by A. Heath Anderson
In late July 2007, Hounds of the Heartland received a phone call from Jeanette, a woman who volunteers with the animal shelter in Muskogee Oklahoma. She had rescued 2 severely starved and neglected greyhounds from a local woman. The owner of the greyhounds had locked them in her backyard with no food and very little water for months after her husband had passed away. She finally called the Muskogee shelter to have someone “get these dogs out my yard before they die.” When Jeanette arrived and approached them in the yard, the male stood over the little female with what strength he had left trying to protect her. The greys were so weak and malnourished that she had to carry them one at a time to her car, because they simply could not walk any longer. The pictures Jeanette took of them at that house still fills me anger and breaks my heart 4 years later.
The shelter did not have the funding or means to do anything but put the animals down to end their suffering. Jeanette immediately called HOH and asked if there was any way our group could possibly help and give these two greys another chance at life. I volunteered to go and pick them up from Jeanette in Muskogee that same afternoon. When I meet her and saw the two pitiful creatures in her car I was sickened and appalled at their condition. I laid them each in the back of my suv and had to wipe the filth of my hands from carrying them. The smell coming off of them was so bad I had to roll down the windows in order to breathe. They were covered in infected sores, fleas, ticks, mud, feces, urine, blood and open wounds. I couldn’t believe they were still alive.
I sped all the way to Dr. Chris Rispoli’s clinic in Edmond, terrified that one of them might actually die in my car. I called and gave Dr. Chris as many details as I could while driving so he and his staff could be ready as soon as I arrived. We carried the dogs in, and he immediately put them on IVs and started to tend to the worst of the wounds. They spent the next two weeks at Dr. Chris’s office under constant surveillance, because he was afraid that they could die at anytime if either decided to stop fighting. Dr. Chris and his staff worked a miracle over that two week period. The male had weighed around 45 pounds and the female close to 30 when I brought them in. They had each already started gaining weight back and wagging their tails at meal times.
At the end of that two weeks, Tamara and I took them home to continue working towards their recovery. The male, who we named Remus, seemed to be the more emaciated of the two; however, the little girl, Dora, had severe internal and external infections. We stated by feeding them each around 8 meals a day, about every 2 to 3 hours. Their digestive systems were in such bad shape that they could only handle very small amounts of food at a time. Their meals were a mixture of boiled white rice and a medicated wet food Dr. Chris sent with them, along with a myriad of medicine and antibiotics. After about a week we were able to add regular, high protein, wet puppy food to their diet. The meals slowly became bigger and further apart as they started to put on more and more weight….but the vet bills were mounting!
Although Dr. Chris does wonderful things for our group, he has to pay his bills as well. Tamara and I got the word out on Greytalk.com and other formats about these two, and soon we had enough donations from everywhere to cover the majority of all their bills. We also had gifts, treats, toys, fancy collars, and prayers sent to them from as far away as New York. People across the country were pulling for these two.
Remus slowly started turning into the goofiest, happy snuggle buddy you could ever wish for, while Dora had a wagging tail that could knock you over and a cute habit of always carrying a stuffy with her everywhere. They were turning into wonderful pets bit by bit, one day at time.
After about 4 months, they were ready for adoption, as Remus was up to 85 pounds and Dora 60. My heart sank at the thought of letting either of them leave my home. We dearly wanted them to be adopted out together, but it just didn’t seem like a possibility in the end. So finally, Remus went to a wonderful home in Edmond. We both cried when he left, after pouring so much love and time into him. I was very happy for him, his progress, and his new family, but selfishly heartbroken.
Dora went to a home soon after Remus, and all was sunshine and fairytales for 2 weeks. Then she went crazy, started destroying everything, and turned into an insane beast! She was so destructive that the couple said they could not keep her, and Tamara and I took her back. She was at our home for another two months without any signs of what she had been doing in the previous home. A bit leery and sad, we placed her in another home, and the exact same thing happened once again. After two weeks Dora went crazy and was soon returned. Once she came back home, she was just fine. It was at that point that we realized she WAS home. We changed her name to Luna (after the lunatic she had become), and she never left again.
Fast forward 3 years to New Year’s eve 2010. My beloved greyhound Miss Daiye passed away. I was distraught, as was Luna. She was very depressed, wouldn’t play, and would wonder around the house, going from room to room like she was looking for her friend. At this point I decided that it would best if I didn’t adopt or foster another greyhound for a long time. I still had Ranger and Luna, and I just didn’t feel right about getting another one. I could never replace Daiye, and I did not want to try.
About a month later, when I had finally convinced myself that I should indeed not adopt again, I received a call from Emily Hummel that Remus was being returned to the group. Without hesitation I asked when and where I could pick him up. The next day I loaded him in my car, still a bit shocked that he was there, but with out doubt that I would ever let him go again. The trip home my mind was racing, trying to think about what would happen when Luna and Remus were reunited. I have always been told that dogs live in the “now” and can quickly forget specifics of their past; however, I don’t think some things can ever be truly forgotten. When I took Remus into the backyard to reintroduce him to Luna and Ranger, Luna went nuts! She jumped up and down, whined, ran circles around Remus, and then started licking him and rubbing on his face. He started wagging his tail and hopping up and down and chasing her in return….they remembered!!!
After a long frolic in the yard, we all went inside, and Remus, who was still a bit nervous from the day’s events and getting very tired, walked right back to the bedroom and laid down in the same spot where he had spent the first several months in my house. Luna then did something I have never seen her do before or sense; she went and laid down next to Remus on the same bed, and the two of them went to sleep, together at last.
Remus and Luna are finally home. I can not believe that I was given a second chance to have both of these wonderful greyhounds in my life. Sometimes there really is such a thing as a happy ending.
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| Luna (Dora) BEFORE |
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| Luna AFTER |
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| Luna AFTER |
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| Luna AFTER |
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| Remus and Luna BEFORE |
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| Remus BEFORE |
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| Remus AFTER |
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| Remus AFTER |
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| Remus, August 2007 |
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| Remus, October 2007 |
This is just one of many stories of happy endings that make us sit back and remember how thankful we are for our veterinarian, Dr. Chris Rispoli, our volunteers, and last but not at all least: our foster homes who make these happy endings possible. Thank you to everyone who continues chasing the dream of giving every hound a home, and continuing to keep us afloat through good times and bad.
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| Remus & Luna with Dr. Chris |
