About TenaciousK - Dog Rescuer
My name is Kim (aka #TenaciousK) and I’ve been rescuing senior/special needs dogs for over ten years. My first rescue was a very special 10-year-old named Fenway (aka The Fenz). Fenway was blind in one eye, due to being shot with a beebee gun and had only three good legs. His back hip had been shattered, either from being hit by a car or abuse – his leg just hung there and was useless. Fenway was terrified at first, but once he knew he was in a loving home, he settled down. Fenway loved going for “walks” to the lake – he would lie in a pile of blankets in his little red wagon and I would pull him around the shore to bark at the ducks. At age 12, Fenway was diagnosed with heart disease and died a few months later. His ashes are sprinkled in the lake we visited every day and loved so much.
My second rescue, Piglet, was in the same shelter as Fenway. The shelter volunteers had named her Tia, and Tia and Fenway were always together when the dogs went out to their shelter yard. I had met Tia when I was there to rescue Fenway. Tia was a tiny little Pekingese, and had lost most of the fur on her body due to being doused with gasoline. I couldn’t stop thinking about Piglet and I went back for her a couple months later. Fenway and Piglet were SO happy to be reunited! The two reminded me of Winnie The Pooh and Piglet, and I knew I had to change her name. Piglet was 12, when I rescued her. I rubbed her charred skin with coconut oil every day and put soft doggy sweaters on her. Piglet never left Fenway’s side and was curled up right next to him during our wagon walks. Piglet died in her sleep less than a month after Fenway died. I believe she died of a little broken heart.
Little Lucky Frank was my third senior rescue. Frank was 9 years old and was found by a realtor who was conducting an open house. The realtor had gone down into the basement of the abandoned house and inside a small closet she found a box and an emaciated dog, near death, inside. She put the box in the backseat of her car and rushed it to a nearby emergency veterinarian. The realtor already had three dogs of her own and didn’t want to take on another, so when Frank was strong enough to leave the pet hospital, he was sent to a nearby shelter. I had just lost my first and second rescues, Fenway and Piglet and I was in need of some puppy love, so I went back to the shelter where I had adopted them. There, on a cool, fall afternoon I met Frank. He was still weak and wobbly, but he tentatively came to me when I reached out my hand. I sat on the floor and Frank immediately crawled in my lap. It was love at first site and I brought Frank home with me that day. My heart was breaking after the loss of Piglet and Fenway. I didn’t think anything would be able to repair that break, but Frank did. We were inseparable and I found so much comfort with him and felt so lucky to have found him. That’s when I changed his name to Little Lucky Frank. Other than some mild arthritis, Frank was in pretty good health and we walked to the lake every day. In the spring of 2016, when Frank was 12 years old, my mother was placed in a nursing home where she lived in Colorado. She had been diagnosed with a rare brain disease and the doctors were unclear how much time she had. I knew I had to fly to Colorado to visit my Mom, but how could I leave my Frank? I didn’t want him to think he was being abandoned again, so I took Frank to see his vet and asked whether Frank could possibly travel. After an exam, the vet said his heart sounded strong and he felt he would be okay to travel. So, I packed a suitcase for me and a bag for Frank and we flew to Colorado. The flights/connections were hard on Frank and it took him a few days to recuperate. Once Frank was feeling better, I took him with me to the nursing home to meet my Mom. All of the residents loved having a dog visit, especially my Mom, and Frank got lots of treats and love. Every single day for 2 1/2 years, sometimes two or three times each day, Frank and I would visit the nursing home. Frank loved the attention and Frank brought joy and smiles to the residents. In early 2018, Frank began having seizures, as well as having trouble walking. He went downhill from there and left for the Rainbow Bridge in March of 2018 – just weeks before my younger brother died from complications of Diabetes.
Losing Frank, the rescue dog I had the longest (5 years) hit me hard. After a couple weeks I began looking online for dogs needing homes in my area and fell in love with Wilber, a 13-year-old Beagle/Jack Russel mix. Wilber had a serious heart murmur and was on medications, but seemed happy and well adjusted. The shelter had nicknamed him the “class clown” and after I had him home for awhile, I understood why. Wilby loved food and would do anything for a treat, no matter how silly. He would spin in circles or dance a little jig. After my brother died, Wilby was there for me – his fur was soaked with my tears. He got me through one of the darkest times of my life. In the early fall of 2020, Wilby began having seizures. At first they only lasted a few seconds, but after a few days he was having seizures that would last as long as 5 minutes. They became longer and more frequent within a couple weeks, so I made the difficult decision to let Wilby go in early November of 2020.
On November 1, 2020, just a couple weeks after I had lost Wilber, I brought Penny home. Read Penny’s rescue story here.
A few weeks after bringing Penny home, I began to keep my eyes open for a small dog that could be a “little brother” for Penny and maybe help her learn how to be a house dog. I saw Ralph’s sweet face on a Facebook post and I knew he was the one. Even though their first meeting was a bit rough (Ralph tried to kiss Penny & Penny snapped at him) they did learn to get along. Penny learned to take treats from my hand from Ralph. Ralphie showed Penny that I was a “safe” person and could be trusted. In August of 2021, after only having Ralphie a few months, he was rushed to the ER vet and diagnosed with Cushing’s Disease. We tried different treatments for a couple months, but he only got worse and in September 2021 Ralphie crossed over the rainbow bridge.
Penny is going to remain an “only child” for the time being. We may look for a new sibling for her sometime in the future, once she has adjusted to house-dog life.
