| A Tribute to Monty |
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| Monty was a two year old male Bernese Mountain dog when I met him for the first time. I had gone to a kennel in Honey Grove to rescue three Bernese Mountain dogs and a Newfoundland Pup. Monty was in a 4 x 6 kennel run with two female Bernese Mountain dogs. The kennels were full of filth! These poor dogs had never been on grass and never outside of their runs. Well, I brought all four dogs back to Mifflin County and had them vetted and moved into foster homes. Monty was fostered with me!! When he first got here, he wouldn't eat a thing! So we tried and tried to get him to eat dog food, but he wasn't having any part of that. So I ran over to Burger King and got him two cheeseburgers. He inhaled them. So I ended up cooking Monty deer tenderloin on the grill for days and would mix it in with dog food until we got him to eat. Then we got him neutered. The day after the neuter, I got home from work and his scrotum was as big as a grapefruit. So I rushed hime back to the vet and they put him on water pills. They said that he filled up with fluid from the trauma of the surgery. Then about a week later he developed a hematoma on his incision site. So back to the vet we went. They said it would be okay and just to keep an eye on it. Well one day when I was cleaning, he walked up to me as happy as could be with blood dripping all over the place. His hematoma had burst. So that night we made an emergency visit to the vet. They said that it would be okay and just needed to drain. Well it drained for about a week and they still wouldn't do anything. So I took him to another vet. She put him on some meds and it cleared right up. At this point I had an application on Monty from a wonderful family in New Jersey. Every time we had a date set for a transport, something else came up with our boy. Then he got a bladder infection. This poor boy had overcome so many obstacles but still remained a happy-go-lucky boy. So finally after we got everything cleared up and got a clean bill of health, we made arrangements for transport one last time, to meet in Allentown to do Monty's adoption. I thought, these people are going to give up on getting him soon! The nicest people you would ever want to meet. They took Monty home to meet his new four-legged sister and the rest of the family. Monty had attached himself to Betsy (the mother). He followed her everywhere! When Monty got here, he wouldn't do steps, so I had to carry him up and down the stairs so he could sleep upstairs with us. This wasn't too bad at first while he was underweight. But when he started to gain weight and look like a handsome Berner, I got quite a workout. But I wouldn't have changed a thing about him. Well, today I got the news that Monty lost his life to bone cancer last evening. I cried for Monty, I cried for the family, and I cried for our loss of such a sweet soul. He had the best life for a year and a half with his new family. At least he knew what life outside of a kennel was before his sad departure! The picture above is of Monty and my nephew on the day of his transport to his new home. Monty will be greatly missed, for he has touched all of our lives. Please say a prayer for Monty's family! Thank you, Cindy McClellan Rescue Our Furry Friends February 21, 2008 |