Maxie & Belle

by Judy
(Oak Lawn, IL)

We adopted Maxie in 7/2000. He was actually a rehome by way of Irish Setter rescue.

He was an Irish Setter; 27 months old and had been kept in a medium size crate (for an Irish Setter). He was grossly neglected, and as a result he was riddled with parasites & infections.

His behaviour was awful because he was sick. When we first adopted him, he was in & out of the house every hour during the night to potty. I think he felt good just being able to pee and not have to lay in it any more.

With a lot of love & work and medical care, we got him cleaned up. We put so much of ourselves into this dog, he became our heart dog.

Two years ago, he developed idiopathic hemolytic anemia. We were having him treated for that. While he was in ICU, he bloated & his stomach twisted. There was no viable further treatment for him, so we helped him across the Rainbow Bridge. His ashes are now at Angels' Rest Cemetary at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Utah. It is the most beautiful place I have ever seen on this earth; a fitting resting place for our beloved heart dog.

We still have our little female redhead who was also a rescue. We were her fourth home in two weeks. She had both medical & behavioural issues. With her, we actually had to retain an animal behaviourist to help her through her issues. She has turned into a wonderful and loving companion.

We would do it again in a heartbeat. By adopting a rescued animal, a person gives a broken animal a second chance at a happy life in a loving forever home.