24/04/2024
❤️Maple's Story❤️
Meet Maple!........hard to believe this is the SAME dog in both pictures! The difference is that she didn't know what it was like to be loved in the first picture, and now she does, as evidenced by her smile in the second picture!
Let me tell you a little bit about her journey, although I don't know all the details of what she's been through, and I probably don't want to know😢.
Back in late September, 2023, some friends tagged me in a post about Maple, that said a foster was needed for her. My friends who tagged me in the post knew I raise Bernese Mountain dogs and that I had experience with the breed. What they didn't realize is that as soon as they tagged me and I saw the post about her, my heart was breaking just looking at that sad, sweet face and wondering how someone could neglect this little girl so much.
So, I reached out to the rescue who had her, and in doing so made a forever friend in Sarah Kelly! (The work she does for animals is nothing short of amazing!) Anyway, she shared with me that what she knew about Maple was that she had been irresponsibly used for breeding, had been owned by at least four different people, had lived her entire life in an outdoor kennel deep in mud, and had never been let inside. She was extremely underweight and malnourished, which most likely stunted her overall growth. She was a very emaciated dog at only 48lbs when the rescue got her. Her coat was thin and dull, and there was absolutely no light in her eyes. She could barely walk because the condition of her paw pads was horrible from living in mud. Simply put, she was pitiful.
I truly didn't need another dog, but she was pulling at my heartstrings and I couldn't not try to help her. So what started out as a foster situation in which I intended to get her healthy and then find her a loving forever family, quickly turned in to a FOSTER FAIL situation. 😂
After bringing her home in early October, 2023, it was very obvious that Maple had never known what it was like to be truly loved by her owners. She was shy and didn't understand that it was ok to sit close and ask for affection. She was nervous and scared of loud noises or sudden movements and her feet were in such bad shape that it was difficult for her to push herself up after laying down.
So, after a vet check, vaccinations and deworming, and trip to the groomer for pampering and dematting of her coat, the goal was to get her feet/paw pads healed and get her to gain weight. It's been a very slow process, and it took her awhile to start gaining weight. In fact......after her vet check, and approx two weeks after i got her, she suddenly went into labor and delivered a single, stillborn puppy one night in our living room floor! She was so malnourished that no one, not even the vet, knew she was pregnant at the time.
It's been almost 6 months since I got her, and I've never posted about her until now. When I compared these pictures this past weekend I literally just sat and cried. She doesn't even look like the same dog! She has gained 22 lbs and her total weight is now up to 70 lbs. Her feet/paws are healed and she's walking without limping and running with joy when we're outside in the yard. Her coat is thick and shiny, and her eyes are filled with light now. She is affectionate, trusting (yes, even after everything she's been through), well-behaved and just the sweetest little Bernese Mountain dog ever! ❤️
She has found her forever home right here with us. And though I didn't need another dog......I believe she needed us! She knows what love is now, and she always will! Sweet Maple, you are home now!❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
