Allie

Born 11/14/1990 Passed 6/13/2001

aka: Allie-tosis

I rescued Allie from the Las Cruces, NM Humane Society in June of 1994. It was a Sunday when I went in to look, and the very last kennel I looked in, there she was. She was cowering in the back of the kennel and would not even look at me. Her coat was terribly matted and she was a fat girl. The worker there told me that Allie was going to be put to sleep the next day since she had been there for a couple of weeks with no one interested in her. He explained that Allie had been dropped off by her owners because they were moving and could not take her. That was good enough for me. I bought her on the spot.

When I brought Allie home she immediately went into the den to meet my husband and became his best friend on the spot. She loved him and my son. Allie made herself at home under my husbands computer desk. For the first few days Allie would not come out from under the desk, so I would go in to get her out and take her outside and feed her. No luck. She snarled and growled at me. however when my son or husband went to get her out, she came out with no problem. This was my first sign that Allie may have been hurt by a female. My husband had to leave for 6 months to go to D.C. so this meant that Allie and I might have some time to become friends. My first task with Allie was to get her coat back in shape. This was not going to be easy since she obviously hated me (or women in general) and she would not come out from under the desk without a fight. My son would bring her out, and put her on the couch where, if he was there with her, she would kind of let me brush her, all the time showing teeth and snapping at me. Eventually after almost a month of determination I managed to get all the mats, tangles and snarls out of her fur and she looked great. The second month Allie was there I started to notice that the strangest things scared her...the blinds hitting the window sill when the wind blew, a lighter or match being lit, sent her into hysterics and a week long hiding stint. Lord forbid you touched Allies tail or paws, she would growl. This all seemed to point to some kind of abuse to me. She loved the sound of the UPS truck coming down the street. She would get so excited and go running to the front door, tail wagging and all happy. During that second month Allie became very sick. She literally started foaming at the mouth and had become so lethargic. She was not eating and took very little water. I rushed her to the vet and found out Allie had a burr embedded in her throat that was becoming infected, After surgery the vet told me this had been there for almost a year. The burr had basically become encased like a cocoon and became infected. This explained why she refused to eat anything like kibble, only soft food, and her horrible breath. After spending two days up with Allie and holding her and taking care of her, she and I started to become great friends. She started to sleep with me in the bedroom, and rarely hid under the desk unless a loud noise scared her. Allie had one of then rope bones she loves. She would grab it by one of the knots and fling the thing over one shoulder then the other, She was beating herself silly...but she loved that thing,

Allie started to really fit in after her surgery. She and I could go for walks without me first having to hunt her down and drag her out of the house. She let me hold her and spend hours petting and brushing her. Slowly she stopped running for cover when she heard a loud noise and she started playing with the toys I had bought her. Allie also started letting other women pet her and come near here, whereas before she would either show teeth or run and hide. Allie was such a sweet soul.

About a year after we had gotten Allie I called a chimney sweep out to clean the 2 fireplaces in the house. When the couple arrived, and the lady walked in Allie went nuts. She growled like I had never heard her do before, and every hair on her body stood up. I was shocked. This lady was in a pair of work overalls, but did not have anything in her hand that might have caused this. When I grabbed Allie and started to put her on the sun porch, the lady asked me where I had gotten Allie and if I had named her. I explained where Allie had come from and that she was named when I got her. The story that followed made MY hair stand up. This lady was a friend of the previous owners. Apparently the last owners wife did NOT like Allie. She punished Allie allot apparently by locking her in the shed outside, and forcing Allie to eat garbage or whatever Allie could find. Allie was grabbed by her tail frequently by the wife when she was angry at the dog, she considered this an acceptable form of punishment. She would take a lighter and light it inches from Allie's nose to also punish her. The wife pounded on the shed where Allie was confined, whenever Allie cried or barked. Hitting Allie with a stick on her paws was also a punishment used if Allie would not come to the wife when she called her. What led to Allie being turned over to the Humane Society occurred at a BBQ The chimney sweep lady and her husband went to the BBQ and took their shitzu with them. At one point the chimney sweep lady threw a piece of meat to her dog and Allie came up and tried to grab at it first. Unfortunately the other dog got it first and Allie attacked the other dog. The owner went nuts and repeatedly hit Allie with a stick and locked her back up in the shed. Three days later she turned the dog over to the Humane Society. The chimney sweep lady said that the owners wife claimed she had placed Allie on a huge farm where Allie's brother lived, in Texas and this was in June of 1994.

After hearing this story I realized why Allie reacted to the things she had when she first came to us. The loud noises, her tail and legs being touched, lighters and matches being lit, her need to hide and sleep in a small cramped area, the embedded burr in her throat, and her dislike of women. Allie was only 4 when I had gotten her, but that meant 4 years of constant abuse before she came to us. Despite all that had happened to her in her past, Allie was one of the sweetest and most loving dogs once she came to know we loved her.

Two years after I had gotten Allie I moved to another state and took her with me. Allie was my close companion after moving. She and I did everything we could together. I would take her for walks at the park and she would chase the geese and ducks, She came to love little kids and any that came into my house she would protect with her life. She spent hours on the back porch watching and being taunted by the mourning doves. Allie loved to go for rides in the car, because she knew it meant we were probably going to the park with the lake and loud noisy birds. By the time Allie was 10 she slowly started to deteriorate. She had arthritis in her back legs that made getting around rather hard. She was slowly starting to lose her hearing, and her eyesight was slowly leaving her. The last time I had her teeth cleaned her gums bled for days and she was not eating as well as she had in the past. Despite all this. Allie was still a sweetie. Shortly before Allie's 11th birthday she started loosing control of her bladder. I took her into the vets in January and she was diagnosed with kidney and liver failure. The vet said it was still in it's early stages, but that Allie would probably not live out the year. I was devastated. Allie was my best friend. She had been through so much in her earlier years and was now in a better environment. She should live longer then this. Unfortunately the poor diet, lack of medical care and abuse that Allie endured her first 4 years were now taking their toll. I did not want to accept this, but in my heart I knew I was going to have to face the inevitable. I decided to make Allies last year her happiest. The vet suggested to me that I may want to get Allie a friend. Another dog that could be her companion, and that in many cases, a younger dog could help ease Allie's pain, and let her know that her "mommy" was going to have another loving soul to care for,. I found a local Sheltie rescue and promptly adopted too little angels. Allie loved Marcus, she merely tolerated Kimmi. Marcus became her "baby", even though he was 5 years old.. She let him eat out of her food bowl, she played tug of war with him, and she slept right next to him. It looked like my old Allie was back. She ran a bit more, she played a lot more. When I took Allie in to the vets in May, he ran more tests and found that Allie's liver function was worse despite the medications she was on. It was starting to effect her little heart as well. Her system was becoming toxic, She was put on more drugs and the vet sent her home to live out her remaining time in comfort. Two weeks later Allie started throwing up, not eating, drinking very little, gasping for air and running a temp. It was too soon. I was NOT ready to let go. Allie would look at me with her sweet beautiful brown eyes and I could not let go. I took her to the vets and he listened to her lungs. Fluid was building up. The vet suggested putting Allie to sleep. I couldn't. I could not bear to think of losing this wonderful creature. Allie was a fighter. She had proved that so many times in the past. She overcame the abuse and neglect she received for so long. No I wanted to believe she could fight this, even though I knew she couldn't. I brought Allie home with a pharmacy of drugs. The first week she seemed to be doing better. She was eating a little more, she seemed to move around more...but I knew I was deceiving myself. I took Allie back to the vets and he said it was time. It was horrible. I knew I had to let her go. I was able to take Allie home that night, but was to return the next day to have her put to sleep. I never cried so much,. All that night I held her, rocked her, and talked quietly to her. She would look into my eyes with her so very sad and tired ones and just rested her head on my lap. Allie knew what was happening. We slept that night with me holding her as close to me as I could, feeling her heart thumping against me. At times during the night Allie would whimper and thrash some, but she always nestled back up against me when it passed. The following morning was the worst. I took my time in the shower, and cried the whole time. Allie stayed on my bed and watched me. When it was time to go I put Allies collar on her and slowly walked her out to the car. The entire drive to the vets I cried and apologized to Allie for her horrible start in life, and terrible end to such a sweet dog she had become. Allie kept her head on my lap the entire drive, When we got to the vets I carried my Allie inside, hugged her close and kissed her forehead. Allie returned the favor by licking my hand and looking me in the eye. When it came time for Allie to go I could NOT go in with her. I think she knew this, because when the tech came to take her from me, she gently kissed my check.

Goodbye my sweet Allie. You brought so much joy, love, happiness and companionship into my life. You taught me so much about love, tolerance, patience, second chances, and the ability to heal. I hope your life was a better one with us, and that you are now happy and pain free in heaven I hope your days are filled with beautiful lakes and ponds loaded with geese and ducks, and many rope bones and Allie biscuits. I pray you know what a mark you have left on my heart. You are so missed and still loved, no other dog will ever be able to fill that void. I look forward to meeting you again at the Rainbow Bridge so once again we will have a chance to share in all the love and joy that we had in the past. Good bless you my dear sweet angel

Last Updated

03/04/2008 02:37:13 PM -0700

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