In Florida, Golden Retriever Sophie needs some foster family help
May 9, 2008 by Rochelle Lesser
Hi! My name is Sophie. You might recognize me for my brief time on the Adoptions page. My luck was already bad, and it just got worse, so now I’ve been moved here to tell you more about my story.
My neglectful owners, who allowed over 600 ticks to feed off me for a long time, decided to finally give me up. When EGRR took me in, they immediately saw past the ticks and awful shaving job these people had left me with, and saw the real me: a sweet, happy, loves-everyone-and-everything, beautiful, housebroken Golden Girl of 7 years and 8 months.
The nice Doctor Butzer at Clint Moore Animal Clinic treated me for the ticks, but it turned out I have been suffering from Lyme’s disease as a result of the awful ticks. The good news was that Lyme’s disease is easily treated, and so I was already looking for a better home to spend the rest of my life.
The bad news is that because of the lenghty time I was allowed to suffer Lyme’s without treatment, my kidneys are in really bad shape. This means I can’t look for a regular forever home anymore, so EGRR wanted us to put up a “WANTED AD” to find a special forever home. They say my days are counted, so I would need hospice foster care. I don’t get it, I feel just fine now! I wag my tail at everyone, am sweet and gentle and happy, love my special food for kidney problems…
Anyway, here’s the deal: I am not going to live as long as I wanted to. Dr. Butzer says I have:
- 10% chance of living a normal life span (10-12 years for a Golden)
- 80% chance of living another year
- 10% chance of dying in the near future
Are you up for it?
I need a foster home who can commit to loving me and caring for me, and then being strong enough to let me die. I know that’s not an easy thing to ask of a human who loves dogs, but surely there is such a human out there! It might be best if I am in hospice foster care in a home without children. The poor little ones might have a much tougher time than you would.
All I need is a warm, cozy, loving place to continue to be happy, to receive my Lyme’s disease medication and special food (all medical expenses and special food will be paid for by EGRR), and to watch me until…it’s time. I may at some point cease to be as happy and strong as I am now. I may start feeling sad, sick, lose weight, and stop enjoying life as much as I do now. That would be the time for us to say goodbye so that I don’t suffer so much in the end.
