There are so many things about rescue that are so heartbreaking. This is especially true when you work with neglected chained dogs by the masses. The last few weeks have been really tough on the DDB Nashville Team. Our Volunteers get so attached to the dogs we help. It is so difficult when we meet these dogs, bond with them and know that they will never live as wonderful of a life as our own dogs. However, the most difficult part is when we lose one before we are able to give them freedom from their chain. This has happened to use twice now in the past couple of weeks. First we lost Spot because he was in heart failure from advanced heartworms. He was only 4 years old. :( Now, I am heartbroken to have to tell everyone that we lost Brown Dog over the weekend. This AMAZINGLY sweet dog had lived ELEVEN years at the end of his chain. Eleven bitter cold winters and eleven blazing hot summers. He was so close to freedom. His fence was going up next weekend. Although he will never know what it was like to run free in a fenced yard, he got an even greater gift. He is now running free over the bridge and will NEVER know a day of suffering again. Rebecca S could tell that he was not doing well, so she suggested we get him to the vet ASAP. We took him in on Friday to get checked out (Thank you Sandy Reid for taking him). Turns out his lungs were filled with fluid, and he was slowly suffocating to death. He was in a lot of pain and had been for some time. Again.... from advanced heartworms. We had to let him go that day. :( I know that our first reaction is to be MAD. Furious at the owner for forcing this dog to live a life of such neglect. We have to TRY and put ourselves in his shoes. Most of us never live in the conditions that these families live in. Most of us cant understand their mind set. Try and realize that the families we help live way below the poverty level. Most dont have much more than their dogs. No heat/air, blankets for curtains, no vehicle, etc. Honestly, they shouldnt even have a dog because they simply cant afford one but unfortunately the law does not say that poor people cant have dogs. Almost every dog in these neighborhoods lives at the end of a chain. It is all around them. This is the norm. They can not afford to fence off their yards. The slum lords dont care about fencing their yards. Most of these people grew up with their dogs being chained. It is a way of life. It is the way it has always been for them. They truly dont know any different. Brown Dog and Pooh Bears owner is a very nice, elderly man. He actually loves his dogs. He had no idea he was neglecting them. He has fed them everyday and made sure they had water. He would go out and sit with them and pet them. As sad as it is, THAT is more than most chained dogs get. This man actually cried when the vet called him and told him his dog was dying. He had NO CLUE what heartworms were. He had never heard of them and had no idea that he was suppose to be giving his dogs preventative. He immediately called Rebecca S and asked her how we could make sure that Pooh Bear does not get them. As sad as we all are over the loss of Brown Dog, we have to keep moving forward. There is still a wonderful sweet dog chained up in this yard. Little Pooh Bear will STILL get his freedom February 7th. Our awesome partner in the rescue world, Southern Alliance for People & Animal Welfare - Safpaw, fully vetted Pooh Bear on Friday and paid to let him board at the vet for a few days to recover. He is HW negative and we will make sure it stays that way! This little guy will NOT know the same fate as his mentor, Brown Dog. Our DDB Team will keep tabs on this little love bug and ensure that he is being taken well cared for! Although we are grieving over the loss of this sweet soul, we harness that pain into drive and we push forward to fight for these dogs. THIS Is why we HAVE to keep going! This is WHY we HAVE To make sure our new tethering ordinance passes. TOGETHER we keep going and the day will come when NO DOG WILL LIVE CHAINED IN NASHVILLE!!! You were very loved by so many Brown Dog. Rest Easy big guy.....
Posted on: Mon, 26 Jan 2015 14:30:07 +0000
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