telling him it was something private between herself and Major.
Eventually, Edna typed up a few copies and handed them out to close friends - but she did not add her name on those copies. As more and more people shared the poem, it became cut off from its source.
By the early 1990s it had crossed the Atlantic. In February 1994, a woman from Grand Rapids, Michigan, sent a copy of Rainbow Bridge that they had received from their local humane society to the advice column Dear Abby. It was published with a comment from Abigail Van Buren (Dear Abby), "I'm sure that many readers will be as moved as I when they read it. I confess, I shed a tear or two. Regrettably, you did not include the name of the author. If anyone in my reading audience can verify authorship, please let me know." The letter provoked an overwhelming reponse with mailbags full of letters from pet owners who had been touched by the poem.
When Koudounaris reached Edna, she was surprised he found her, and the reason why. She told him everything, inluding that the original poem sat in a box in her attic marked, "If you can't find it, it's in here."
Edna confessed to Koudounaris that when she took the poem out of the box to take photos of it for him that she began to cry. The memory of Major in the poem still carries that much emotional power for Edna.
"More than anything though, she is simply flattered that something she wrote so long ago has resonated with such a vast number of people—the fact that it has comforted so many is the greatest possible homage to her love for Major," Koudounaris said. "She knew nothing about the inscribed tablets in pet cemeteries.
She had also never heard the abbreviation ATB. I had to explain that it meant 'At The Bridge', and that there are entire mourning groups based around those three letters, which signify the pets waiting to meet their owners at a place she invented for Major."
"As a concept, what nineteen-year-old Edna envisioned is a kind of limbo where deceased pets are returned to their most hale form and cavort in newfound youth in an Elysian setting," wrote Koudounaris. "But it is not paradise itself. Rather, it is a kind of way station where the spirit of an animal waits for the arrival of its earthly human companion, so that they may cross the Bridge together, to achieve true and eternal paradise in each other’s company, and to thereafter never again be parted."
Koudounaris asked one question of Edna that took her aback during their discussions. What advice could she share for someone suffering from the loss of a pet?
"Her response was then immediate – get another pet," wrote Koudounaris. "She said that the relationship with a new pet will never be the same as the relationship with the old one, but it can be equally special and loving in different ways."
Shown: A recent photograph of Edna with her dogs Zannussi and Missy. Courtesy of Edna Clyne-Rekhy
Credits Goes to the respective owner 🌷
THANK YOU!!!
From all the rescues and sanctuaries and shelters, to everyone who donated, contributed, boarded a dog, sent us a dog in need, comforted us when we lost one of our old friends, cheered us up when we were down, cheered us on when we felt like quitting, said “yes you can” when we did not think we could, said “good for you” when we did, and said “thank you for what you do” when we were just doing what we love and giving back to the dogs who have given us so much joy.
We are thankful for a wonderful year and looking forward to the next one with lots of two-legged and four-legged friends. Keep your babies safe this weekend and ring in a new year with hope and love!!!
HAPPY NEW YEAR
Well here it is December 28 already. Hope everyone had a great Christmas. I had an absolute herd of 20 dogs so it was lively and noisy but fun. Many have already gone home but I will have some here for New Year’s Eve.
Speaking of which, are you doing anything to mitigate anxiety in your dogs over fireworks? They are bad here because we are rural and seem to go on for hours. I have already started the ramping up of CBD in their meals as it really seems to help ease their fears. You can also put cotton balls in their ears to muffle the sounds. Play the stereo or TV a bit loud, close windows and doors, even pulling the drapes muffles it some. Play with your dogs, keep them occupied, give them toys and puzzles, anything to distract them. No matter what I do I end up with five or six huddled in my lap around midnight. We get through it but it is not very fun for them.
All the kids are healthy and happy. Little Sholo continues to amaze me with how she functions with no sight. Sedona continues to grow into a really beautiful dog. The two dapple “ferret boys” are happy and well settled here now. All my aging pups are moving a little slower but still moving. Tay, Havasu, Heidi, Yuma, and Scooter are all in the 16-17 yo range, Trixie and Princess are in the 13-14 yo range, but everyone is healthy and happy with no chronic problems. I am truly blessed to have such a group of little friends.
Here is hoping we all get through the new year celebration with no ill effects and that 2024 is a great year for everyone.
Let’s start a new game. You can name your dachshund anything you want, but it has to be after a famous figure…not necessarily human, just a household name. I’ll start.
Bark Ruffalo.
Peebiscuit.
David Bowowie.
Just keep adding on as you think of one.
This Merry Christmas goes out to all the animal lovers in the world. The ones who would give up everything they have to save their pet. The ones who rescue and foster and adopt. The ones who work tirelessly to raise funds and awareness for animals in need. The ones who donate funds and blankets and food and a myriad of other things needed by rescues and shelters. And the ones who understand and tolerate and support everyone who does these things. The animals survive and thrive because you do.
Christmas is the time of giving, but thank God for these people the other 364 days of the year as well. Have a blessed holiday, hug your dog or cat or horse or ferret or whatever a bit closer, and give thanks for the animal lovers among us.
Now THIS is what rescue looks like!!
One smarty who said screw it and went over the top. You don’t want that one!!
And how are you spending your holiday week? I am spending mine in dachshund heaven! Lots of visitors and residents enjoying the sunny day.
One of the dapple gang got adopted today. Mayer was a foster from Happy Tails rescue and he went to live with a kindred spirit who has a soft spot for aging doxies. He will have a 13-year-old sister and a 1-year-old sibling (M/F?), both dachshunds, and a German short hair pointer who was the decider today. They hit it off, and Mayer went home to his new family. Happy life little buddy.
Sholo got her stitches out today and has two eyes again. Granted, she cannot see out of either one, but she is happy to get her stitches out and be done with her cone of shame.
She healed beautifully. Apparently the tiny tumor on her eyelid was not so tiny underneath so they had to resect a wide portion of her lid, but they sewed it together and you can hardly tell.
I think she is tired of being rescued. She has endured vaccinations, one of which gave her a mild form of kennel cough for a week; a dental where she lost several teeth; a very invasive eye exam to determine her sight could not be restored, and a surgery with two weeks in a cone and daily meds. She just wants some peace and to not be poked at for a while!
She is a trooper and sailed through it all. Now she can just enjoy her bed and her meals (2 hots and a cot), her buddies, her mom, and her play space without any fear or harm. When I stop and think of how much she went through to survive on the streets and how anybody could dump this little darling, it makes my blood boil. But I calm right back down with a snuggle and a kiss from her.
Stay safe and strong 💪💪🔥🔥💪
Today little Dolly went home to heaven. She wasn’t mine, just a pet sitting client. But I felt her presence and her strength every time she was in the house. You will never meet a spunkier, happier little senior dachshund. She toodled around in her wheels inside and outside, always wanting to be where the action was. In the evening she was happy to sit in your lap. I cried more for her than I have in a long time. Her mom and dad knew how special she was and how she touched my heart and they were kind enough to include me when it came time to tell about her passing. She was 18 years young, and our little world of dachshunds has lost a bright light for sure. I have no doubt she will find me in heaven when my time comes to cross the bridge.
Out of our cone for the first time today. She is worn out from bumping into things but much better today than yesterday. She can sleep at night without it because once she is asleep she is out cold. Plus she sleeps right next to my pillow so I know if she moves around much. She is being a very good patient.
UPDATE ON SHOLO:
Sholo had her surgery today and did very well. She has a stitch in her upper lid to close the gap where the cyst came out, then she has two stitches in the outer corner to sort of close the eye and keep blinking to the minimum. She also has a contact lens in the eye to keep the stitch in her lid from scratching her cornea. And she has to wear a cone of shame. Poor thing, she has spent her life learning how to navigate as a blind dog, and now she has to learn new parameters cause her head is now twice as wide as normal. She bangs that cone into everything. But she is already better at it than she was when she came home. She has meds that go in her eye as well as pain meds. She will wear the cone for two weeks and go back in for a recheck.
THE FINAL COUNTDOWN IS ON!!
Just 48 hours left to get your Krispy Kreme digital dozens ordered. With 50% of every purchase being donated to the hospice, what better way to support us? Remember, they never expire and they can be redeemed anywhere in the US. We are so close to our goal…help us get over the top. Sholo’s surgery is scheduled for tomorrow morning…say a prayer for a good result. Just click on the picture below and order yours today!! And thank you everyone for your support.
Help Lexy’s Little Angels fundraise by ordering delicious Krispy Kreme Digital Dozens today! Enjoy mouth-watering dozens & share to support their Krispy Kreme Fundraiser!
Anybody else love chili-Mac? I made some Mac and cheese last night that I was not crazy about. Added some chili tonight, and BAM! A little sour cream and Frank’s and I was set. Of course, I am kind of paying for it and hoping this digests before I go to bed.
Looks like the Thanksgiving week before and after, and Christmas week, are full. Yayyyy!! I will be celebrating New Year’s flat on my back with a bottle of Excedrin. Fair warning, I am taking the first week of January off!!
https://www.groupraise.com/offer-campaigns/12620
One last plea for help for Sholo’s surgery. Our fundraiser ends on
Halloween, so there is still time to get your digital dozens on line.
No, she is not a candidate for cataract surgery as we had hoped. Her retina are too far gone. But she does require a laser surgery on her right eyelid to remove a cyst that is scratching her cornea every time she blinks. That is going to be $2000. The testing for her cataracts and retina was over $1000. With your help it won’t deplete our reserves to do this surgery for her.
Just click on the group raise link above and order your donuts today and help us help little Sholo.
So little Sholo is scheduled for the laser surgery to remove the cyst on her right eyelid on the 31st. I am happy to say that our fundraiser brought in just enough to cover the testing she had last week to check her cataracts and retinae, and the surgery to fix that irritating cyst.
THANK YOU so very much for all your donations and purchases of donuts. Rescues like Lexy’s are reliant on donations from folks like you to do what we do, which help the ones who have no voice and no choice in what has happened to them. Sholo’s life from here on out will be full of love and laps and treats and a soft bed and never having to worry about the next danger around the corner or where her next meal is coming from. It is what I give all of my hospice dogs because they deserve all that and more.
The fundraiser will run through the end of October. Remember, there is no expiration date on when you can redeem the digital dozens you purchase, and you can redeem them at any Krispy Kreme store in the U.S. Your continued help and support means I can help the next dog who comes my way without hesitation.
UPDATE ON SHOLO:
Well, the news is unfortunate but not unexpected and certainly not shattering. Sholo is not a candidate for cataract removal because neither of her retinae are functional. The retina is what turns light into waves that transfer the image to the brain. Hers don’t do that. It means she has probably been blind for a long time and they have detached or atrophied. This does not change her in any way. She is very high functioning as a blind dog and absolutely fearless, which also means this is her normal and she is happy and comfortable.
She does have a small cyst in the center of her upper eyelid on the right that we have been treating with a little success, but we are going to have that lasered off and her lid returned to normal so it is not irritating the eye. She will be on anti-inflammatory drops, and drops to help with tear production, to help her be comfortable and hopefully tamp down any inflammation her cataracts may cause.
So your donations have helped determine her future and keep her as comfortable as I can for the remainder of her life here at Lexy’s. The fundraiser goes through the end of October and any help you can provide towards the laser surgery in her eyelid would be greatly appreciated.
Help Lexy’s Little Angels fundraise by ordering delicious Krispy Kreme Digital Dozens today! Enjoy mouth-watering dozens & share to support their Krispy Kreme Fundraiser!
Monday is the day we find out if Sholo is a candidate for cataract surgery. Cross everything you can and throw in a few prayers.
AZ
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And how are you spending your holiday week? I am spending mine in dachshund heaven! Lots of visitors and residents enjoying the sunny day.
It is raining like crazy and the thunder and lightening set them off. This went on for about 15 minutes.
Happy Thanksgiving to all our friends, followers, clients, and dachshund owners. It is a day for family (mine have four legs) and friends to gather round and say thanks for the bounty in their lives, and I have so much to be thankful for. On that subject, let’s talk about #GivingTuesday for a minute. It was started as a world wide initiative to get everyone thinking about giving to charities and organizations whose only source of revenue is donations, much like Earth Day was started to get people thinking about what little thing they can do to save the planet. It was never intended as a competition. Big companies like Facebook jumped in and offered to match donations and the race was on. But it being the holidays, there are a lot of folks who don’t have any extra to give right now, especially after Black Friday and the busy shopping weekend, and that’s okay. So maybe after you pay the Christmas bills in January and you have a little left over, donate then. Or in April when you get a tax refund, donate a little then. Every dollar helps. And it does not have to be dollars. Donate items your charity needs like treats for the dogs or dog beds, or give a little of your time to help. Those of us who run on donations appreciate everything we are given. Circling back to next Tuesday, even if the only thing you do for a nonprofit that day is make a plan to donate, that is fine. We do what we do out of love, not for dollars, and we try to give back to the community for every little thing we get. We especially love knowing you are thinking about us and want to help us in our labor of love. So this Tuesday if the only thing you have to donate is love, we will gladly take that too!!
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