Roscoe Rescues: Roxie
Roscoe here, I've got so much more to share:
After Stella went home in January, 2013, we had a few weeks where it was just us at home. My sister, Tiger Lily, was my only playmate. She's a cat, so as you can imagine, she was not a good playmate. Lucky for me, we lived on the beach so Mom and I were out there constantly. I played with my friend, Boston, the American Bulldog mix, and the rest of the human friends. Mom and I moved from our house on the island to a different house with a fenced in yard just off the island. I appreciated my time as the only puppy in the house again. It gave me time to take stock of things. I came to my mom from an abusive situation, and after the abuse Stella clearly suffered I took time to be thankful that both Stella and I would never suffer again. I was the luckiest dog in the world to have my mom, and in the next few months I enjoyed the quiet with her. In mid April, Mom got a call.
A family of four had purchased a Rottie from a breeder when she was a puppy and at 10 months old she got loose and got hit by a car. She survived, but her torn CCL and other injuries left her with an astronomical vet bill and the family could not afford it. Now I know that there are some families out there they would mortgage their house before rehoming their pet, but the family made the decision to responsibly rehome her to a rescue that could care for her properly, it could have been a lot worse, so for that I am thankful.
Anyway. When Roxie showed up she was already compensating her walk and was slowly damanging her 'good' back leg and even worsening her broken one. At first I was SO excited to have a dog close to my age to play with me and in the beginning we tried playing all the time. Mom had to stop us a lot, it made me kind of sad but I could tell it was for her benefit.
The rescue we worked for found a vet a couple hours away that was willing to help us out by doing the surgery at a low cost. This is common is rescue, animal people looking out for animal people.
So Mom set up the appointment and before we knew it we were taking Roxie to the vet for surgery. I rode with Roxie in the car and kept her company. I don't think Roxie was phased by it to be honest, she was hardly a year old puppy and wasn't phased by much. She was happy and goofy and loved belly rubs and treats and playing and running even if it was on two and a half legs. I appreciated this about Roxie. The love I had for Stella came from a very emphatic place. I felt her suffering in my own past life and I helped her move forward from it just as dogs like Boston, and people like my mom, helped me move forward. Roxie was very different from that. She was so happy all the time despite the unfortunate circumstances that has rolled over her. And with that, we all felt her lightness.
When Roxie got back from the vet everything was a little different. For starters, she was pretty out of it for a few days, she was all bandaged up and going in and out of the house was even harder than before. There was only a few steps down into the backyard, but she needed help. I made sure to always walk slowly around her, I didn't want to knock her over.
Roxie needed help going potty too, Mom had to regularly wipe her bottom after she went since the drugs from the surgery made her poop icky.
Suddenly things became a little tough on me. Roxie still lolled her tongue with ignorant bliss but I didn't know how to help a broken puppy be a puppy.
We made the best of it! As I said before though, Roxie wasn't phased by much. Despite her being rehomed, getting hit by a car, and trying to learn to walk again, her spirit was in perfect condition. Roxie and I lived together for only a few months after her surgery. Mom and I tried to help her with physical therapy, truthfully though Roxie had been walking on broken legs for months and had done far more damage to herself than I think anyone realized. Mom and I were doing PT from home, with no prior experience, was hard for all of us. Overall, I think the best thing I could do for Roxie was to be happy too. Roxie smiled every day. Every morning she slapped me in the face with a front paw and waddled her way around the room to get the day started, every day she ate all the food and ran in the yard, even when she wasn't supposed to. Despite is all, Roxie was a very, very, happy puppy. And for that, I was so thankful.
In August, Roxie got approved for adoption to Tennessee. On Roxies last night with us we all hung out in the living room. It was me, Roxie, Mom, her boyfriend and Tiger Lily. I could tell it was the last night with her just because of the energy in the room. Mom was taking lots of extra photos and we didn't have anything on the TV really. It was the same feeling as that last day on the beach with Stella. I could tell Roxie was getting adopted. She still didn't walk all too well, Mom kept making a grimace when she fell, shaking her head. But the family Roxie was going to knew the situation and promised to commit, so Mom had no choice but to trust them to give Roxie the best life. And so we did.
So we drove Roxie to another city and met up with a transport volunteer who took her to another city to meet another volunteer etc. We drove a little over an hour and said goodbye at a church parking lot. She hopped right into the other car with a smile, and that was the last time we saw Roxie face to face.
Roxie went to her forever family in Tennessee in 2013 where she lived with her mom, dad, and her little girl. Her family put a butt ton of work into her and soon enough.... Roxie was running! Her family took great care of her and loved her lots. It was clear that Roxie would never again have to worry about loosing her family.
Roxie came down with a bone infection later in life. Was it related to her surgery? Who knows. Lots of Rottie's die of bone stuff. But she lived a great life with a family that loved her and I just know she spent her whole life just being happy. I feel so special to have known such a goofy, happy girl.
After Roxie left us, it wasn't long till things got crazy again. It was the very next day that Mom told me we were meeting another dog. I was ready. Ready for our next challenge. We had a big house and plenty of rescuing to do. So we got in the car and drove to meet Duke. My big brother.
Talk again soon
-Roscoe
