There is no such thing as a dull moment at Misfit Manor. While so many of my days seem filled with routine…routine is pretty crucial to juggling a large family of dogs…nothing about life here is ever dull.
Several weeks ago I took in a new Misfit. Her name is Rosie. She has some issues that are yet medically unidentified. Perhaps they will never be identified.
She cannot bark. She struggles with swallowing her food. When she first arrived she was walking very little. The vets believe she has some sort of neuro-muscular disorder…but no hard diagnosis as of yet. We recently had a muscle biopsy done…no results yet. Initially I had to carry her everywhere in the house…she had no strength to get up and walk (despite being on steroids).
.., if I left the room without her she would pant and whine and I would go running back for her. She was making little to no effort to get and up walk on her own.
Feeding Rosie is a daily battle. I quickly figured out that she needs to eat sitting up or she gags and chokes on her food. I feed her in a little doggie booster seat I have…one small bit of food at a time. She also gets bored with eating…or perhaps just tired…and we have have to take a lot of breaks. She is also incredibly fussy. There are days where I have to cook her 3 different breakfasts just to find something she wants to eat. I will not give up finding the best solutions for her.
But things are also changing a lot in the last few weeks. She has morphed from rarely getting up and walking on her own at all to walking on her own most of the day. She still has moments where her legs just give out and she plops on her belly. But she gets right back up and tries again. She has gained quite a bit of weight as well. The last two days I have taken her on very short walks.
She loves wagon riding! Initially she would just lay down in the wagon the whole time. Now she is stronger and she sits up or stands while she is in the stroller. I’m guessing she has covered more ground in the last few weeks than she has in her whole life.
Rosie has blended perfectly in to our broader family of Misfits. Her initial introductions went very smoothly and she continues to play
nicely with her housemates. I am always grateful (and frankly fairly amazed) at how well all my Misfits do together…there is an energy level in this house that I do not understand…but am eternally grateful for. All of my Misfits come from difficult backgrounds…yet once they are here they are very gracious about welcoming new family and helping each other grow.
Rosie has been a lovely addition….Betty adores her (and so does Buster). Betty continues to amaze me…she remains so strong and determined yet she is the gentlest creature I have ever met. She shadows Rosie…wherever Rosie goes Betty follows.
Betty continues to do fabulously. We have pulled out all the stops for her…acupuncture, laser treatment, plasma injections…it is working…she loves going to the park…she would wander in a field all day if I let her. She struggles sometimes with getting up…but that is what mommy is for. Once I lift her up…she is off!
The Manor is a busy place…I run two businesses to keep my fur family going and thank the gods both of my business are thriving. We are currently working hard to save money to buy our own laser machine…old dogs with sore joints is the norm here and it would be so much more economical to have our own laser machine…hopefully soon!
While there are days it seems like a live in a very narrow tunnel…I don’t leave the Manor unless I absolutely have too…I’m not oblivious to the world either….I watched the elections…the coverage of the fires in CA…my heart aches for our broken world…there are always rays of hope though…I find solace in doing my part right here…taking care of my band of Misfits that had no where else to go…I wish for everyone that you may find your hearts calling…because when you do…nothing can jar you from your path.
The holiday selling season is a critical time for my online stores. If you need a gift item for a dog mom/dog dad in your life please browse my Etsy shop. I have a lot of really cute affordable items for dog lovers.
Rescue on!
Nancy