A VERY Close Call

Do you remember how I said that my sister Kristin had nearly talked me into getting a dog when she drove me to Grandma Church's graveside service? I think I mentioned that we visited a shelter on the way home, right? Well we didn't go home with an animal that day, but the people at the shelter discussed the possibility of me becoming a foster home for them. They had one animal in particular they were needing help with...

HAZEL...

Would you just LOOK at that face?!? How could I resist?!? 

We met this gigantic beauty while we were there, and I instantly fell in love with her.  She was a 1-2 year old mastiff. Her story was heartbreaking.  It was clear that Hazel had very recently given birth to a litter of puppies.  But the owner had dumped her at an animal shelter in the middle of the night.  See, Hazel has a genetic spinal disease called spondylosis that is semi-common in Mastiffs. The person who bred her probably thought it would be easier to sell the puppies (who probably also have the genetic disease) without their sick momma around.  Jerk...  Hazel was in a lot of pain and was very depressed from being dragged away from her puppies when she first arrived at the shelter. She lost a ton of weight and had to be hand fed for a while. She was doing better, but she still wasn't expected to live for more than a couple years.  Because of that, the shelter was looking for a family to love her and care for her in a hospice kind of situation.  Now THAT is sadly something my family has done before.  The shelter was willing to pay for her meds (she takes a lot for pain) and vet visits - and even help with food if we would take her.  It sounded like a win/win to me. So of course, I said we'd give it a try.  We filled out all the applications, etc. and went to the shelter to pick up our baby. We told them we'd need a weekend to see how it went before committing to anything.

This is a very short video of us picking her up from the animal shelter and getting all her supplies.

From almost the very instant we got her in the van, I started questioning my sanity.  I have always loved big dogs. They are my faves and I've dreamed of having a Rottweiler or a Mastiff.  But I never FULLY comprehended the strength and power of them until I had one in my van trying to sit on my lap!  She was enormous!  Like, her back legs were on the back seat of the van and her head was resting on the front console!  

Most of the time, Hazel was so sweet! But remember, she was only 1 or 2 years old - she was still a puppy!  She had a ton of energy! And puppy energy is cute when they are 10 pounds, but terrifying when they could literally fit your whole face in their mouth. Not to mention the fact that she could (and did) eat food right off the kitchen table without even trying to jump up. Nothing was really safe from her!

There were also times when Hazel would become agitated.  I think it was because her meds were wearing off and she was in more pain.  Poor girl!  But still - poor girl or not, she seemed kind of dangerous.  Even I was a little frightened, and I'm 6 feet tall!  Once we left Hazel with the kids for a few minutes while David and I ran to the grocery store and when we came back, the kids were standing on the kitchen table in fear.

When her meds were first administered, Hazel was lethargic and sleepy. That was also heartbreaking to watch - a poor drugged-up dog!  Then, she'd be playful and destructive, then she'd be agitated and in pain. It was a constant cycle. And it was staggering how much food that girl ate! Feeding her would be a very expensive endeavor! Plus, walking her would be impossible! Of course, she was probably in too much pain to walk much, but if she wanted to dart out and attack another dog - or a person for that matter - we wouldn't be able to stop her. She did slip out of our front door once and the pannic it created was REAL!!

By the end of the weekend, we all knew that we could not keep Hazel. She was just too powerful for us! It KILLED me to admit it! I didn't want to make her go back to a kennel.  And my pride was bruised - I didn't want to admit defeat. But another part of me was glad to take her back and let our home return to DEFCOM 1. We sure lucked out that we decided to give it a trial run for the weekend! What if we had outright adopted her?!?  I was waiting at the doors on Monday morning to give her back and say it wasn't going to work. 

But I think we all wish it could have turned out differently.  We talk about Hazel often and in hindsight we can laugh at how destructive and terrifying she was.  We all love her, and we hope she found the right home for her needs.