The poor thing has had a hard life. I guess she was a 9 Lives, which is what the rescue was called before we started Lucky Dog Rescue, dog. 9 Lives adopted her out when she was a year old. Seven years later, her owner dumped her and her brother at the humane society where he was euthanized. I hate people that give up dogs for stupid reasons but doing it to a senior dog is so much worse. Princess was given up because a family member's allergies were too bad... after seven years. Bull crap. How much do you want to bet they have another dog already? Anyway, that's beside the point. Princess was dumped at the humane society and thank goodness they scanned her chip. That got them in touch with an ex-9 Lives member who got a hold of us. I got the sad email about this senior lab dumped at the humane society with nowhere to go so, of course, I volunteered to foster her.
When I first brought her home she was so nervous that she couldn't settle down and wasn't eating. It was a full 36 hours before I could get her to eat. She was overweight, limping from a bad leg break that never healed properly, had cloudy eyes and had the worst ear infections I've ever seen in a dog. She was also itching herself so bad that she was opening sores. She really just broke my heart. It's hard to see such a sweet dog that has gone through so much.
It took a couple of days but she finally calmed down and her very sweet side came out. She loves pets and scratches, follows me around and loves carrying around bones or toys. We had a few scuffles with the other dogs, which is funny because this old girl has the boys in line. She has no problem telling them what for. Most of the time she's just as sweet as can be. She's great with my cat and good with the dogs as long as they aren't showing interest in her food or bones.
Her health has gotten much better now that she is on a good diet. She's lost a lot of weight, though we still have a few pesky pounds to go. Her coat looks so much better and the itching has gone down dramatically. Both her eyes and ears have cleared up. She doesn't have a hearing problem. She also doesn't have any training but we're working on that.
Overall, she's a really sweet dog. I do enjoy having her around. Jake may not feel the same way but the way he says "Princess" is hilarious and oh so cute. I do like her but I would love to see her adopted. Sadly, several people have come to see her but they realize she's an elderly dog and walk away. Sure she's elderly but she has lot of good years yet to live. She's so sweet that she deserves those with a happy family that loves her. I hope we find that home soon.
