Xena Princess

We sadly learned of the passing of one of our sweet former Rawhide Rescue alumni, Angel. Angel was an English Mastiff that was owner surrendered to us in February 2011 when she was 7 years old and her past was such a sad story, and we knew it our mission to find her a new home. This gentle, beautiful girl was immediately fostered by one of our volunteers, Sonal, who warmly welcomed her into their home. But it wasn’t long after that Angel was there, that Sonal and her family realized that they couldn’t let her go and she became a beloved and cherished part of their family and spent the last 7 years receiving and giving so much love. RIP sweet lady, June 8, 2004 – August 29, 2018.

Thank you, Sonal, Marc, Lindsey, and Sophia for opening your hearts and home to this wonderful girl.

It is with a heavy heart that I am giving you the news that Missy, the Llewellyn setter that my wife and I adopted from your fine organization back in 2003 has passed away. We first saw her, advertised as a Welsh Springer, at one of your foster homes in Dunellen. The actual breed didn’t matter; once we saw her, she was ours. She provided me and my wife with an unending source of companionship. Additionally, she devised herself various “jobs”, the most prominent one being our morning “alarm clock” and our “time for bed” clock. She survived to have a cancerous growth removed six or so years ago. Dr. Coleman and his staff at Meyersville Veterinary Group looked after her health during her time with us, providing some of the finest care we have ever received in all of the years that we have had pets.

Missy was much more than just a pet and I can never say that we owned her; I more think that she owned us. The Rainbow Bridge is a real tear-jerker but Diane and I both hope that when our time comes, the author knew what he or she was talking about. Our days with dogs is not yet over. As Spring approaches, we will begin the search for another one who needs to look after us; Missy has left big paw prints to fill.

Back in the fall of 2008, a Rawhide Rescue volunteer was picking up a dog in the Plainfield, NJ shelter, saw Foxy and couldn’t leave her behind. She was known as Dolly by the shelter and was quickly renamed Foxy by Ingela, appropriately so. Ellen was her special foster mom who introduced her to her labs. No wonder why Foxy always gravitated towards bigger dogs. I discovered Foxy on Petfinder.com while living in Manhattan. I submitted my application, pictures of my neighborhood and two references. I went to meet Foxy at PetSmart in Bridgewater, NJ on October 25th, 2008. We all thought she was 1 1/2 years old but later found out from the vet she was more likely 3 years old. I was lucky enough to take this sweet baby girl home with me that day! We had two wonderful years living in the city before we moved to the suburbs of Chatham, NJ. Foxy adapted to city life so well, that the sound of buses and trucks never phased her. I took her everywhere with me, to our shore house where she loved to lick the sand, only once in the ocean as she wasn’t a water dog, on our annual Christmas 10 hour car trip to Charlotte, NC to visit family, on long walks, on nightly pack walks with the neighbors and their dogs……everywhere. We were inseparable. Over the 8 years we were together, Foxy had many health problems that we overcame with the help of pet insurance. Her neurologist said after looking at her MRI taken because of her seizures, “Foxy has the most beautiful brain”. He never could figure out why the random seizures occurred, only offered that she could be 5 years older and have vestibular events known in older dogs. I kept her age the same as when I rescued her. 🙂

In 2013 she was having her teeth cleaned and after a routine cardiac test, they found out Foxy had a leaky heart valve and so began our fight against chronic heart disease (Mitral Valve Disease). Foxy was put on several medicines and had routine echo tests to make sure we were keeping up with her heart that kept getting larger. The past few months were a rollercoaster for us and I swear she had nine lives. What a fighter she was with her heart disease. After adjusting her medicines, she was doing well and then wasn’t. Everyone kept telling me you’ll know when it’s time. Well, Foxy looked at me and I knew. I took her to the vet to say goodbye and told her what a great dog she was and how she was going to feel better and how much I loved her. I told her to look for her cousin Pepper-oni when she got to heaven. Thank you Rawhide Rescue for connecting me with my first dog. She had a positive impact on everyone she met. Foxy was one in a million and I was lucky enough to be a part of her life.