We’ll miss you, Little Man!
In Loving Memory
Hi! My name is Shaggy and I am an 8 year old, 9 pound, male Silky Terrier (possibly a mix). I was found as a stray at a local boarding facility and lucky for me they contacted SBRET! When I was found I was the most matted dog any of my SBRET friends had seen. I had clumps and clumps of dirt – they just couldn’t believe it. I was truly pitiful. But, I’m not shaggy anymore, although I’m stuck with this silly name!
Because I was a stray I had to go directly to the animal shelter to give my previous family a chance to find me. The shelter staff were so appalled at my condition that they immediately shaved me down the best they could. Unfortunately we were unable to get a picture of me before this grooming session – so everyone could have seen my transformation. As you can see by my updated pictures, I am quite the beautiful and dignified boy with long silky hair! My SBRET friends are still trying to figure out my strange blondish color – as a result we are thinking I COULD be a mix of some sort – versus being a pure bred Silky Terrier.
Anyway, obviously my previous family never came for me so my new friends at SBRET took me in. Although I was a handful the first day at my foster mom’s house, I am doing PRETTY well at my housetraining now. No, I’m not perfect, but I am SO much better! You should also know that I am hard of hearing – I can only hear loud noises. But, I ‘m no dummy! I come when you give me a hand signal. Now isn’t THAT impressive? I’m probably the only SBRET dog that knows ANY tricks, if you want my opinion. I hear my SBRET friends say that even if a dog came into the program KNOWING a trick, they are such bad dog trainers that they could probably have that dog “unlearn” it in no time! The problem is, except for Susan our resident dog trainer, all SBRET people seem to be big, WIMPY, you got it…SOFTIES! Every single one of them might as well all have a big stamp on his/her forehead that says “SUCKER”! They’ll fall for the “I’m a rescue dog, I’m way too pitiful to learn these tricks” look EVERYTIME! Ha! Ha!
In case you’re wondering my two favorite activities are to eat and snuggle! I am so obsessed with food because I almost starved at some point in my life. I can be grumpy around my food – in fact, I’m pretty protective of it! For this reason I cannot go to a home with small children. However, my SBRET friends tolerate my grumpiness because they know about the hard life I had, and they are just amazed I am so loving despite my past hardships. And when I’m not eating I want to be with my person at all times. There is no getting away from me – I climb dog gates and everything. But I’m not destructive and I don’t have separation anxiety – I just love people!
I am currently being fostered in a multi-dog and cat household and get along fine with my furry friends (except if they get around my food). Also, we wanted you to know that I do have a fully formed cataract in one eye, and the other is worsening. In my update below you will see that SBRET is fundraising to hopefully be able to provide me the cataract removal surgery I will need to see again. I won’t really be ready for adoption until after my surgery, but if you are interested in me please contact SBRET. For just the right family SBRET would be willing to let that person(s) foster me if they felt they would like to be my forever home and also felt capable of fostering me while I recuperate from my upcoming surgery. So, if you are interested in a sweet boy who deserves a good home to make up for the past hardships in his life, please contact SBRET!
1/25/04 Update:
We are trying to raise funds to pay for cataract removal surgery for Shaggy. He not only has a fully developed cataract in one eye, but he also has another forming in the other. You see, Shaggy not only has to deal with decreasing vision, but he is also nearly deaf. We CANNOT bear to think of Shaggy both deaf and blind, so we have decided to do what we can to raise money for cataract removal surgery.
Shaggy has already had the first evaluation required prior to this surgery. This first evaluation ($90) was very promising as it appears that Shaggy would be an excellent candidate for surgery. Another test will be required where Shaggy would be sedated and the eye beneath his fully developed cataract would be tested to determine if it is functional beneath the cataract. This test alone costs approximately $200.
If Shaggy is determined to be a candidate, the cost to remove the cataract in one eye is estimated to be $1,400 and the cost for two is $1,800. We were given the choice of going ahead and removing the one fully formed cataract or waiting until the other one develops further. It is likely that this will occur in several months.
Due to the significant cost of this surgery, it is likely that Shaggy will be almost totally blind before the surgery can be performed. Therefore time is of the essence! At a minimum we would like to get one cataract removed, but we would LOVE to have them BOTH removed.
5/24/04 Update:
Shaggy was taken for a follow-up evaluation by Dr. Rhea Morgan at Veterinary Specialty Consultation Service, Inc. Shaggy’s second cataract (the one not fully formed) has basically remained unchanged – and has not progressed at all. Dr. Morgan was quite pleased about this, although SBRET will now need to discuss this and determine if we still want to wait for the second cataract to form fully prior to having the next set of tests. The other option is to go ahead and concentrate on the eye with the fully formed cataract, have it evaluated, and possibly have the surgery on one eye only. Please stay tuned for updates.
Thanks to the generous donations from Karen King, Simply Vintage, S. Louisos, Phyllis Kukula, Martha Moore, Jan and Steve Stelzman, Joyce Head, John Long & Family, Barbara Champion, Jane Sutton, Whitney Minor, Luke de Andrade, Katie Smith, Linda Ray, Barbara Stonikas, Bret & Michelle McGaughy, Lisa England, Lisa & Mike Ellington (in memory of Jake), Holly Anderton and Daphne Lorincz, we now have $915 in the Shaggy Fund. Thanks so much!
The Shaggy Fund information was last updated on 6/23/04.
10/12/04 Update:
Shaggy was taken to our vet, Animal Hospital of Anderson County, for a routine dental cleaning. At this time we opted to have bloodwork performed as he is an older dog. It was discovered at this time that Shaggy is now in kidney failure. At this time Shaggy is showing no visible signs of the disease, but a prescription diet (low protein, low phosphorus), as well as medication is recommended. Dialysis is not really an option for Shaggy, or for most dogs. Sadly, we must come to the realization that Shaggy’s life expectancy is not what we had once hoped. As a result, we are in the process of making the difficult decision as to whether it is worthwhile to put Shaggy through a surgery and recuperation period. At this time we have made the decision to discontinue fundraising for Shaggy – to give us the opportunity to make a final decision as well as to see how Shaggy’s health holds up while living with reduced kidney function.
In the meantime, if you have already donated on behalf of Shaggy please do not worry. Any funds that have been donated for Shaggy, but not yet expended, will be used on behalf of another deserving animal in the event we are unable to provide this surgery for Shaggy. In the event that any new donations are received for Shaggy, we will contact the donating individual to determine the appropriate path forward in regard to the donated funds.
4/23/05 Update:
Shaggy’s condition, sadly, does appear to be worsening. He is still comfortable, but at this time we feel that he should not be adopted out. Instead, he will live out the rest of his life in his current foster home.
7/2/05 Update:
We have very sad news to report. On 7/1/05 we made the difficult decision to send Shaggy on to the Rainbow Bridge. We truly felt he was no longer enjoying life. His foster mom had taken him to the vet a few times in the last couple of weeks. Shaggy was not eating well and seemed to be in pain. We tried fluid therapy, 3 new medications, and specially prepared meals, but nothing seemed to increase his desire to eat. Because we knew the healthy, happy Shaggy would bite your fingers when giving him treats, we knew this lack of appetite was not a good sign. So after we tried everything we could, we decided to let him go peacefully. We hope we made his last couple of years the best he had known. We do know he touched the hearts of many, because of the outpouring of support he received when we thought he was well enough to have cataract surgery. And, when we get sad, we try to remember the funny times. For example, we get a good laugh when we think of the times when, even when in a sound sleep, this almost blind, deaf, little dog could immediately sense when it was dinner time, and come running for his share every time. We also laugh when he would send the other dogs running – when he would stand over his food like a grumpy old man and growl (although he couldn’t always see what he was growling at) as if to say, “Don’t even THINK about getting near MY food!” Anyway, we hope you get lots of treats in Heaven, little man, you deserve them. We’ll miss you.
