An Update on Dorothy’s Pets: A Final Wish

Melanie posted a detailed update on Dorothy’s pets on the original story, A Final Wish. I’ve left the comment there and also made a new post of it just to make sure it gets the most circulation possible. Her comment is immediately below, then the original story’s text with links to the original story and updates so you can read all the wonderful comments from people all over the world.

Latest Update:

Petey was about to be taken to a shelter today, but just in time, an incredible foster home came through. Petey is now listed with Animal Advocates  and is the featured dog on their web site.

I want to thank Patty Murphy and the wonderful people that offered to foster Petey until a permanent home can be found. If anyone is interested in Petey or know of someone that can provide the loving and disciplined home Petey needs his postings can be located here:

http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/PA294.html
http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/21902244?action=2&pet=21902244

Barney is starting to show his age more. I think it’s possible that he may not be with us long enough to see a new home. His potential adopter is very understanding and patient regarding the situation.

To date we don’t have any adopters for any of the cats.

Dorothy is still hanging in there. Her short term memory continues to get worse as well as her breathing. I think everyone is surprised though at how she is still really fighting this cancer as it has spread through her lungs, brain, and now liver. She’s truly sticking around to make sure her pets are found great homes.

To date we have raised $370.00 through the Chip In site. I would really like to be able to get Sylvester’s medical care taken care of so we could really use more traffic to the Chip In site.

http://dorothyspets.chipin.com/dorothys-pets

Right now Sylvester has a very large wound on his neck from scratching and his poor bum area is raw from him biting at it. I need to get him more comfortable, but I cannot afford his care and Dorothy’s funds are currently wrapped up in paying for her hospice care and medical treatment. Any help would really be incredible. Also I would love to see Animal Advocates get some donations for really stepping up and going out of their way to help us with Petey. I’m going to make a donation to them once I have Dorothy’s pets settled and their medical expenses taken care of.

The word about Dorothy’s pets spread quickly and nationally. I want to thank everyone who forwarded my plea and donated to the Chip In. It’s been wonderful to receive so much support. Things have really died down and I still need homes for the Lilibel, Mickey,and Sylvester. If anyone has any suggestions to help me get the cats into loving homes, please let me know. I have sent many e-mails and left many voice mails with cat groups that I am comfortable working with, but so far I have not received any responses.

Once again, thank you to all that have helped so far. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it.

Melanie

Here’s the original story…

In our rambles finding our forever pets, we’ve all encountered a lifelong animal rescuer, an individual so dedicated to capturing animals and making them well and whole that their life story is wrapped around with all the animals they saved. Such is Dorothy, who has saved and nurtured probably more animals than she can remember.

And in these extended families of rescued animals are always those who stayed with the rescuer because they were difficult to adopt with extreme or complicated medical needs, behavioral issues resulting from abuse or simply a personality that didn’t quite fit into another household. A rescuer like Dorothy would simply keep them on and care for them for the rest of their lives.

Dorothy has tragically developed brain cancer and is very near the end of the time she’ll be able to care for the five animals who still live with her, and as her final wish for their welfare she’d love to know they are in loving homes before she succumbs to her condition. If you can foster or adopt, or know of a rescue or shelter that has room for any of these special needs cats or dogs, Dorothy’s friend Melanie is the contact person whose information is at the bottom. Please share this as far as you can and hope that Lilibel, Mickey, Sylvester, Barney and Petey can find homes as nurturing as Dorothy’s.

From Melanie

My dear friend is nearing the end of her life due to cancer. She has 5 great pets that need re-homed soon. Dorothy would like to continue to care for her pets until she is too ill to do so. This could be a couple of weeks to another month or so. Dorothy has been a rescuer and friend to the underdog for most of her life. She is really trying to hang in there to make sure her pets find great new homes. I hope you can help make her final wish come true.

This gem is Lilibel. Lilibel is approx. 11-12 years old.

She was declawed by her previous owners. Lilibel tends to be a wall flower, but will come around to make herself known now and then. She is super sweet and cuddly with Dorothy, but takes her time warming up to strangers. Lilibel has an eye condition called chorioretinal scarring, but she is not blind from the condition. She also carries the feline herpes virus, but is managed well with Lysine.

This orange cutie is my absolute favorite cat! His name is Mickey. Mickey is approx. 12 years old and is just as sweet as can be. He loves cuddle. You can hold him like a baby and he’ll stay like that forever. He’s the sweetest cat I’ve ever met. Everyone loves Mickey. He’s just that cool.

When Mickey was younger he suffered from a urinary blockage. Since then he’s had a couple of surgeries to remove scar tissue from his bladder. This has caused chronic inflammation of the bladder and unfortunately does suffer from inappropriate urination. Some of this could be behavioral, but it’s mostly a medical issue. This could probably be controlled with the appropriate medications. He needs someone that is understanding and willing to work with him regarding this issue.

This is Sylvester. He’s approx. 5 years old. Sylvester suffers from allergic dermatitis and he had severe skin wounds when he was found. He allowed Dorothy to bathe him and bandage him. He is so patient and gentle. He really trusts Dorothy and is very close to her. He is extremely sweet, but needs time to trust someone new. I pet sat for Dorothy once while she was in the hospital. Sylvester hid most of the evening, but I woke up on the couch with him sleeping on my chest. Sylvester still has skin wounds from his allergies. Sylvester was under the care of a dermatologist at PVSEC and needs to continue care with them.

Barney is 15 and has Cushings, seizures, and cancer. He is really looking for hospice care.

Even though Barney has these health issues, he is still full of life. Barney loves going on walks, acts like a puppy when it’s time for “cookies”, and loves a good butt scratch. He’s a scraggle-butt cutie that still has a lot of fun left in him.

This little guy is Petey. Petey is about 3-4 years old. He’s a Jack Russell mix so Petey will require a home that can run him and wear him out. Petey requires a lot of attention and wants to be close all of the time. Dorothy is his third home.

Sadly, Petey may have been abused in his past. He required hip surgery on both hips because he “fell down the steps” in his last home. Though Petey went through a lot before getting to Dorothy, he is a snuggle bug and is incredibly sweet. Petey does need an alpha owner. He is very submissive with me and my husband, but tends to be more pushy with Dorothy. Since Dorothy has become more ill and has not been able to provide Petey with the exercise outlet he requires, he has become frustrated and has be-gun to take it out on the other animals in the home even though he’s lived with them for 2 years. Dorothy is ok with having Petey re-homed sooner rather than later because she realizes that he needs more than she can provide him in her current condition.

Download the flyer and send it in e-mail

Melanie made up a flyer to distribute so you can share it as an e-mail attachment or print it out and post it.

Contact Melanie

These guys currently live in Baden, PA. If you are interested in adopting one of these cool critters, Melanie will take them to the vet to receive an exam and if necessary update their vaccines prior to adoption. You can e-mail Melanie.

Chipin for Dorothy’s Pets: A Final Wish

A Final Wish