Ellyn's Prior Life

Our Pets: Ellyn
Posted on November 30, 2008 at 9:22 am

Tuesday, October 11, 2005

Hello Everybody!

            I have some wonderful news for you. I went to see my doctor today and I was very scared on my way there. I sat in the corner of the back seat and tried to make myself very small and I shook all the way. Did any of you ever go to a vet's office? Well, we dogs think they smell bad and sometimes we make an effort to make them smell better, but for some reason the humans who take us there don't understand the intention and they make a big fuss.

            In any case, I went there and I met some people I already knew. I had my new collar on and I combed my hair to the side and I was very scared. Everybody spoke nicely to me, but that did not help all that much. Then, my doctor examined me and…. and…. and she said I was doing much better! Much much better. She even said she liked how shiny my coat is and how I look stronger. She listened to my heart and said that, for sure, Fred and his buddies moved out for good, that she could hear my heart working nicely and that the big "murmur" was gone. I think a "murmur" is probably a big berry because that's a good name for a berry. "Would you please like some murmur jelly on your toast?" Or how about "murmur pie"? That sounds yummy. Really though, I have no idea how a berry got in there and why it left. But the doctor seemed to think it was a good thing it did. She also pushed on my belly and pushed some more and said that my liver felt fine now.

            I came back home and Juliet and Angelo were waiting for me at the door. We played right away and my foster mommy gave each one of us a chew. Well, Juliet stole Angelo's chew and she was walking around with two chews in her mouth and growling when my younger foster mommy told her she needed to give one back to Angelo. So my younger foster mommy just walked up to her and took it and Juliet ran upstairs because I could hear her. Then I heard my foster mommy say, "Juliet, down! Off the bed with that chew!" I think she hid it somewhere. She does that and then she makes a terrible mess when she looks for them and digs everything up.

            Like the other day, I mean yesterday. My foster mommy said it was a crazy beagle day. First, Juliet tried to get to the bag of bagels on the counter. So she tried to jump and jump until she pulled down the cats' bowls from the counter. I heard my foster mommy say that one of them landed upside down in the water bowl. Then she pulled down the can with my food and went with it under the dining room table where she tore off the label, then she moved to the couch and ate all the food from the can and bit so hard on it that it lost its shape. My foster parents were not happy with her and she did not get any more food for the day. That's how she is, Juliet.

Then my foster daddy came home from work and she decided she needed to defend his briefcase and she growled at me when I came too close. So my foster parents told her to leave me alone. But that was not good for miss Juliet who found two forks under the dining room table (and I know she put them there) and decided they needed defending so she tried to bite me. So my foster mommy got very mad at her and Juliet got scared and Angelo bit her in the ankle and then we all went crazy.

            I like crazy. That's a good thing to do, being crazy. Juliet and I do a lot of that. She grabs me by the throat and I grab back. She lies on her back with her paws up in the air and I fall on her and we just tumble and play rough and do a lot of growling. But Angelo gets jealous because I think he's in love with Juliet. He wants her to play only with him, so he runs around the dining room table and bumps into her or tries to grab her ankle. And then he runs some more around the dining room table and my younger foster mommy laughs because she says he looks funny. He does not like to look funny.

Like that Halloween costume they got for him. He hates it, but they dress him up anyway and he stands there. They say he's a green dogzilla with blue dots and a tail like a dinosaur. But I know he hates it. Juliet also told me that she will not accept any Halloween costume because it insults her doghood. She told me she will just refuse to budge and will throw herself on the floor and just stay there.

I don't know, I sort of like the idea of a costume. My foster daddy said I sometime trot like a horse. So I imagine myself as a beautiful horse with long slim legs. And my mane flows in the wind and I hold my head real high and I trot. So maybe I could be a beautiful horse for Halloween.

But rather than dream of being a horse, which on second thought I'm not that sure I would like that much because they eat hay and oats and that would be just yucky, I will maybe start dreaming of my new forever home. My foster mommy's uncle came to visit from far away and said he would take me if he could, but he needs to take the plane for many hours and I don't think that would be good for me. He says I'm a very sweet dog and that he can feel that I am grateful for all the help and love I am getting.

So I know that there is a special family out there that will feel the same way about me. And now that my doctor says I'm doing so much better, I can start dreaming the most beautiful dream there is – my dream of a happy home with a wonderful family to love.

 Helen

Friday, September 9: Yesterday evening Helen came back home after her second and last round of heartworm treatment. I took her in to the clinic on Tuesday morning – she was to remain there until Wednesday evening. Right before we drove to the clinic, I took her out for a short walk and she literally jumped for joy and played with the leash. But once in the car, she shook all the way there are was very visibly scared and upset. During the brief car trip, I tried to calm her down by talking to her and stroking her head.

Late Tuesday afternoon, she got the first injection accompanied by a steroid injection to prevent any inflammation that could be brought on by the decomposing worms. She spent the night at the clinic and was given the second half of the injection on Wednesday afternoon. However, she developed a painful swelling in the injection area, so she got pain relief medication and an ice pack. The vet preferred to keep her an extra night just to make sure that things will be fine. When I called on Thursday, early in the afternoon, I was told that Helen was doing fine and that I could pick her up later that day.

I was at the clinic at 6:30 p.m., but had to wait a while before Helen was brought out. She came out wagging her tail and when she caught my scent and heard my voice she could not contain her joy. And then… I caught sight of… the Purple Heart! Yes, Helen had a Purple Heart attached to her harness. Several years ago, the clinic had awarded one to our beloved dog who has since passed away. The award is reserved to those animals that face exceptionally difficult treatment and seemingly insurmountable odds with bravery and courage. There's even a bulletin board in the waiting room where the pictures and names of the purple heart recipients are posted! To this day, I stand in front of it and say hello to our Skeeter… So little Helen will now be a member of this exclusive club (one that, incidentally, you would prefer your pet not to join…).

As soon as we returned home, Helen toured the kitchen, had a drink of water and immediately trotted off to her bed where she spent the rest of the evening. We know that she's happy and this is helping her overcome the illness.

Overall, Helen is doing well. She has put on muscle mass and is no longer a skeleton with a huge belly. Her coat has a nice shine although she does have two (what we call) "solar panels" along her spine. Those are two shaved areas where she got her injections.  

She is a very sociable little girl and loves the company of other dogs and is very attracted to children. If she hears children's voices, she always stops, her ears ride up to the top of her head and, her tail wagging, she listens carefully. The neighborhood children know Helen, the blind beagle, and come to pet her. She enjoys every minute of this interaction and basks in the attention.

What is Helen's long-term prognosis? It will be many months before the damage to her heart can be fully assessed. However, seeing her as she is right now, meaning not fully recovered from heartworm, she's a happy little beagle girl. She is overjoyed with her short walks, enjoys exploring and playing.

Helen will be returning to see her vet in one month. Once that critical period of her treatment will be over and she gets the green light, she will be ready to begin her search for a forever family that will love her and whose love she will fully return.

Sunday, September 18: The beagles have been a handful recently. They've been sticking together, and once in a while they'd be in a growling and chasing mode. Toys were spilled and we had the impression that fur flew. Angelo would usually grab Juliet or Helen by an ankle, the "girls" would fight back and when we rushed in to break things up, there would be a sudden silence and each one of them pretended likes nothing's ever happened.

Finally this evening, we solved the mystery of this behavior. Helen pranced into the kitchen holding a crumpled and stained piece of paper. She dropped it on the floor and beat a retreat to her bed. I picked up the paper… It was a letter from Helen! I tried transcribing it verbatim, but after the first few sentences, I decided to provide readers of the Chronicles with an edited version.

 Deer bee-gl resscue of suhthrn mahrland,

This is Helen. I wood like to say thank yooh for helping me. I am blind so I askd Joolyet and Anne Jello to help me right this letre. But they qwarl all the tyme. Anne Jello says that Joolyet is not edjukatd and duz not no how to spell. He sez he livd with a perfssr whoo red books too him so hee nos how to right. Joolyet gets angree at him and sez that May Bee he does, butt hee kant run fast and hees a scaridy kat. So Anne Jello sez he will byte her leg off and she wont run anee more. And then they fite. And then sometimes they get angree at me beekuz they hav to do it fur mee.

Sometimes my foster mom comes to see what's happening, but we're trying to keep this letter a secret, so when she comes we just sit there and pretend we're sleeping or listening to something. But I think Angelo is a scaredy cat because Juliet told me he's afraid of balloons and this plastic sheet my foster dad put up on the ceiling when he was painting. I'm also a scaredy cat sometimes when I hear noises that I don't know. And when my foster mommy gave me my bath I was shaking like crazy because I was very scared. But everybody tells me that I have a nice shiny coat and I'm not so itchy any more.

I want to thank everybody who helped me. I have always been a very good dog and I did everything that my owners wanted me to do. Still, I lost my first home and then I was found and taken in by my other owners. They were not bad to me, but I could not go inside and sometimes things were not good and I did want to go inside, but I could not. I don't remember when I became blind, but I think when I came to my second owners, I already did not see very well. Then I got very sick. I was not feeling very well and I could feel that my heart was working all weird. But I thought it was something normal for us dogs and I never complained. But really really I was not feeling well.

Then, one day, everything changed for me. I went on different car rides and came to a place with a lot of beagles. I liked it there because I like other dogs a lot. A big lot. I think they're all friendly and fun to be around. After that I went to another home where Juliet and Angelo live. I wanted to stay there the whole time, but my foster mommy said I needed to go to the doctor so that I could be well again. I went there several times. Yes, I was a scaredy cat there. They were doing all sorts of things to me and there were dogs and cats all around me and there was crying and barking and meowing and all sorts of new noises. The first time, I thought I would never go back to the home with Juliet and Angelo. But my foster mommy came back for me and I was very happy. She took me in her arms and she carried me to the car and spoke to me all the way home. And I understood that things were going to change for me and that I needed to be strong.

I am feeling much much better now. I can feel my heart going slower and I can walk better without getting very tired. My foster parents say that I still cannot go for long walks, so they take me on shorter ones. I want to go with Juliet and Angelo, but they say I cannot because I will get tired. So now they changed and I go on walks with Angelo. That's because he gets tired too. He was hit by a car and had very bad injuries and had to have a big operation and cannot run and walk as fast and as long as Juliet. Sometimes my foster mommy or daddy has to carry him. They say Juliet is an athlete and Angelo is a philosopher (I don't know what that means. Angelo doesn't know either, but he thinks it's very important). So things are better now and I don't bark and howl because I'm alone on my walks.

My foster parents say I'm a pretty girl and that somebody special will fall in love with me just like they've fallen in love with me. But they say that person will be even specialer than them because that person will love me forever and ever and give me my new home. 

Thank you Beagle Maryland for helping me and believing that I will pull through. I just know that when I will visit my doctor in early October she will tell me that I got rid of Fred, that awful pesky worm, and all his family members. I try to imagine myself walking into the room and the doctor will say to my foster mommy: "Who is this beautiful beagle girl?" And my foster mommy will say: "Doctor, don't you recognize her? It's Helen!" And then everybody will come into the room to look at me and I will get treats and will feel even more important.

But, do you know something? I already feel important and special. That's because Beagle Maryland thought I was worthy of being helped. Yes, I am blind. Yes, I was given up and left homeless. And yes, I was very very sick. Many people probably think that a dog like this is not special enough. But not Beagle Maryland. So I promise that I will be the most specialest dog in the whole wide world because you thought that I should be given a chance.

Thank you. I love you very much.

 Helen (my foster mommy tells me I am "la belle Hélène" – that's French for The Beautiful Helen)

 P.S. Well, there's maybe one thing I'd like to change. It's the food. I don't think I'm getting enough of it. I definitely know that I should be getting more. Please send packages to the rescue with my name on them.

September 28, 2005

Dear Miss Mara,

This is Helen. Remember me? You thought I was going to have puppies, but I was really very sick with heartworm. Well, I'm doing very well right now and I hope everything is fine with you. I am writing to tell you about the wonderful walk I had today in the woods. It was so much fun I'd like to do this every day.

You see, my foster mommy has been staying home these last days and not going to work because an attic fell on her from the sky and it hurt her real bad and she said "ah!" We were talking about this Juliet, Angelo and I, and we were trying to figure out what happened. Angelo said that what my foster mommy has is a "sky-attic-ah!"  because he heard her say so to my foster daddy. I can't see her at all, but Juliet and Angelo say she has problems walking and sitting and all that. We don't know why, but Angelo who thinks he knows it all said that it's a sky attic that fell on her and hurt her. Because Angelo says that when people don't have enough room in their houses they put things up in attics and when the attics are full they send them up into the sky and they sometimes fall when they're too full. Angelo says he saw it on television when people send those attics into the sky and when they go up everybody says "ah!" and it looks like they say it also when they're too full and they come down. My foster mommy complains all the time that she has a lot of junk in the house and doesn't know what to do with it, so we think she put it all into a sky attic and there was too much in it and it fell on her. We did not hear her say "ah!" when it hit her, but this is what must have happened.

The weather outside is beautiful today. I can feel the sun and it's not hot and there are a lot of scents that I enjoy. My foster mommy said she was probably doing something that will kill her, but she took us three on a long walk in the woods. I had so much fun! Once we got on the trail, I could walk on my own without her holding the leash and I followed Angelo and Juliet very well. My foster mommy said she can do this only because I'm blind and cannot run after a scent because I'd bump into things. She told me she never lets Juliet or Angelo walk that way. But then, she thought she was holding Angelo's leash, but it was really mine and Angelo was just walking on his own dragging his leash behind him. And my foster mommy got scared and I heard her say "This is going to be the death of me. Who goes out on a walk with three dogs and a sky-attic-ah?" So this is why I think she's sitting now with an ice pack on her back somewhere.

But oh, Miss Mara, I got to sniff to my heart's content and I caught the scent of a squirrel and I ran up to the tree and I barked and I barked and Juliet and Angelo answered and we had so much fun together running around the tree and bugling and calling! And there were all sorts of good smells in the leaves and the grass and I thought it would be a good idea to get some of those good smells on me, but my foster mommy said, "Don't even think about rolling in that!" and she grabbed the leash and pulled me away. So I tried in another place and she did that again. And I don't know why because it smelled ever so good. Not like Angelo who smells weird because he got a bath. He has allergies and has to take a bath every week now so he smells funny. Me and Juliet we laugh at him and he gets angry at us sometimes. He says he hates having his bath (see on the picture?) and I can understand that because I don't like taking one either and I don't know why I have to take one. Juliet doesn't understand either because after we do get one we all just sit there and lick ourselves clean of that awful smell. The cats never get a bath so why should we?

So I didn't get to put that good scent on me, but I got to explore and my nose never left the ground. When we got back home, we all got a snack. My foster mommy always puts my bowl down first. She taps on it and I hear it and I go right to where she puts it down. I just love my food. I also love the cats' food. And I'm learning to eat new yummy things like carrots, beans and apples. At first, I didn't know what they were and I would spit them out just like that. And when they fell on the floor Juliet or Angelo would snatch them. Now they can't because I eat my fruits and veggies. But maybe I don't like them as much as Juliet who stole a whole bag of frozen veggies out of the groceries my foster mommy bought, tore a hole in it and ate everything inside.

There's one more thing that I like doing. I quietly go upstairs and I take things like cotton socks, t-shirts and small towels out of the laundry basket and I bring them downstairs to my bed. At first I pretended that it was Juliet doing it because she does things like that. Like yesterday, she stole my foster mommy's ice pack and took it to her bed and tore it to pieces. She did not like the taste because it was weird, like frozen jelly, and she got out of her bed and my foster mommy got scared that Juliet would get sick, but she didn't. But now they know I do that kind of stuff and they keep the laundry in a place where I can't find it. So I'm trying to work on the mop. But they say it's dirty and take that away too and give me toys. But I don't always want toys.  I really really like small towels so if you have any that you don't need please set them aside for me.

Oh Miss Mara, I feel so much better now. I can't wait to go to the clinic and show them what a wonderful patient I am. My foster mommy got me a new collar and I will get to wear it when we go. She says it's black with bright yellow paw prints on it and that it comes from South Africa. I think it will look good on me and will make me feel like a panther or some wild animal like that. Maybe I will try to enter the examining room like one of the big cats and they'll think I'm some incredible beast! I wish I could get to be one of those for Halloween!

I am also sending you my picture with the purple heart. My foster parents say it's nice and shiny and suits me very well.  Please tell me what you think. I hear that you now have a blind puppy. I wish I could meet him. Do tell him that being blind is not such a big problem. He will go on walks, play with other dogs just like I play with Juliet, and that he will find a good home. I hope I will, too.

Good-bye for now Miss Mara.,

 Helen.                                                                               

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