Daisy.
Itwasmid-May2012when
thecallcamethataPBGVneeded
rescue,anolderfemale(10+)called
Daisy.Thehusbandofthefamily
whooriginallyownedDaisypassed
away,thewifehadtolivewithother
familymembersandDaisywasnot
welcome.Daisywassenttolivewith
alittlegirlwhobecamehercaregiver.
Whenitbecameobviousthe
responsibilitywasbeyondher
capabilities,sheturnedDaisyoverto
rescue.MichaelEdwards,rescuerep
fortheNorthCentralregion,traveled
totheIllinois/Indianabordertomeet
Daisy,thefirststeponherwaytoa
lovinghome.
Michaelremembers,“Daisywas
describedasfriendly,lovingand
obedient;however,whattheyfailed
tomentionwasjusthowbadlyshe
smelled.Itwasalongridebackhome
toOhio!”Becauseitwaslaterinthe
eveningwhenshearrivedandtheveterinarian'sofficewas
closed,MichaelkeptherseparatedfromhisfourPBGVs.He
immediatelyplacedDaisyinthetubforabath,discovereda
largenumberoffleasandticks,andfoundthathermouth
andherearswerethesourceofherodor.PoorDaisy.
ThenextmorningDaisyvisitedDr.Nickforthe
customaryhealthassessmentpriortosocializingherwith
theotherdogs.Dr.Nickfoundseveralproblems,including
guminfectionsandearinfections.Apparently,thefleaswere
sobadthatherconstantchewingonherselfcausedher
teethtobewrappedinfur.WhileDr.Nickknewthathe
wouldhavetoextractsometeeth,hefirsthadtoclearher
mouthofhair.Hesaidhewouldnotchargeforanyteeth
thatcameoutasaresultofthecleaning,Michaelwould
onlyberesponsibleforteeththathehadtoremove.When
Daisyleftthevet,shewaslighterby18teeth!Thedoctor
alsodiscoveredthatshehadasevereinfectionineachear.
Infusions,shots,medicinestotakehome—includingflea
andticktreatments—addeduptomorethan$1,400on
thecreditcard.
Itdidn’ttakelongforDaisytobeinherfosterhome
beforeshewascrawlingupintolapstobepetted.Robert
Sweeney,Michael’spartner,wasDaisy’sfavorite,andvice
versa.Shewouldputherface
rightuptohisandfallasleepon
hischest.At10+yearsold,she
wasconsiderablyolderthather
newhousemates,soplaywas
limitedtoshortburstsofenergy
betweenlongboutsofsnuggling.
Michael’sfourPBGVsareused
tohouseguests;duringMichael’s
tenureasarescuerepresentative,
hefosteredandplaced10dogs.
Hisdogswelcomedeachoneof
therescueddogsintotheirhome
andtreatedeachoneofthem
accordingtothephysicalcondition
theyarrivedin.Roberttookcareoftheir
dogswhenMichaeltraveledtopickup
arescueandwasinstrumentalinhelp-
ingwiththerecoveryofthefewthat
hadseverehealthproblems.Michael
remembers,“WhenIintroducedmy
dogstoDaisy,theysomehowknewshe
neededtobetreatedmoregentlythan
someoftheotherdogs.They’reallso
patientandwelcomingtotheirguests
andwereamazingthroughallmy
rescueexperiences.Theyhandledwhat-
evercametheirwayandeachrescue
wasadifferentexperienceforthem.”
Michaelsays,“Withmorethan40
activeapplications,you'dthinkthetask
ofselectingtheperfectfamilywouldbe
achallenge.You'dbewrong.WhenI
readKimandDougHoffer'sapplication,
itwasobvioustomewhereDaisy
belonged:Batavia,Illinois.Itwasn't
even30daysandDaisywasaHoffer.”
KimandDougHoffertellusabouttheirjourneyto
makingDaisyamemberoftheirfamily:
“Weweresmittenwithourtwopupbrothers,Henryand
Max,ouradorablePBGVs.Weadoptedthemfromabreeder
whentheywereeightweeksoldandbothlivedwithusfor
ninewonderfulyears,untilMaxandhisseizuresbecametoo
muchforthemedication,theneurologist/vets,andhis
strongspirittoovercome.Heartbroken,wecontinuedto
loveourHenryasasingledog.Hedeservedsomeindividual
timeafterhelpinguscareforhisbrotherallofthoseyears.
“Ontheone-yearanniversaryofMax’spassing,we
decidedtohonorhimbysigninguptoadoptarescuePBGV.
Wethoughtitwouldbeagestureonly,aswhowould
possiblywanttoabandonorgiveupaPBGV?Wediscovered
throughourconversationwithMichaelEdwardsthatPBGVs
actuallydidcomeupforadoption!Itwasn’tlongbefore
Michaelcalledaboutthepossibilityofadopting“Daisy
Mae,”apresumed10-year-oldfemalePBGVwhohadjust
beenthroughextensivedentalsurgeryandwasbeingtreated
forsevereearinfections.Itonlytookaminutetodecidethat
wewerereadytoaddanothermembertoourfamily,sight
unseen.WhenMichaelsentpictures,itonlyconfirmedwhat
wehadalreadydecided.Whatawistfulbutsweetlittleface!
“MichaeldrovefromOhioand
wedrovefromIllinoisandmet
abouthalfwayataparkinIndiana.
OurHenryisagentlegiantofa
PBGV,takingafterhisdad’ssideof
thefamily.WecouldseethatDaisy
wasattheotherendofthe
spectrum,lightbonedandof
smallerstature.Alleyeswereon
thistail-wagginglittlecreature
whoseemedateasewithusand
interestedinsniffingallaround
thepark.Michaelhadtakensuch
exceptionalcareofherthatshedid
IForeverHome:StoriesfromRescue
byJoanMann•JMann17307@aol.com
26
December2013
ISaberTails
DaisyathomeattheHoffers
Daisy