This cute little dog?arrived over the Memorial Day weekend from San Antonio, Texas. She had been rescued from the city’s overcrowded animal control facility, where she had ended up after being found as a stray. She was blind, completely matted, filthy, and elderly. The group that saved her, Alamo Rescue Friends, has spent the past several years pulling hundreds of at-risk dogs from this shelter. ARF gets the dogs vaccinated, spayed/neutered, behaviorally evaluated, and into foster homes, and then transports them to New England humane societies … which are able to adopt them out to families?in the region. You can read more about this wonderful?group at their website here.
ARF spent a small fortune on this girl, who they named Grandma Mabel because of her age. She went to the groomers, had much-needed dental work done, and had’three’surgeries to remove multiple mammary tumors. (Because of her age and condition, the vet concluded it would be easier and safer to do shorter surgeries than keep her under anesthesia for a long, sustained operation.) She is blind from hyper-mature cataracts, and also has KCS, or dry eye, for which she is being treated. Of course, no one knows exactly how old she really is, but it’s easy to tell she’s well into her senior years.
We’ll be taking Mabel to see our veterinary ophthalmologist in the next few weeks. For now her eyes seem very comfortable. I will be forwarding the full set of medical records that ARF gave us to our internal medicine specialists at Peak to see if any other medical work is needed at this point.
Mabel is quiet and timid, though she will bark to let us know she needs to go outside to pee, or if she wants something. She is house-trained, which is a blessing! While she likes‘to be held, she doesn’t really interact much with us yet. She’s fine with the other dogs, but doesn’t pay any attention to them. She’s still learning where everything is, but is making quite a bit of progress in developing‘that “mental map” of her environment.
She’s not an easy girl to photograph, though! Mabel is always looking down, and moves her head around a lot, so getting a decent shot proved something of a challenge yesterday when Alayne took these photos. You can see she’s missing one ribbon — it fell out on her way to the farm, but the other one looked so cute we decided to leave it in. I know our own groomer will look forward to working with Mabel!
She’s a tiny thing, weighing just under 10 pounds. To give you some idea, here she is with Wilbur the Chihuahua:
Who knew anyone could make Wilbur look like a hulk?
Mabel spends her days sleeping in a round foam bed with fleece in the living room. At night we put her in an identical foam bed and fleece on a cot in the dog room, where she sleeps contentedly until about 7 a.m., which is when she lets us know she’s up and ready to go outside. She has a great appetite, and looks forward to every meal with gusto.
So please join us in welcoming Grandma Mabel to the farm!
These stories always make so happy, thank you for what you do
Welcome, little Mabel. I know you’ll love it there where you will be showered with loving care. God Bless you and RDF.
Welcome Grandma Mabel! She looks so precious. Lucky girl to be at RDF. Thank you to ARF for caring for so many of these animals that others want to throw away. And big hugs to you for taking her in!!
BLESS HER & YOU – WELCOME GRANDMA MABEL
ARF is an amazing group. They have saved many lives. I live in San Antonio & sadly we have a terrible record of strays but with organizations like ARF & several others we dream of the day we can be like other large cities that have been able to make no kill a way of being for any strays. Welcome to your new home, Grandma Mabel. I’m thrilled she is with y’all now.
Welcome, Grandma Mabel. I simply love your ribbon. You’ll be receiving lots of loving finally and hopefully for many years to come.
Welcome Mabel! I predict that in a few months you’ll be featuring her as the new social butterfly around the place. Who knows what her life was like before ARF, and she’s gone through a lot of changes lately. Soon enough she’ll start to feel secure and show you her personality. It’s certainly a good thing she’s a pee-alerter. Somehow I always end up with the other kind. 🙂
She looks like a Mable! It’s great that she is happily ensconced at RDF. Look forward to a follow-up at some point of your choosing.
Welcome to Grandma Mabel. I look forward to reading more about her as she gets settled in.
Sweet little Mabel! I’m glad she will have comfort and gentleness for the rest of her days.
I’m so glad Mabel gets to spend her golden years in a peaceful place. Even if she spends a lot of time sleeping, I know she will be happy and content and safe. She may put on a little weight now that she had her dental work done. Welcome Mabel! You are now at a happy place where you will be taken care of and loved.
Oh, and nice tongue, Wilbur.
WELCOME HOME MABEL WELCOME HOME
Can’t imagine how difficult it is for a little senior gal to once again have to reorient herself and learn to trust new people and dogs. Thank you for her very soft bed for her geriatric bones to rest on. I would love to hold her on a pillow on my lap and pet her and whisper sweet words to her. Thank goodness she is now safe and loved!
thank you for all you do…having a blind cat (adopted as a kitten ) we know well how important it is for our Martha to follow her scent trails in our home…but once she mastered that as a kitten there was nothing that stopped her. When she was first learning her trails her head was down more and she tended to carry her tail stiffly…now she runs with her head held high and tail relaxed …she also has great play skills with our other adopted seeing cat Felix …she loves her toys that make a sound as they roll by but is equally adept at noticing the slightest movement…and her scenting ability…well, second to none ..the sky’s the limit for Martha Skylight 🙂 Best wishes to Grandma Mabel
Precious little Mabel! Praying it won’t be long before she feels how truly safe and loved she is.
Welcome home Grandma Mabel!
Your days on the street are over’sleeping on plush beds, getting healthy food, and having humans to let you out to pee await you. : )
Sorry Folks, don’t like the name Grandma Mabel. Little Mabel would be better in my humble opinion. Little cutie though. Can’t wait to see how she opens up to you as she gets used to her new home.
She finally has a good place to live out her retirement.