On May 21, 2003 a local police officer came to Paw's Place carrying a very smelly, sick and feeble dog. An old Pekingese had been found, staggering alone around town. The day after her arrival at Paw's Place, the officer came back and said that the owners were located but they didn't want their 15-year-old Pekingese anymore. Baby Sandy had been outside, cold and wet for months and she had been living outside for years. She had mold in her matted flea-ridden fur, along with maggots in the wounds on her face. Due to the continual neglect, she was full of worms, fleas, underweight, incontinent with a kidney infection and near death. Being blind, hard of hearing and having suffered a spinal cord injury, it was amazing that she was still alive!
Baby Sandy let everyone at the vet's office know that she still wanted to live. She was very feisty and difficult to medically treat. I picked her up at the animal hospital and brought her to my home, where she would stay until she recovered and was ready for adoption. Getting Baby on her feet with medication and diet was a daily struggle. I found she could see shadows and knew when people or other animals were approaching. After re-training her back legs and giving those tiny legs massages, Baby could now walk on her own all the way down the street. If you scuff your feet while she walks, she would follow the sound and walk along beside you. It was amazing!
At the time Baby came to Paw's Place, we didn't realize how close to death she was until she began to recover. She made such huge progress. She did have several setbacks and very bad days that scared me. In fact, many days I thought she would be gone by morning. Not Baby! Every morning, she is waiting to go out and to eat breakfast. Some days she skipped down the street, hopping like a bunny. Baby even survived the surgical removal of growths and warts that were bothering her eyes and face.
Baby's day encompassed sleeping in many areas of the house, walking around to eat or get a drink or finding a comfortable spot in the sunshine. She memorized the layout of the house using the baseboards as a guide. She lived with 3 cats and 3 Dachshunds, but she ruled the roost. Not one animal will go near her and they would get out of her way when she walked by or ate dinner.
After several months of nursing this ole gal back to health, I found that I couldn't part with her. I couldn't break that trust and bond that developed between us. I did promise her that I would not go to extraordinary measures to medically treat her because she didn't respond well at all to hospitals, medications and strangers. I found that it was life threatening for her to leave home and me.
In November 2004, Baby starting showing more signs of old age and I knew she was failing. On Dec 8, 2004 Baby had a stroke and became paralyzed on her right side. I knew Baby's little frail body couldn't recover from the damage of the stroke due to her age. She was almost 17 years old now.
For a year and a half, Paw's Place provided this senior citizen a warm loving home, good friends, good food, medical care and nurturing. She was a dog to be admired for her love of life and her determination to live it! Baby and I worked out a "wrestle game" that we played every day that made her so happy. This was the only time she ever played. Looking back over that past few days, I can see that Baby gave me special gifts, letting me know how much she trusted and loved me.
Baby, I kept my promise and let you pass on surrounded by your admirers.
THANK YOU for all you gave me the last 19 months of your life.
Nancy Hahn, Volunteer
