It was one
of those Baltimore neighborhoods that tourists do not get to see. Worlds
away from the glitziness and hustle and bustle of the Inner Harbor and the
Baltimore Aquarium. Just one of those places that Hollywood never shows in
its movies and people try to avoid. Trash strewn on the broken sidewalks,
vacant lots, the prevalence of grey… The kind of place you drive through as
quickly as possible without looking sideways and hoping for all green lights
so that you won’t have to stay there a second longer than needed.
This is
where Little Nell’s story begins. Yet she must have had an earlier story.
After all, she was wearing a collar that was not too tight or ingrown. Did
somebody dump her there in the middle of this wasteland crisscrossed by busy
streets? Did she escape from her backyard? Was somebody frantically looking
for her? Or was she just another unwanted dog? We will never know.
Somewhere
around 6 p.m. Little Nell’s guardian angel was driving back home after a
long day at work. We all know the routine – rushing to get back home, to let
our hair down, maybe walk the dogs, pick up the kids, stop at the grocery
store, and prepare dinner… Let’s face it, our second life begins after work
and it’s usually a busy life planned down to the minute. We rarely pay
attention to our surroundings. Especially if they’re drab and uninviting.
But Kathy was paying attention and saw what appeared to be a small beagle
coming out of an abandoned lot on the other side of the street. Her husband
who was with her suggested that they turn around to check things out. As she
u-turned and got to where she had seen the dog, she heard an ominous THUMP!
“There she
was, in the middle of the street. A car had just hit her. She was hobbling
and her skin was just hanging there. She was barking and there was blood
everywhere. It was horrible!” Kathy is still shocked by the amount of blood.
The road was covered in it.
As Kathy
watched in horror, the badly wounded dog crawled under a car standing in the
middle of the intersection. Even though he had places to go and things to
do, the owner agreed not to move the vehicle. In the meantime, Kathy was
making frantic phone calls to her vet, to animal control, to the emergency
vet, even to 911… More than anything else, she remembers the blood, that
horrible shiny red puddle that was slowly coalescing. A police cruiser came
by and moved along without stopping. Nobody was rushing to help, and finally
the car owner said he needed to leave. Scared senseless, bleeding profusely
and in unimaginable pain, the dog was still hiding under his car.
With the
help of a passerby, they moved the car inch by inch so as not to scare the
terrified dog. Kathy got a blanket from her car and they managed to wrap the
poor creature and lay her in the back of her car. That marked the start of
Little Nell’s journey to the vet. Between getting lost and driving through
rush hour Baltimore traffic, Kathy finally found the emergency vet at around
9 p.m. About three hours passed from the time she heard the THUMP!
Little
Nell was very lucky. Luckier than most dogs in her situation. She was seen
by somebody who cared and was prepared to spend precious time trying to
help, somebody who didn’t just shrug her shoulders figuring this was not her
problem. She was also wearing a collar, which indicated that she was
somebody’s pet and that maybe – just maybe – that somebody might be looking
for her and would reclaim her. This, as we know, did not happen. Thanks to
Kathy’s persistence and the willingness of the vet to hold on to Little Nell
for some time, Beagle Maryland was able to step in to help. We cannot do
this every time, but once in a while we come across a very special case that
pulls on our heartstrings, that cries out to us. A “poster dog” case that
speaks to what is best and most humane in people. There’s no award in it for
us, no bonus, no accolades, no glory. But we know the happiness of cuddling
up with a dog, of seeing a wagging tail and feeling a moist nose press up
against our faces. Not to mention that, as Gandhi said, “The greatness of a
nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are
treated.”
We will
track Little Nell’s progress in The Nell Chronicles. Please stop by and read
up on how she’s doing. And please keep in mind that all rescue dogs have
stories to tell, but they do not always bear the wounds and scars of those
stories in the way Little Nell does.
Part 2
April 12, 2007
Today, Little Nell left the clinic. As befits the season,
she was decorated like an Easter egg...with one front leg bandaged in hot
pink, a purple and green back and a blue heart that someone at the clinic
cut out and put on her back brace...It was quite becoming. She was so
excited that her tail just kept wagging away!
The trip back home was… eventful, to say the least. All
those who have ever transported dogs will understand. How to say this
delicately? Hum… after about ten minutes driving she pooped all over the
crate! That was proof that her constipation was a thing of the past. Her
foster pulled over to clean the mess because she didn't want Nell to come
home in poopy bandages. After a thorough and (let’s face it) stinky
cleaning, they were off and five minutes later...yup she pooped again!
Let’s be fait. It could have been the nerves. Finally, her foster dad just
held her in his lap because she wouldn't sit or lay down and baby talked to
her all the way home... (But we’re not supposed to tell anyone).
Once in her foster home, Little Nell was greeted by Lucy
and Rainbow. They were SO curious to see this little dog all dressed up in
funny colors. Little Nell was a little nervous at seeing the other dogs but
was sitting securely in her foster mom’s lap and seemed to enjoy cautiously
sniffing at them. She could hear that other dogs were in the house and was
fascinated with the noise they were making, but those introductions will
have to wait for another day or so.
She is not allowed to go down any steps and has to be
carried outside to potty. With time, she may use the front porch and will
hopefully go there since she can’t get wet in the rain and that's the only
covered area...this should be loads of fun!
She is happy and content in her crate and double Costco
blankets. She loves her newly purchased nylabone and her stuffed animal.
Her water and food bowls are fixed inside the crate walls so she can't step
or knock them over. Again – she cannot get wet…..
She does have an appointment (assuming nothing happens
between now and then) on Monday for a dressing change and evaluation of her
back. After that, her foster mom hopes to be able to change the dressing
herself (this takes guts, you know).
Part 3
Saturday, April 14
Here is what Little Nell’s foster mom has to say:
After two days with her, we have found out that Nell
is the sweetest little girl dog on the planet. Even though she's obviously
miserable about having restricted activity and is occasionally uncomfortable
with pain, she always comes right out of her crate with a happy wagging
tail. I'm sure that without the back cast, her whole body would be wagging
along with it. She thrives on being petted and is free and easy with her
kisses. She is curious and interested in the humans, dogs and her
surroundings. Even with all she is going through the only time
she "complains" is if she needs her crate cleaned. She's very particular
about messing in it...she must have been housebroken because she gets quite
distressed if she has an accident in the house. Although we are taking her
out 4 times a day she is on stool softeners and can't always hold
it overnight. I'm sure that will get better as she does though. For now
she sleeps downstairs in her crate with a baby monitor on so I can hear if
she needs anything overnight. Other than the 2:30 a.m. potty call she has
been no problem at all. Lucky for her I'm used to getting up during the
night so it doesn't bother me that much...
I can't wait until she is out of all these
bandages...because I'm sure she will just love running and playing in the
yard!
On Friday, Little Nell took a quick trip to the vet
because she was going crazy scratching at her ears. They were all bloody
and smelly inside. As it turned out, she has a quite an advanced yeast
infection in both ears! The vet fixed her up and she hasn't been scratching
at them since. It must feel so much better!
Monday she goes for a bandage change and orthopedic
evaluation. Cross your fingers that all is healing well!
HURRAY FOR LITTLE NELL AND ANOTHER HURRAY FOR HER FOSTER
PARENTS!!!!
Part 4
April 22, 2006
Hi everyone,
This is Nell. I was
thinking and told myself that it would be nice for me to write and tell
everyone how I was doing and thank all of you who are reading this and
thinking about me how I’m doing and that I’m really happy to be here and to
be off that mean bad street and have a nice bed of my own. That was long!
Well, I mean, I
spend a lot of time at the doctor’s (they say it’s called a “vet”… what do
you mean a “vet.” That sounds like some kind of car or something. I like
“doctor” so doctor it will be.) There are some complicated things happening
with me and I don’t always understand what they mean. I perk up my ears as
much as I can to listen and I can hear, but what do they mean? Things like
“There are four areas of the front leg that skin flaps were applied to and
one is doing well, one is failing and two are questionable.” I don’t know,
but my foster mommy looked sort of worried.
I heard her tell my
foster dad that the doctor is hoping to stimulate tissue growth with laser
treatments and continued wet to dry dressings of the area.” Pish! Whatever
that means. I’m all ready to go, you know. Run around and all that, but they
tell me I can’t yet, that they have to make sure I’m really super well and
stuff like that.
But you know what? I
have to go to the doctor’s THREE times a week! That’s a lot for a small girl
like me! And they poke and look and check and re-check and geez they even
take this weird pictures where everything is just black and white and I
don’t even recognize myself (it can’t be me, I know it can’t)! They say
that’s because I have a lot of problems like a broken back and a wounded leg
and they put all these weird things on me that hold me together. And it’s
getting warm outside and I would like all this to come off!
Oh, but do you know
what? There are other dogs in this house and they’re very interested in me!
Maybe they like my colorful outfit (if only they knew how uncomfortable it
is!)? They come to visit me! Well, I mean it’s not like when people are at
the hospital and they get chocolates and flowers and balloons and all sorts
of neat things. They don’t bring anything, but they do come by. The Dora
puppy (who just left to be in her new home) used to visit through the crate
but was SO curious about me. She smelled good, too. Puppies smell good, did
you notice that? Then there’s Rainbow who passes by now and then to see what
kind of food I get. I know she just needs to make sure it isn't better than
what she gets! And there’s Snowflake who just rolls over on her back and
lays there letting me investigate her (my foster mommy says she's such a
mush!) The guy, Houston, sniffed me and bam! immediately went into pouncing
play mode and I wanted to play, too, but his visits have been terminated for
now. Finally, Lucy keeps me company during the day by lying next to my
crate. I don’t know if that’s because the only rug in the house is right
there and she likes soft places or because she likes me. I think – NO, I’m
sure – it’s because she likes me. Yes, I think that’s it.
So when you come to
visit me, bring the chocolates, cakes, balloons or whatever, because these
guys don’t! Or you can write on my cast. Or something like that. And I will
give you a warm and wet sloppy kiss. Oooooo, doggy breath, you will say. But
who doesn’t like a beagle girl’s bad breath, huh? You tell me!
Love you all!
Little Nell
Part 5
4/30/07
GREAT NEWS!!! Nell's leg wounds
are doing fantastic...yup, that is the very word the
vet used! FANTASTIC!!! This little miracle girl has
only one area that is about 1/2 inch wide to heal!!!! This is amazing,
since early last week it was doubtful whether several areas would heal at
all! Now Nell’s vet thinks that, at this rate, our wonder beagle may be
able to heal open (without being bandaged) after tomorrow ... and definitely
by next week!
She is still on antibiotics to prevent a
possible infection that would be the only thing that could muck this up at
this point...so WOO HOO!!!
The back brace did not come off at her
last visit, on Friday, the 27th, and Little Miss Nell is very
disappointed. We think she will write about that because she’s been hiding
paper and crayons in her crate and pretends that she’s just doodling when we
take a peek. We’re trying to explain to her that the doggie doctor thinks
there is only a minimal chance of her fracture already being healed and that
we have to wait another week (May 7th) to take X-rays. “Little Miss Nell,”
we tell her, “the cast won't hurt you for another week, we’ll be more
certain that things are going well, and we may be able to avoid retaking
films again ... and save some money…” But she just turns her head away and
pretends not to listen and when we turn away, there goes the scribbling!
Anyway, all else is fine except for
Snowflake AND Torie are barking every time they hear Nell make a noise. It
doesn't matter what kind of noise it is - happy, sad or just shuffling
around in her crate...they go nuts wanting to see what is going on. Canine
behavioral scientists, we think. Little do they know that citronella bark
collars are on their way!!! Nell’s dedicated fosters can’t wait for them to
come and are hoping they work! (They have several benefits – not only do
they stop the barking, but they perfume the dogs and keep mosquitoes away
when you’re outside… no, we actually just invented that last part about
mosquitoes.)
Part 6
May 6, 2007
The Beagle Maryland webmaster received this
“anonymous” submission on May 6:
Huh-low!? R u their reeders?
This is Sno Flayk and Toree. U no that Nell?
Pleez reeders, find her a nu home. Sheez truble. All truble and no fun. We
stink becoz of her. Othr dogz make fun of us. They say wee smell like kandlz.
U no those kandlz u put in the garden to keep mosskeetoes away. And she gets
reel good food and all the atenshun and wee dont. And they all oooo and aaaa
about her and get theez stinkee collarz for us beecoz they say we bark. But
what are wee suppozd to do? Wee keep telling hur to moove out to a nu home
but shee stayz.
So pleez reeders, taike hur away sombodee.
Sno Flayk and Reinbo
Part 7
And then, this on May 7:
Help!
This is Nell. I
think I’m being kept prisoner against my will. Because I want to go outdoors
and frolic and have fun and chase squirrels and chipmunks and catch flies,
but they’re not letting me! Oh, they have these excuses, like, “Nell, you
can’t, you haven’t quite healed yet, you have a cast, we’re afraid you’ll
hurt yourself” and all that. But I know better! I feel just fine and I hate
sitting in here. And Snowflake and Rainbow are angry at me because they
think it’s because of me they got those citronella collars so they’ve been
whispering a lot and I know they’re up to something. “Guys,” I tell them,
“you have no idea how upset I feel that I can’t come out and play with you.
And you’re no fun either. Did you ever think about opening this prison they
call the crate and letting me out? Do you? I don’t think you do! So don’t go
sulking around and just let me out of here.”
But they don’t
want to let me do what I want. Oh, no!!! So I decided to show them my
displeasure at being treated thus. I got all the stuffing out from under my
back brace and I lined my crate quite nicely with it overnight. And then the
thing on my leg became undone. You should have seen my foster mommy’s face!
(That will teach her.) She said something about the orthopeedick vet being
on vacation just at the right time. Well, I say, whatever that means. In any
case, I did get to go out … but to another vet and they wrapped my leg
again.
And you know
what? I also managed to get my back brace undone and that was to tell my
foster parents that I really really wanted to go out and live the life of a
beagle. I think that was sort of upsetting, too! Huh, I would certainly hope
so.
So please help!!!
Nell
Part 8
Beagle
Maryland got an e-mail on May 9:
Hi everyone!
Thank you for writing on my behalf and putting pressure on my fosters. I was
moved to the "dog room" with the rest of the dogs. They finally understood
that I was lonely being separated and since I no longer sleep all day
because I don’t get any more pain killers, I am much happier with the
company. And now I appreciate my foster parents because this silly Houston
beagle (a boy, of course) goes directly into pouncing play mode when I walk
out of my crate and they protect me just in case. That boy has no manners,
really. I do, you see. I have manners. I "sit", "stay" and "come" when they
ask me to. And .... I blush upon mentioning this … I know where to go to the
bathroom. My foster mommy thinks I may have been somebody’s a pet at some
time. I don’t remember. But I do remember the commands, so she may be right.
Good, I’ll go out
now to enjoy the sun a bit.
Kisses to all of
you!
Nell
Part 9
May 9, 2007
Well, after letting the dogs talk, let’s see
what Nell’s foster mom has to say:
Nell is so hyper trying to escape her
bondage....she really is feeling great and just wants to run and play. She
seems to be losing patience with all us humans that are holding her back
from fully participating in the yard excitement! She really puts on this "arrrgh!"
face when you tell her to "calm down" and "you can't do that yet"...it's
just like the face our son puts on when we tell him he can't have candy! I
keep telling her to be patient, but I don't think she understands the
meaning of that particular word.
Now for the health part of the update. New
films were taken of her spine and she still has about 40% left to heal so
she is newly fastened into a new back brace...hopefully this one will stick
(although the last one lasted three weeks just decided to give out while the
vet was out of town, of course). Her leg looks beautiful and is bandage
free. We are going to watch closely and as long as she can't get to it to
lick we will let it finish healing open. I may have to cover it again if
she is bothering with it too much. She's still wearing an E-collar but you
never know what she will be able to do even with that on...after all I would
have put money down that she couldn't unstuff her back brace and she did.
So we will wait another several weeks to see
how her spine progresses and then hopefully she will be out of the back
brace.
Part 10
May 29, 2007
We received the following from Nell’s Foster Mom!!!
“Nell's leg is completely healed except for some
hairless patches which show the scars where her leg was stitched
back together. While the scars will definitely fade to white at
some point it is probable that her hair will never quite cover them
completely. She continues to amaze us with her abilities to unstuff
and wiggle out of her back brace. I have rewrapped her in more ways
than I could have imagined to keep her contained in the brace, but
she still manages to get free. She is one determined beagle!
Nell is diligently doing her physical therapy. She
definitely doesn't like it. She fusses a bit when I am
manipulating her leg and paw, however she has tolerated it until the end. Her reward is peanut
butter. One of her exercises to regain range of motion (lost to
being bandaged for so long) is to smear her front paw with peanut
butter to make her turn it in towards her body to lick it off. We
call this peanut butter therapy.
She only needs to be seen every two weeks now until
her back is completely healed, which hopefully will be in a few
weeks. She goes back on Wednesday of this week and we will schedule
to take new films of her back to see her progress. From her
activity level I'm guessing her progress is good or at least that
she definitely doesn't have any pain left.”
And this from Nell...
Well, I’m back! But I will tell you
this: I think I’m being kept prisoner. Just like that. And I think
that everybody thinks I should be a pay-shunt. Whew! That lady vet
told me the other day, and she smiled very sweetly at me (but that’s
just to hide her real self because I know what she does to dogs)
when she said it, that I have to start acting like the pay-shunt I
am instead of the beagle I want to be. Well I say! I felt very
offended. I am no pay-shunt. Pay-shunts are ugly beasts and they
have big teeth and mangy ears and I’m not like that at all. I’m a
beagle and she should know better. After all, she IS the vet, right?
So I kept a stiff upper lip when she insulted me like that and made
up my mind to just be myself and not change my behavior in any way.
I pooh-pooh pay-shunts!
Oh but, I did want to let you know
that I get a lot of peanut butter! My foster mummy has turned into a
real bad person and does all sorts of things to my leg and paw and I
really don’t like that. But I want to play fair and I fuss at her but she still just
turns my leg and paw in all directions and moves it and pretends
like she doesn’t hear my fussing. Oh… maybe she’s deaf? I did not
think about that! I think that has got to be it. She knows she’s
being bad with me so to make me forget, she puts peanut butter all
over the bottom of my paw and …. I definitely like that! So I’m
thinking that I will let her keep her hand because I do like that
peanut butter.
OK, so this is the latest. I’m trying
to get this silly brace off again, so I don’t have time to write
more. See, I have to get it off because that’s why they think I’m
not a beagle. Once I get it off, they’ll know I’m one and the vet
will stop talking nonsense.
Big lick to all of you!
Little Nell
Part 10
6/17/07
This from Nell's Foster Mom
who, have we mentioned is a nurse AND a mother and we are very, very
grateful for her expertise and patience with her patient?:
Nell’s vet decided to do new films
to check the progress of Nell’s healing and ... she’s 90% healed!
This is a relief although she’s at risk of re-injury if she jumps or
runs or even moves too much. Since the back brace had resulted in
bad sores, we agreed that they needed a break from the brace and
wrap so we are going to let her finish healing with out it. Nell is
to be crated except for several calm walks a day on lead. Her
physical therapy is halted as well, because there is too much risk
in manipulating her body with the brace of her spine flexing too
much and hurting it, so no more peanut butter, either.
Nell's reaction to being
sequestered to her crate hasn't been great. She is very vocally
protesting this new situation with a very sad serenade of beagle
howls and pitiful cries. The worst is that Houston joins in after a
few moments with his own version of howling/crying because he either
has great empathy for her situation or he just thinks she’s going to
get something so he wants to be heard just in case. Candy is
barking her head off in response to all this beagle singing...and
Lucy gets sick of all the noise after a while and "yells" back at
them to quiet down. Rainbow is the only one who is unaffected by
all the noise, but she's always been "above" it all being the
princess that she is… Sorry, I have to go grab my Excedrin now.
And of
course, Nell's response:
Ladies and
Gentlemen!
I have great news:
I AM OUT OF THE BACK BRACE!!!! If I could, I would run all over the
place like an arrow and just go nuts with joy. But they tell me I
can’t just yet. Even worse: They tell me I have to pay more
attention than before. And it’s been like this for a while now. “No,
Nell, you can’t do that! No, Nell, watch out!” No Nell this and no
Nell that! Yuck!
So I thought my
life would go back to normal, but it hasn’t and they even gave me
lots of really awful medication. They told me it was so that the
sores on my skin would heal. I don’t know. I think they just want to
keep me here!
Still, there’s always a silver lining as they say and I no
longer have to endure this fizzical therapee. I really hated it!
Now, if I could only figure out a way to break out of my
crate… Any tips anyone?
Love you all!!!
Nell
July 10, 2007
Hello all beagle (and other dog) lovers! This is Nell!
Pssst...I have some really great news! Spread it! Climb
into the trees and sing it! Tell neighbors, friends, family
members and people you don't even know! So...here's what you
can tell them:
Nell is doing great and she's ready to take on a new challenge.
And the challenge is...finding her forever home! I'm thinking
a home where I can cavort, play, snooze, eat, cuddle up with with a
human. One where I will feel safe. I don't want to
relieve my experience of empty lots and heavy traffic. I was
scared! Very, very scared! You know what happens next.
I don't want to think about it. I shouldn't have to. I
want to be a beable girl and make up for lost time.
Will you please tell them?
And I would like to say THANK YOU to my foster parents. Yeah,
I know, it was tough at times and an uphill battle for awhile,
but they helped pull me through and here I am! Thank you
everyone else, too! Beagle Maryland never once gave up on me.
The nice lady who helped me in my great hour of need and took me to
the hospital. And all those of you who read my story and
donated to help with the cost of my treatment. You're all
wonderful people with big hearts and we animals dream of the day
when all humans will be like you!
I love you all!
Nell
And Nell's foster mom would like to add:
Nell went to her last orthopedic appointment in
late June. She had new films of her back and she
is 100% healed. All the pressure sores from the
back brace and bandages have healed and she's
regained the range of motion in her front leg.
She may in the future be at an increased risk
for arthritis, but if her weight is kept down
and her exercise is kept up that probably will
be a non-issue for her (sounds a lot like us
humans doesn't it).
Right after that, she was spayed, microchipped and
brought up to date on shots. Her incision has
closed and her stitches were removed today. So
she is ready to go to her forever home. YEAH!!
She's incredibly happy to be unrestricted and
free to wrestle with the pack...let me tell you
she's one fast dog when she's chasing around the
yard. Her ability to climb on the furniture for
a better view of her people is quite
extraordinary as well. I think she's part
monkey for sure! She's totally people bonded
and just loves to sleep on your lap, give kisses
and if we let her sleep in bed with us (although
she's quite comfortable sleeping with a dog or
two on the couch as well).
This is one easy dog that will fit in with kids
and other dogs, any size, she doesn't care. So
start sending those applications in, Nell
promises to review them and pick a forever
family as soon as the right one comes along.
July 10, 2007
From Nell's Foster Mom:
Nell went to her last orthopedic appointment in late June.
She had new films of her back and she is 100% healed. All the
pressure sores from the back brace and bandages have healed and
she's regained the range of motion in her front leg. She may in
the future be at an increased risk for arthritis, but if her
weight is kept down and her exercise is kept up that probably
will be a non-issue for her. (Sounds a lot like us humans
doesn't it?)
She has been spayed, microchipped and brought up to date on shots. Her
incision has closed and her stitches were removed today. So she is
ready to go to her forever home. YEA!!
She's incredibly happy to be unrestricted and free to wrestle with the
pack...let me tell you she's one fast dog when she's chasing around the
yard. Her ability to climb on the furniture for a better view of her
people is quite extraordinary as well. I think she's part monkey for
sure! She's totally people bonded and just loves to sleep on your lap,
give kisses and if we let her sleep in bed with us (although she's quite
comfortable sleeping with a dog or two on the couch as well).
This is one easy dog that will fit in with kids and other dogs, any
size, she doesn't care. So start sending those applications in, Nell
promises to review them and pick a forever family as soon as the right
one comes along.
