I wanted to share with everyone
the good that Florida Bullmastiff Rescue does for all of the Bullmastiffs
that come into our care – whether they are deemed adoptable or not.
Despite the age and condition they are in when they are abandoned,
we do our best to make them as comfortable as possible.
Jewel was an
example of this and now so is Casey.
Casey was
rescued by a wonderful family who found her wandering a local park in June
2000. Despite her size, they
conned her into their vehicle with their picnic treats, took her to the
nearest vet to get the fleas and ticks taken off of her, and dubbed her
“Casey”. They could not keep
her and were unwilling to put this “sweet girl” into the pound, so they
searched for over a week and finally found Florida Bullmastiff Rescue to
get her into a safe haven.
This is when Casey and I met. Physically, she needed quite a bit of cleaning up.
She was 25 pounds overweight.
And actually, my vet said she might have just had puppies.
Both ears were infected, she had polyps, and a huge sebaceous cyst
on her back. She also showed
signs of severe emotional abuse.
She was scared of everyone and everything – even the clanking of
her collar against the water bowl when she attempted to get something to
drink would send her diving under something.
She cringed at an attempt to pet her and her legs would shake so
badly from her anxiety that she had trouble standing most of the time.
Physically - we had the polyps and cyst removed, spayed her, and
put her on a diet and exercise plan.
Emotionally - she needed quite a bit of therapy.
Over
the next few weeks, she finally blossomed into a confident Bullmastiff –
mostly thanks to Hooch and his egomaniac lessons.
Now she doesn’t think twice about fluffing up her fur at a strange
noise and going to check it out on her own.
And she is absolutely perfect in the house – never messed once.
Casey is also quite the drama queen – she will moan, groan, whine,
and then flat out bark at you if she isn’t fed, watered, petted, and let
out when her doggy watch says it’s time.
And if necessary she will jump on the bed and get you up by
literally jumping up and down and barking on the bed next to you until you
did her bidding.
However, in November 2000, a misfortune came about.
Casey had started to limp and the pastern on her front left leg was
swollen. It happened
suddenly, so we thought maybe she had injured it while playing.
But, her x-rays stated otherwise – Ms. Casey is diagnosed with
osteosarcoma – an untreatable
cancer.
Up until this point, Casey was still up for adoption.
Now she is a permanent part of our family.
Which is fine considering she had already stolen all of our hearts.
Casey
is currently doing fine despite the cancer and we hope to give her the
best in her remaining time with us. She runs and plays and enjoys life as if nothing is wrong
with her at all. Sometimes
she will limp on that leg, other times you would never know the lump was
there. It is hard to believe
that she is riddled with this horrible disease.
And it is terrible that it took all of these years
for her to finally live the “good life”.
No, not all rescues have a “happy ending” per se.
Yes, it would have been great had Casey been completely healthy and
deemed adoptable by a family waiting for a rescued Bullmastiff.
It would have been even better if that were the life she was given
to begin with.
But, it wasn’t and in her present time – that’s ok.
Because, like Jewel,
Casey has been given a second chance at living the life she should have
had all of these years before.
It will be short-lived, as osteosarcoma is a very aggressive
cancer, but it will be filled with love and companionship from both of us
humans and Hooch.
And that is what I believe Florida Bullmastiff Rescue
is about. Giving all of these
Bullmastiffs a second chance at living the good life – whether they leave
us for an awaiting home or stay with us for permanent retirement.
April 19, 2001:
Casey was put to rest this morning at 9:00am in Bluewater Bay
Animal Hospital. She woke up
suddenly at around 2:30am and began uncontrollable and sporadic coughing
and throwing up of white mucus and then, later – blood.
She could not move around much, so I stayed with her to do all that
I could to keep her comfortable.
She finally was able to settle down at around 4:30am and sleep for
a short while. This is the
first time she had displayed the pain of her disease in all the time she
had been with us. Casey –
this is to you:
When
you came to us – such a timid little girl – so scared of her own shadow
and everything else. But,
when you left us, I had never seen such courage so true and strong.
Over the months we watched you blossom into a beautiful, confident
Bullmastiff. It is rare that I have seen such intelligence that matched
that of Hooch. We miss your
gentle kisses and warm snuggles.
We miss your little funny faces you would give us every now and
then. Hooch leaves his favorite bed unoccupied waiting for
you to sneak into it. We all
still look for you or listen for your baby “bier” in silence.
Even when diagnosed with osteosarcoma, you never let that slow you
down – not once. Not even
today. But, it was time
– not too soon and not too late.
I know you are at peace and without the pain you always tried to
hide from us. I hope you carry with you all the good memories in life we
shared. You came to our
home as a rescue, but left our lives as a long lost love. We miss you, Casey.
We love you.
-
Sophie, Hooch, and Jef
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