Tovah

This is the story of old lady Tovah. We were asked to rescue two sister dogs in bad shape in the area of San Vicente, Nayarit. I had requested that they hold on to them while we arranged to go pick them up the next day. It was a long ride and we were expecting to rescue the two sisters. However, the People who were supposed to have the two sisters, were only able to catch one of them. We named her Tina. 

On the way out of there we ran across an old dog walking in the middle of the street, panting and seemingly desperately hot. She was understandably scared and hungry and we used treats to gain her trust to get close enough to put a leash on her. Sometimes dogs are afraid of the rescuers and it takes a little longer to convince them we meant well. She must have been around 8 or 9 years old. 

We named her Tovah. Which is Hebrew for good girl. Or also means Favor. As most rescued dogs, she had many diseases including ear infections and tick diseases. We rescued her just in time, or she may have died from heat stroke and all the diseases she had. We went for two dogs and we took two dogs despite one of them not being the one we went for. 

It was not easy to get her into the transport kennel. Tina was a much easier catch. I had to walk Tovah on the leash for a bit to allow her to trust me and get inside the kennel. She was very fearful. Nevertheless we were able to coax her in and then went to the vet directly as we always do after a rescue. We can’t take chances of possibly infecting the other dogs at my house/sanctuary for old dogs, in the event she had Parvo or Distemper. 

They stayed at the vet for about a week receiving medical care and sterilization plus teeth cleaning and such. It is important to have their teeth cleaned, because having severely dirty teeth, can cause serious health problems down the line. So all the rescued dogs get a teeth cleaning during their sterilization operation. 

If the dogs suffer from tick diseases, they first need to be on antibiotics for a month until they can be operated on. Specially if they have Anemia. Because they can bleed to death. Anemia is a low red cell count. It happens when a dog has other diseases which cause the body to produce more white cells, which are produced by the body to fight infections. Also from bad nutrition. 

Once they are ready to come home, we put them in a room for quarantine and while they recover from the sterilization. We introduce them to the pack slowly in order to avoid fights and such. Tovah was a loner from the start. She prefered to be on her own away from the rest. She enjoyed high places to look down upon whatever was going on. I suppose she felt safe there. 

We have a small fenced in garden area where there is a rock fountain that does not work. It has several tiers which get smaller and smaller as it goes up. We were very surprised to find she had climbed to the top and was resting there looking down. She did not enjoy the company of Tina very much. I think she did not have the patience to be near a young playful dog. 

Tovah had very few teeth left and was very grateful to have a comfy bed. I don’t think tovah had a happy life. She had never had a bed nor toys to play with. I gave her a tennis ball and she was initially uninterested. Did not know what it was for. Tina on the other hand, got it right away. And I think that inspired Tovah to want to play with the ball. 

Tovah created a new way to play with the ball by rolling it with her snout and then going to get it. We played together like that. I would roll it to her and she would roll it back to me with her snout. Very original in my opinion. I was very happy to provide old lady Tovah with a toy, after living her entire life without knowing puppy life and fun as a dog. And giving her a bed that she did not know how to use, so she slept next to it on the floor. I had to coax her to use it. Once she understood it was ok to use the bed, she was hooked. She rolled on it and made noises of happy comfort. 

Tina and Negrillo, another rescued dog, were soon sent to Seattle thanks to Saving Great Animals . I am sure they found loving families because they were very lovable and trained dogs. I never found out how they were doing. I did not know where they went either because it was arranged by another rescue in Puerto Vallarta and they did not know or care to know either. But I am confident that they did go to great homes. At least I hope so. 

Tovah was going to be a permanent resident, since our mission is to give old unwanted and mistreated dogs, the best life possible until they died. Tovah was with us for almost 4 years. So she was around 12 or 13 when she started to go deaf and blind and then had epileptic attacks which caused her much suffering. And it’s the hardest thing to watch a dog go through. 

We had to make the most difficult decision, to put her down. It was her time to leave us. And the only consolation, was knowing we gave her the best possible life she had ever known. She now lives in my heart, along with the rest of those dearly departed. And as with all that leave us, will never be forgotten. She was a special old girl who was fortunate to be found by us. She had the benefit of sleeping on a queen sized bed all to herself. And continued to play her rolling the ball game to the end. She never barked or made a sound, unless her ball fell under the bed, and she would cry to get it back. Even old dogs are still puppies at heart. 

I love you Tovah, my good old lady.