Ellie

Ellie is one of the beneficiaries of a Grey Muzzle grant to Central Texas Dachshund Rescue (CTDR) to support dogs in hospice care. Ellie is a 12-pound cutie who had a rough life before she came to CTDR. She has a tattoo in her ear with a huge notch, indicating she came from a puppy mill. When they were done using her to pump out puppies, she was discarded and ended up at the pound. Despite all of this, she has a winning personality with incredible charm. She would love to spend all of her time in your lap, looking up at you with those big brown eyes. She also loves to wag and wag and wag her tail! 

Ellie needed major dental work, but bounced right back after that. Then she went on to be spayed and have mammary tumors removed, which are very common in dogs that have been used as breeders. After a rough couple of days she was back to her charming self, enjoying the sun, napping, playing with her stuffed toys, and begging for attention.

CTDR thought the future was looking brighter for Ellie and that this southern belle might finally find her forever home. But then Ellie started coughing and CTDR knew something was very wrong.  Ellie's foster mom took her into the vet for x-rays and found her lungs are full of spots and she has advanced respiratory disease, possibly from something she was exposed to in her previous life. The decision was made to keep her as a hospice care dog. In September of 2008, she was diagnosed with a malignant oral melanoma, with a prognosis of about 15 months. CTDR will continue to monitor her condition and make sure she's happy.

CTDR says, "Life before CTDR was not easy for Ellie. But since coming to CTDR she has been so happy, and her tail never stops wagging. She is such a doll - a real sweetheart. We will keep her comfortable for as long as possible, and make sure her last days are happy."

January 2009 Update

Ellie's foster parent, Chris, wrote to let us know Ellie had crossed the Bridge. "I wanted to update you on Ellie, one of your highlighted dogs who was lucky enough to benefit from funding from Grey Muzzle. Over the summer, I had seen subtle changes in her, and I knew deep inside she wouldn't make it to the end of the year... she was very peaceful - we both knew I had made the right decision. She had a wonderful five years with us, and hopefully she was able to forget everything that had happened to her before she came to us, but this is why we do what we do. "
Thank you, Chris.