"GLADYS" a hospice foster found love

MCAS has a Foster Hospice program for dogs that need this. It's a fostering job that isn't for everyone, but it's a very wonderful and rewarding thing to do for a shelter dog with untreatable medical issues, who would otherwise be humanely euthanized before it's time.

For some animals that come into the shelter and go into Hospice Foster, the last months of their life are the best they ever had, and  they pass away knowing they were loved :)

"Gladys"  recently passed away, having been cared for and very loved in the past year. Her Hospice Foster home emailed MCAS, hoping to share her story.

In September of 2012 a senior female Chihuahua was turned over to MCAS via Dove Lewis, as a stray. She had a collar and tag but the phone number was disconnected. She had signs of advanced mammary cancer and was in need of multiple teeth extractions. She was scared, nervous and aggressive. Despite her age, condition and temperament she was given a chance and she was named Gladys by the shelter staff. I meet her shortly after she had a mass removal surgery and dental care. I agreed to be her hospice foster and picked her up from the shelter. We were hoping to give her a loving place to live out her final weeks. She did struggle those first few weeks. She was painful from her teeth extractions and her abdominal surgery but she was a little fighter. The shelter vet staff helped me manage her discomfort and she just started bouncing back. A month later it was time for me to move to Arizona and she just had to come with me.

She had a great year here. I found a wonderful vet who helped me with her ongoing needs and Gladys got to enjoyed the pampered life. She did not hear or see well but would motor around the house like she had lived there forever. She loved to sleep under the covers and her favorite way to say hello was to lick and bite your nose! She was slow to warm up to new people but if you were lucky enough to be "Gladys Approved" she would let you pick her up. My brother was not on the approved list yet but was in charge of taking the dogs outside one afternoon. Gladys let him  carry her out to the grass but it took him over 20 minutes to convince her to let him pick her up again. I could share story after story because Gladys took advantage of every day and adapted quite well to the pampered life.

I am so thankful to the vet staff for giving her a chance to have a person adore her and to the volunteer and adoption team for giving me a chance to love her. I ask in her honor that if her story  pulls at your heart strings this holiday season that you would take a moment to remember your local animal shelter or favorite rescue group for the work they do everyday.

If you want to help dogs like Gladys at MCAS, you can contact the shelter and inquire about becoming a Hospice Foster. Please know that being a regular MCAS FOSTER HOME is Not the same as being a Hospice Foster Home.

If you'd like to help, but you aren't able to Foster, you can give back to the animals by contributing to Dolly's Fund. It's a lovely, and much appreciated gift to give in the Holiday Season :)

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