Dolly the Boston Terrier ~ Adopted
Dolly is a purebred 6-year-old Boston Terrier, about 27 pounds. She has been meticulously and lovingly cared for her entire life. She gets along with everyone and is a true delight.
Why would such a wonderful dog be looking for a new home? Because her owner has made a difficult decision. You see, Miss Viola is in her 80s. She was recently widowed and then just 3 weeks later suffered a heart attack. Around the same time, her pug became rather dog aggressive. She couldn’t keep both Dolly and the pug, so she made the hard decision to rehome Dolly. She knew that a dog-aggressive pug would be harder to rehome than a sweet and loving Boston Terrier.
Miss Viola is in tears over this choice, but she knows it is the best one. I am actually awed by her. She has cared for Dolly with the type of love and attention that we all hope to give our dogs. Dolly gets 3/4 cup of food in the morning and at night. Her ears are cleaned every week. She is given baths with an oatmeal base. Wow! We’ve promised Miss Viola that Dolly will find the perfect home, the type of home that she would pick out herself. Now we wait to find it.
You can see more photos of Dolly in her Facebook photo album.
December 5th Update:
Dolly arrived at my home late last night, very nervous and uncertain. My husband, who is very good with dogs, took her for a walk outside, talking to her the whole time. She seemed a bit calmer but still….
Today we watched her slowly relax. Again, Glenn walked her in the front so she wouldn’t have to deal with all the other puppies. She didn’t want to eat, so he mixed a little chicken and rice into her regular food and we put it in her crate. When we got home from church she had eaten it all! We decided to go for it and let her out with the other dogs. She did great. At first she was cautious, but she started to get closer. Then Kipper the little Rat Terrier puppy tried to get her to play. Soon she was doing the front-leg bounce, bottom in the air, playing with the all. I was amazed!
We gave her the run of the house, while keeping a sharp eye on Gus, our basset/bulldog. He can be a bit of a jerk, but for the first time in ages, he was happy to give space to another dog. I like to think that he was being sensitive to her age and anxiety. (I can dream, can’t I?). As I worked at my computer, Dolly walked around the house, and then came up alongside me, put her front paws on my leg and licked my face. Just a moment ago, she jumped up on the couch to sit next to my son.
The resilience of dogs never ceases to amaze me. All Dolly has ever known is a loving home with an older couple and one other dog. She is now in a busy family home with multiple dogs, two cats and two birds, and she has adjusted in less than 24 hours. Would that we were all so able to embrace change!
December 8th Update:
Dolly has found a wonderful home and I am so happy. I have grown very attached to her sweet spirit and to have found her such a perfect fit is more than I could have wished.
Janette and Kristin had originally contacted me about Pollywog but she was adopted by a lovely family in Kissimmee. When Dolly arrived a day later, I gave them a heads up. At first they were hesitant, having just lost Mogie, thier 13-year-old Boston; were they ready for an older BT? The loss of Mogie was still so raw. After thinking about it all weekend, they knew beyond a doubt that they were! But how would 11-year-old Abbie respond? They drove three hours to find out. The dogs touched noses, looked at each other for 5 seconds, then moved on. Wow, it was just that smooth!!!
After Janette and Kristin left, I called Miss Viola to let her know that her baby had a new home. She was in tears, but I think they were tears of relief. She would have never given up Dolly had her health not failed. I’m honored that we had the opportunity to help her, Dolly, Kristin and Janette. Today was a good day!
I don’t have a video yet, but I wanted to give you a little update on Holly. She is so amazing and I just love, love, love her!!! She is the perfect dog in every way! She had her teeth cleaned 2 weeks ago (with 2 extractions) and now she has fresh breath..which is great because she loves to give kisses! She had her birthday party on 2/8 (we know her birthday month is February and chose the 8th sicne we adopted her on 12/8). I think she loves it here! She absolutely loves walks/runs (we take her to 2 different parks), so I’m thinking she may really enjoy agility training (she is energetic and has great stamina). She and Abbie love each other! They like to be close to one another and even nap in the same little bed, even though they each have their own! We have continued with the same care that Mrs. Viola provided, the 3/4 cup of food in the morning and evening and oatmeal baths. Over the past few days, we stopped crating her when we leave and it has been working out great.