It's Time to Talk About Molly

This time, last year, we had not learned of Molly's cancer. We were just days away from learning that our surrogate child only had a few months to live.

Molly was the wonderful little Westie Rescue that we adopted from Louisiana Westie Rescue on December 28, 2005.  She was our anniversary present for our third wedding anniversary on December 31.

I've already started to cry as I write this, even though it is primarily a happy story.

Dear, sweet, fun-loving, precious, adorable, intelligent, lovable little Molly was over 12 years old when her family dumped her in a kill shelter in Collierville, TN. 

She had a bladder infection and skin problems that can be common to Westies when they are not given the right diet.  Surely the people who had given her a home for 12 years would not have dumped her for those very fixable problems!  The skin problems would probably have kept anyone from adopting her out of that kill shelter.

The Westie Rescue network learned of Molly in the kill shelter, and they immediately jumped into Rescue Mode.  One volunteer with the Missouri Westie Rescue got Molly out of the shelter and transported her to Martha, a foster home in Bessemer, AL, for Louisiana Westie Rescue. 

Martha put Molly on an all-raw diet (BARF) and special bath ingredients that soon cleared up the skin problems and solved the bladder infection. Then Martha began to love Molly back from her traumatic experiences.

From the scant information on the surrender papers and from Molly's reactions and responses, we have pieced together Molly's sad little story.

Apparently Molly stayed shut up in the laundry room every day while her people were at work.  The surrender papers said Molly would have an accident after 12 hours or more in the laundry room. (I would like to put that previous owner in a laundry room every day without a potty break for 12 hours! No wonder the little tyke developed a bladder infection!)

The surrender papers said Molly could not be trusted with kids.  From Molly's skittish reaction to a few "triggers", we deduced that a grandchild, perhaps, liked to taunt or startle Molly.  She had just about lost all of her hearing, so to wake her up, we had to let her smell our fingers for a few minutes until her eyes opened and she recognized her human.  Otherwise, she would wake and lurch into a snarling, snapping defense posture. As long as she knew a human was approaching, she was a perfect princess.

Molly literally flirted with Gordon and Unc.  Marilyn Monroe could have learned some tricks from Molly on flirting! 

She would perform her cute little tricks (sit, shake hands, speak, twirl around in a circle, fetch, chase a flashlight beam) and just turn on the cuteness with the men.  Her perfect manners and delightful tricks indicate that Molly was loved and given some very attentive pampering in her life.  But at night, Molly would curl up next to me on the bed and suddenly growl and challenge Gordon when he tried to get into bed or get closer to me. 

I think there was a man in Molly's life who had loved and helped train her.  Perhaps a second husband did not like Molly and pulled her off the bed to sleep in the laundry room at night?  The surrender papers said she slept in the laundry room which left me to wonder when the little baby was allowed to spend time with her people!

The surrender papers said Molly's only trick was "play dead"...meaning she slept all the time.  She never responded to a "play dead" command.)  Well, even a human who is neglected and depressed will sleep all the time. If Molly was shut up in the laundry room all day and all night, there was very little for her to get excited about! The tone of the comments on the surrender papers indicated to me that the man who left her at the kill shelter did not like her.

Molly was a perfect Rescue for our first Westie Rescue.  She was so well-behaved, pristine manners, happy to snuggle but happy to go walking.  Neither Gordon nor I had been owned by a small dog before, so we were unprepared for the way Molly stole our heart and became our surrogate baby.

With understanding and patience, we learned how to avoid triggering Molly's "fight or flight" reaction, and we were able to, as The Dog Whisperer says, "rehabilitate the dog and train the human" to give her the security of a properly-ordered "pack" with humans as the Alpha in the pack.

Both Gordon and I grew up with pets, so we know that loving a pet means accepting a bite, a nip or a scratch from time to time.  Accidents happen.  My father taught me beginning with my first puppy, "to train a dog, you have to be smarter than the dog".  That is good management advice for pets as well as for humans!

So, the first time Molly bit me, a fear reaction to being waked up by feeling a hand petting her, Gordon and I did not give up on her or on the adoption.  We knew Molly could learn to trust us if we were just smart enough to understand what triggered her fear.

It is so easy to get lost in a cute face or in a heart-wrenching story and not anticipate that any pet in Rescue will have some issues to be dealt with.  I do believe that a settled Rescue pet can be more loving and more appreciative than a pet loved and nurtured from infancy, but sometimes one has to work hard and think smart to rehabilitate that pet to its loving nature.

You know, Molly TAUGHT me how to groom her!  She loved to be groomed and clean and pretty, so someone in her past had taken good, loving care of her.  She would hold up a paw or turn her head in such a way as to guide my hand.  If she resisted or squirmed, I could deduce that professional groomers had not trimmed in that spot before. Molly was just amazing!

We took Molly to have some lumps removed on April 11, 2006.  Dr. Duncan found a large mass on one mammary gland, pressing against her ureter, that was deep and aggressive.  I can remember trying to write down the big medical words Dr. Duncan was telling me while sobbing at the horrible news that our little baby was not long for this world.

The pathologist confirmed that Molly's cancer had spread to the lymph system.  We did not want to put Molly through treatment that would give her discomfort and pain.  We chose to make her final months as happy and as pain free as possible.

Molly's foster mom Martha and Laura, the founder of Louisiana Westie Rescue, cried with us about Molly's diagnosis.  Martha often told me that Molly was special in a way that I still cannot define with words.  She had a special charisma and wisdom that I don't know how to describe.

Molly's final months were happy.  She was with a human literally 24/7. When she hurt especially badly, she would find a spot in the laundry room to curl up and sleep.  That broke my heart to find her voluntarily sleeping on the hard floor in the laundry room.

She was so excited over a little wicker basket we got her after surgery, that we realized that she must have slept in that kind of a wicker basket the first 12 plus years of her life....in that lonely laundry room.  After that, Molly had a special wicker basket in the studio, in the old farmhouse...in a number of places.

Westies have a huge prey drive.  They were bred as hunting dogs.  Molly was beyond-delighted to discover her own kitty-cat to chase indoors.  As the months progressed, Rosalie the Rescue Siamese-mix would sneak up and pounce on Molly just so they could have a nice chase. 

Toward the end when Molly was not up to much running, Rosalie would saunter over and bop Molly on the nose with a furry paw (no claws) just to make Molly give her a little chase.

We celebrated Molly's five-month-survival birthday and continued to pray for the cancer to go away.  I believe in miracles, and Gordon and I were not too proud to ask for one for our precious little Molly.  She had already survived longer than Dr. Duncan had predicted, so I was hopeful....

By the night of October 6, 2006, we knew the end was near.  Gordon and I stayed awake with Molly all night as her heart raced and her breathing became labored.  We took turns holding her, petting her and talking to her. By morning, we knew it was time to stop her suffering. She died in my arms as we rushed toward Dr. Duncan's office early the next morning.

Everyone grieves in a different way.  I have friends who have not gotten another pet for years after a special fur baby died.  For me, my love of Molly just stretched my heart larger.  When she died, the best medicine was to find another Westie to which I could pour out that love.

Louisiana Westie Rescue had a pair of Westies that we picked up from Vickie in Hammond, LA, just a few days after Molly died.  I related their story here.  Rebel, of that pair, was not with us for long.  He was quite old and feeble, and neither he nor Annie deserved to be neglected and dumped by their family like a pair of old shoes!

Tonight, while writing this (and crying because I miss Miss Molly so much), I can pour that love into Annie who is snuggled beside me and into Mackie who is curled up by my knees.  Annie no longer bites, and she is much happier and more calm with a secure "pack structure".

Gordon and I have gladly put away any memory of the bites or nips or accidents that we endured while these babies recovered from the hurt of loss and abandonment and illness caused by their first human families.  I mention them only to give you a realistic picture of the risks in adopting a rescue pet.

We feel so strongly about the valiant work of Rescue organizations that we will only adopt rescue pets in the future...to give a home to some wonderful creatures. 

The true heroes are the rescue volunteers and foster homes where the rescue pets are first loved back to health and where the behavioral reconditioning begins. These foster parents fall in love with their little furry visitors, but they willingly go through the pain of giving up their foster babies to a Forever Home because there are so many more Rescues waiting to be rescued.

There is a Rescue organization for any of the recognized breeds of dogs and cats.  To find one near you, just Google it.  Rescue organizations work together for the same noble goal, so don't be afraid to ask, for example, a Westie Rescue organization in a neighboring state to help you find a Westie to love and cherish.

If you know of someone who is in the difficult position of having to give up a pet for whatever reason, PLEASE help that person connect with a Rescue organization.  Please save the pet from the trauma of the conditions that can be found at some of the kill shelters.  Many shelters struggle without funding or volunteers, so I don't mean to throw generic blame at them.

By the way, Westie is short for West Highland White Terrier, a sturdy, highly intelligent, power-packed, noble breed.

I wish for you the priceless, unconditional joy of a pet.  We have four English Shepherds, two Westie Rescues and one Rescue Siamese-mix.  I wish we had room, time and patience for twice as many!

Wags and wiggles,
Penny

Comments

[Judy Whitehead]

Thanks for sharing Molly's story. Two of my four furkids have cancer and we cherish every day left with them.

[molly]

i have a westie also, and i would like to thank you for putting this up. he is old and i think the story will really help me when the time comes. i am very young and my westie ( his name is wesley ) is my first dog and i love him as much as you loved molly. i am very sorry about this loss but she is in a better place, just remember that.
P.S. my name is molly

[Genny]

I just read about Molly ,I am sadden to hear she is no longer with you, you will always have the memories that she brought into your life and your family,thank you for sharing her story.
Genny.

[Connie Gilbreath]

Penny,Hard to write with tears> I've lost special pets and their is no loss like it>unconditional love>I have a Pom-Baby Pal who is pampered like a Prince and watches over me as I him> Reminds me of Pres.Carter and brother"I love my brother Billy and my brother Billy loves me"LOL- I know that someday I'll have to face losing him but I'll will try to remember the life he had with me in this short journey on earth-BooHoo-Connie

[Lallee]

What a wonderful story. Molly was blessed to have found a forever home where she was loved well. Rescues are wonderful. We rescued an old Scottie with health issues. He lived only 7 months, 7 short but glorious months. We never Two weeks ago we adopted a rescue lab. You are right that there are things to work through with a rescue, but the rewards are immeasurable for sure.

[Penny Sanford Fikes]

Thanks Lettie! Like your kitty, several of our dogs are afraid of thunder. We opt to give them some herbal anxiety medicine during thunderstorms because I can't stand to see them hide near me or tremble. With a dog's (or cat)super hearing, that thunder must sound like a tornado hitting.
I do appreciate your words of empathy!

[Lettie]

Thank you for such a lovely story about your sweet Molly. Your story touched my heart and had me sobbing in my coffee. One of my pets is a cat named Mouse who appeared at my door during a thunderstorm 7-1/2 years ago. He's still traumatized whenever there is a thunderstorm and hides under my bed. My heart aches when I see how scared it makes him. Molly's story has reminded me of the limited time we have with our pets. Thanks again for sharing Molly with us. I'm going to go hug my cat now.

[Penny Sanford Fikes]

Thanks Anina, Sharon and Mari! It has been hard to write all of that down because I miss Molly so much. During this icky flu, Annie has revealed her amazing Nurse Annie personality, snuggling against me 24/7 as if she could absorb the flu virus out of my body. These little creatures teach me a deeper meaning of love all the time! Thanks for your kind words.

Rachel....the fact that you don't think you are a pet person makes your words mean all the more to me! I hope you have the opportunity to discover the very special love that only a fur baby can give to us mere mortals! Thank you so much for writing!!!

Fondly,
Penny

[Anina]

Oh, Penny, what a lovely story! I'm sniffling as I'm typing this. Our little furbabies just creep into our hearts, don't they?

[Sharon]

What a beautiful story! I confess, I teared up reading it. I'm so glad that Molly had you to love her for the last years of her life. What a wonderful dog she was and what a lovely tribute to her. Thanks for sharing!