Update
“I love my calendar tribute! Thank you for including my dear Grampy! Muffin, you will always be in our hearts, have fun with our dear Grampy! We will see you both again!”
Dorothy
Update
Silvia, Grampy passed the Rainbow Ridge 2 days ago. The same day his owner died 4 years ago when he came to us the first time. I thought he was only with us 3 years but it’s actually 4 this month. My husband and I are crushed, but we know that he is no longer suffering with the bad heart that he has. He lived to be 15 or 16 years old, according to his previous owner’s sister who came over yesterday and told me a few things about Gramps. I am crying right now telling you this. This is the first of our dogs to pass away. He got to use the Halo a few times, but had a hard time getting in and out the doggie door. So for the most part, we took it off. It was very helpful though when he did use it.
Please let me know if there’s another doggie out there who could use Grampy’s Muffins Halo. Thank you so much for the assistance.
Sincerely,
Dorothy
Backstory
The evening of October 15, 2012, Moonchi (Grampy), a Cocker Spaniel and Comeng, a Pomeranian were abruptly dropped off at my house when their owner died in a car accident. My good friend, Tracy’s was her sister. My friend couldn’t think of anyone else to drop them off to, but me knowing that I have a special love for dogs. I already had 3 dogs, but was ready to help out. She wanted me to keep them until we can find good homes for them. We weren’t that optimistic they’d find homes because of their condition.
They were both in bad shape, especially Gramps. He wouldn’t let anyone touch him. He had a big tumor hanging out his butt as well. It was obvious he couldn’t see or hear.
The next day, he finally let me touch him and took a peek at his ears to see if there’s any problems. Both ears were oozing with infection it was so heart breaking. It took me a couple of hours to clean him up before my friend could come and take them to the vet to get them checked. It smelled worse than trash. I cleaned it 3 times a day until the Vet.
My friend, Tracy, tells me to just put him to sleep, but after just a few of months of love and vetting, he’s actually come out of his shell and seems much younger than he looks. When we finally installed two doggie doors (one from our sliding door bedroom and the other from the kitchen door, which both lead to the backyard), he was the first one who figured out how to use them. The Vet says he has a bad heart murmur, so any other surgeries he could undergo may kill him. Although he did undergo one surgery to remove the big tumor in his butt. He’s going on 3 years of being with us and he’s still a happy Grampy! I thought they’ve been with us longer, but Tracy says that her sister died in October of 2012. He’s probably 13 or 14 years old by now. His little sister Coco who is around 10 or 11 is also still with us and I love her to pieces too! We couldn’t think of anyone who would be willing to take them and care for them because their seniors, so we decided to be their retirement home and are just praying on a daily basis that God will provide for their health needs if any kind of emergency comes around. Gramps still gets up for his morning treat, eats, and drinks well… poos and pees outside. I groom him myself, since groomers make him really nervous and I don’t think it’s good for his heart. He doesn’t give anyone any problems, except for maybe him being a ninja and his face is suddenly right behind your legs. We’ve tripped over him many times because he’s so stealthy. It’s not his fault he can’t see.
The only thing now that may make his life more comfortable would be a halo. We tried to make our own contraption using wire hangers and his winter vests, but it didn’t work. Right now, we don’t cut his whiskers so that it would help him navigate, but it’s still not enough. We love him and want his life to be comfortable and would like to give him confidence. I would have bought one for him, but my husband is currently unemployed and my family of 5 (3 kids) and fur babies (5) are currently relying on my income.
