Lucy in April; Lucy in August
Hi, everyone. Lucy here. I’m pretty much in “forever foster” these days because of my ongoing medical needs, but we wanted to share my story anyway. We think it’s encouraging to anyone who wants to foster, adopt or volunteer. You can always make a difference in the life of a dog. Just look at my before and after photos!
So … with that said, here’s my story …
I was picked up as a stray by animal control in February of 2017. I was approximately 10 years old, had extreme tartar on my tooths, appeared to be going blind (that, fortunately, turned out to be false) and, as you can tell, I was a wee bit underweight at a whole 8 lbs. Ribs, anyone? No, thanks. Not on Jacks.
You know these people at Georgia Jack Russell Rescue; they have big hearts for down-on-their-luck seniors like me, so they scooped me up for a freedom ride from the kill shelter a week later and took me straight to the vet for some TLC. I had severe diarrhea at the time, so I stayed there for some fluids to prevent dehydration and received some meds to ward off the Big D. Unfortunately, the latter stuck with me for awhile when I went to my foster home with our awesome volunteers, Lindsey and Robert. (Yes, Nubbin’s parents.)
That crap (literally) didn’t go away, so after a couple of weeks, they took me back to the vet for an ultrasound and to weed out anything nefarious, like that ugly “C” word. Good news — the ultrasound showed no signs of any tumors or foreign objects in my digestive system, but … due to the severe inflammation of the tissue stuffs in my GI tract, I was diagnosed with IBD from an unknown cause. Annnddd … as if that wasn’t enough, I also had a bacterial infection similar to botulism. So. Much. Fun. At. Once.
I finally got all of that silly tummy stuff out of the way and was healthy enough for a dental by May. If you didn’t know, a lot of us seniors arrive at rescue with terrible teeth because our humans never sprung for dentals. Sad, but true; some people just don’t think it’s necessary … like heartworm or flea preventive … but I digress. Unlike many other dogs who have come into rescue and have had to have half of their teeth pulled to “get the poison out,” I only had one really bad tooth that needed to go … but …
The next morning after surgery, I became seriously sick again. I had all of the signs of renal failure — very lethargic, high fever and endless thirst. In addition, my blood pressure was rocketing and produced a nasty little eye ulcer. Suffice it to say, my foster parents were totally worried and rushed me back to the vet for emergency care.
Fast forward to now … August 2017 … I am a whopping 13 lbs! “Look, Ma, no ribs!” I do require sub cutaneous fluids every day, though. My foster parents are amazing and take me to the vet for them (after I gave them a bit of a fight when they tried to do it themselves … what?). I don’t particularly like it. I don’t bark, growl or whine, but I certainly squawk like a parrot and go all stiff legs to protest. They say it’s in my best interest and I put up with it because, in return, I get awesome food, like ground chuck, eggs and bread. Yum!
In closing … again … They just wanted to share my story to show everyone that none of us are “lost causes.” We’re Jacks: We were bred and born to hunt, to run, to fight. I am no exception. If you are willing to open up your home and, most importantly, your heart, you could have your own Lucy story, too.
Whether we stay with you for days, weeks, months, years, or even “forever,” your foster care makes all the difference to us and our quality of life. Lindsey and Robert took me on because they’re just that awesome, but the rescue does help all foster parents do what they need to do to do the best for us, both financially and physically.
Interested in joining us as a foster? Learn more >>
Can’t foster, but want to help support our foster parents do what they do? Learn more >>
