rescue     .     rehabilitate     .     rehome

Paulie was dumped at the shelter when he just three months old. He went on to spend the next decade of his life there, becoming more and more unsocial as the time slowly passed. He grew a bad rap, and by the time I started voluteering at the shelter, I heard he sunk some teeth into almost every worker at the shelter at one point or another.

I had always grown up having large rottweiler/shepherd mixes, and I adored my black and tans. When I started volunteering at the shelter, I saw Paulie in the very last run of the back aisle. He was in a run with a grey and white pitbull named Justin. Justin was at the gate, awaiting treats, while Paulie was more suspicious. That first day I entered their run, Paulie ran from me and stayed on the inside portion of the run. I sat there for three hours just talking to them, but none of the time did Paulie show his face from around the corner.

I continued to make frequent visits to their run each week for about two months. Little by little, inch by inch, Paulie started to come around. In the months to follow, Paulie turned a new leaf. He began to show his gentle side, and became so incredibly loving. He began to trust again. We became attached at the hip, and I quickly discovered his love for car rides! I would take him out for a couple of hours to the Kensico Dam, just so he could feel free. It was a new world for him. We couldn't do much walking, as my senior boy's hips were not the best. He really enjoyed the grass and people watching. My 90 pound softie thought he was a Chihuahua, and his favorite place to be was sitting in my lap, licking every square inch of my face. When I discovered that he had never simply been taught to sit, I was shocked. Every dog deserves to have their trick, so in one hour, Paulie was a professional sitter. Just one hour. To think that no one gave this dog one hour for something to basic, broke my heart. Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks!? He was such a gem of a dog, who just needed someone to give him a chance. Needless to say, I fell more and more in love with this hunk each day. 

One day I went to the shelter to see him, and noticed something of great concern. One of his toes on his front right foot was three times the size it should have been. There was pus coming from it, and as a vet tech, I knew this wasn't good. As much as Paulie loved me, I knew that he was not going to be easy to handle to get this looked at. I brought Paulie to my vet, and it was confirmed that this was most likely a form of cancer, and the toe was amputated. The weeks following were difficult, being in the dead of winter, trying to keep an e-collar and bandage on his foot. He loved me, but this boy did not like things done to him! My parents and I made it work, and Paulie recovered and healed nicely.

After he was fully healed, he was back with his buddy Justin.

Another year went by where I saw him weekly and we had great times together. Then one day I noticed that now the foot itself from which the toe was amputated twelve months earlier, was very swollen. Unfortunately, this confirmed bone cancer for my love. His hips were not going to be able to support his body weight if we amputated his front leg. I knew this outcome in my head, and I was not going to allow my Paulie to die in a shelter. Because my co-op doesn't allow dogs, my parents took him in as a foster to give him the royal treatment. He was such an amazing house guest, and my parents who were once cautious of him, fell in love with the gentle dog he became. My dad spoiled him rotten, and Paulie was soon enjoying filet mignon off of a fork on a weekly basis. Even though his entire life involved going to the bathroom where he slept, Paulie never had one accident in the house. He couldn't have been more perfect.

Months after I purchased my co-op, I had a housewarming party in January 2015. I remember it like it was yesterday. I was standing in my kitchen, and my mom handed me a folder. I opened it, and inside was Paulie's paperwork from the shelter. My parent's really did it! That cold day in January, our hearts were so filled with warmth. Paulie was officially ours! He was no longer a name on the shelter list. He was no longer a house guest, but a resident. He was home.

We knew it was only a matter of time before Paulie's cancer would spread. Unfortunately this type of cancer didn't leave too many options when it came to treatment. We kept him as comfortable as possible with pain medication and joint suppliments. Only a few weeks after his official adoption, Paulie started to slow down. Until one morning, when my mom called me and said that he wouldn't get up. It was the phone call I was dreading, and I knew it was his time. 

My memories with Paulie always make me smile. After being abandoned by people for most of his life, he still found it in his heart to learn to trust again. I admired him so much for that. He brought me so much joy and I'm so thankful that he chose me. Because let's be honest, I could have been just another name on the bite list. He chose me, he loved me unconditionally, and I did the same for him.

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