2020 1ST RUNNER UP - Ellie Mae
Ellie Mae
( formerly known as Ellie)
My precious Ellie, formerly Bella, came to me on January 1, 2020 an unsightly matted, and smelly mess. Her previous owner said she had gotten her as a pup, but soon became too busy with children, career, and then a divorce. This left her with neither the energy nor the time to care for Ellie properly. I understand these things happen in life, so I was relieved to receive Ellie into rescue. When asked how long Ellie had been left to her own devices, I was informed it had been 11 years, and you guessed it… Ellie was 11 years old.
I finished my business with the previous owner and put Ellie in my car. Honestly, she smelled so bad my eyes and nose were running. Nonetheless, I had to take her out of her crate and just hold her for a moment. I expected a hyper, overly excited, and out-of-control little dog given the level of neglect, but instead, as soon as I put her in my arms, she relaxed as if to say, "This is all I need."
I got her home and immediately gave her a warm bath. Unfortunately, one bath was not enough to quell the stink of 11 years living in her own urine and feces, so a second bath was necessary. In the meantime, my husband was washing out her crate, putting her blanket in a hot water and bleach wash, and throwing out her "food." I don't know what they were feeding her, but it smelled as bad as she did.
Because her hair was long and matted, I dried her with the blow dryer the best I could and cut out the giant mats in her coat. She looked dreadful, but at least she was clean, warm, and safe now.
The next order of business was to make sure this little one ate something healthy. I gave her some wet food with just a little kibble mixed in. She smelled the food and was excited about it, but she began to fiddle about the bowl. She'd lick at it, step back a few paces and then give it another go. I thought, "What a peculiar way of eating," and continued about my business. When I picked her and the still-full bowl up, I knew instantly what the problem was.
Ellie had an absolutely appalling odor emanating from her mouth. In my haste to get her clean and fed, I neglected to look inside her mouth. There weren't too many teeth in there, but what was there was completely covered in plaque with the unmistakable odor of infection. The dental disease was rampant.
I reached out to Ellie's former Veterinarian to get her medical records and they told me that in the past 7 years, she had been in for nail clips 3 times. That's it! No shots, no dentals, no wellness checks, no blood work, no nothing! My blood was boiling, and my heart was broken.
Of course, I brought Ellie to my Vet ASAP and gave her what limited information we had. The outcome was better than I thought it would be. She was in remarkably good health despite the level of neglect she suffered but only one tooth could be saved. The Vet said that her dental disease and infection was so great that she was undoubtedly in considerable pain. That explained the dancing around her food bowl. Poor baby wanted to eat, but it was just too painful.
I brought her home to convalesce from the dental and shots, so she could go to a good home both happy and healthy. But… that isn't exactly what happened.
Once we began living our day to day life, Ellie was beginning to fit in, in a way I never imagined. We developed our routine of sleeping, waking, taking medicine, eating, grooming and playing with our 40-pound poodle mix, Millie. In the evenings she'd sit quietly on my lap while I watched television and crotched. Occasionally, she would lick my chin and ask for me to hold her tight and I couldn't resist. All she wanted was to be as close to my husband and I as she could. And just to make matters more impossible for me to resist, since all but one tooth was removed, her tongue hung out on the left side of her mouth. It just doesn't get any cuter than that.
Adorableness is wonderful, but there was something else happening here. We were bonding. Ellie became my shadow and my mini-me. I found that I couldn't leave the house without her. We went to the grocery, the bank, the hairdresser's, Hobby Lobby, and of course, Petco. She went everywhere with me. I even asked my doctor if I could bring her with me for my check-up. She said no, but I had to try, right? The more time we spent together, the more I just knew I couldn't be without her.
So, I approached my husband to talk with him about the possibility of adopting Ellie and that turned out to be a gigantic waste of time in the best possible way. My husband could see what was happening and knew we couldn't be apart.
It's almost nine months later and I didn't think it was possible, but I love my Ellie more every day. As I write this, she is in one of her many beds on top of my desk helping me. She is my joy, my partner-in-crime, and my best buddy. She owns my heart and has trained me very well. I'm so grateful she rescued me.
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