We Lost Troy Today

Not lost, as in...he ran away and we can't find him.  Not lost, as in...he passed away after a long, happy, healthy life.  Not lost, as in...he died from his injuries after being hit by a car or being attacked by another animal.  Lost, as in...he was euthanized because he was not safe to rehome.

Troy was our favorite foster dog.  He was saved from a certain death by the shelter for which we foster, transferred here from the South, had surgery to repair a leg injury and stayed with us through the summer of 2013 while he healed.  You can read all about him here.

May 2013

Troy was adopted by an awesome young woman and her fiance the beginning of August, 2013.  He had two children, she had a horse.  They lived near a pond and the ocean.  Troy loved the kids, the horse and most especially the water! It was the perfect family for Troy and we were ecstatic!  AND, thankfully, his mama became our Facebook friend, so we we able to watch Troy through her page.

Life is always a mystery and things don't always turn out the way we assume they will.  We were sure that Troy was going to live the good life, well loved by everyone he met.  He lived well with cats and played well with all the dogs he met.  He went regularly to the barn and enjoyed his horse friends. 

Sadly, the relationship between his mama and papa fell apart and the wedding was cancelled.  His mama began to share her house with a new roommate and her dog.  At some point and for an unknown reason, Troy and the other resident dog got into a fight.  And then he got into another fight and several more after that, with dogs he had been around and played with ever since being adopted.  His mama hired a trainer to help determine what was going on with Troy and she took him to the vet to fiind out if there was a medical reason for his change in behavior.  Sadly, she didn't get any answers and Troy's behavior continued to deteriorate.  He became uncomfortable around men and more skittish around strangers.

During this time, his mama applied for and was hired by a company in Colorado.  She would be renting a property that also had men renters and at least one other dog.  Unfortunately, under the circumstances, she was not going to be able to take Troy.  She made the difficult decision that being with her was not the best home for him and contacted the shelter, making an appointment to surrender him.  

There is no doubt in my mind that she loved Troy without reservation and that this decision was a heart wrenching one for her.  She brought his favorite toys and his nice, warm jacket and spent a long time with him in his kennel before saying good-bye.

Bill went to visit him and said that Troy had grown into a beautiful, handsome boy, obviously well cared for.  I waited too long and missed seeing him, which I will always regret.  Sadly, all too often, shelter workers have to make decisions about dogs, based on saving the dog or protecting the community.  There is an excellent article about this difficult choice here.  

Troy's mom was honest with the shelter staff about his recent problematic history and based on the information she provided, the shelter could not responsibly rehome Troy in the community.  The very real possibility of him injuring or killing another animal or possibly turning on a human were against him and the decision was made to humanely euthanize him, if there really is such a thing as "humane euthanization". 

Our hearts are broken and we are extremely sad that he didn't live the good, long life we had envisioned for him.  The fact is, he was extremely well loved for his short time here, not only by his adoptive mama but by us as well.  None of us understand what happened to cause the changes in Troy's personality and we never will.  We are not angry with the shelter for their decision; we understand and know that the decisions they must make on a daily basis are hard on everyone involved.

We will miss having the opportunity to watch Troy grow old but will always love him and treasure our memories of the short time he blessed us with his presence.

You are free from your demons, sweet boy!  Run with the angels.

August 2013

1/25/2015

3/28/2015

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;o)

Troy the Foster Pup

I didn't spend much time blogging about Troy because I'm easily sidetracked by Facebook and email and it's time for bed before I know it.  Anyway, to be brief...

In May, Troy was transferred to the Animal Welfare Society from Indiana, along with his sister.  She was quickly adopted; however, it was discovered that Troy had an old break to his hind leg which needed attention.  That's why he came to stay with us.  

He arrived on May 11, with a zebra splint on his leg.

He had surgery to repair his leg on May 23rd and came home the next day.

He was restricted to a crate and leash walking for 8 weeks, although we allowed him some time off leash in the grass occasionally.

We discovered that he enjoyed chewing so Bill regularly brought home marrow bones for both boys and we made sure he had plenty of chew toys available. 

He didn't mind chewing up a good stick, or a small log, either.

 We also discovered that he LOVED water, so we bought him his very own pool.

Once his "house arrest" was over, he and Titan were great playmates, even sharing the Wubba.

Troy and Bill became early morning companions.  Bill almost always gets up before I do.  He lets Titan in to sleep with me and he and Troy spent the quiet, early time together often sharing the couch in the sunroom where Troy snuggled and Bill read.

Bill took him to obedience classes and together we took him to adoption events, hoping to find his new family before we went to camp.

Today, Troy's new family found him and he went home.  The shelter called around 4:00 to tell Bill that he was being adopted.  Bill jumped up, adrenaline coursing through his body, and drove straight to the shelter.  He wanted to meet Troy's new family and tell them what he could about Troy's 2+ months with us in order to help ease his transition.

We are excited that Troy is moving out of foster care and into a home of his own, although he has taken a piece of our hearts with him.  We appreciate that he was never "our" dog, but we loved him and cared for him as though he was.  His new parents are EMT's, cross-trained as firefighters. They work different shifts, so he won't have to be home alone for long periods of time. He will have two human siblings, a horse, a big fenced backyard and a pond for swimming right down the road.  It sounds perfect.  His new parents understand that he is still a puppy and needs appropriate items to chew, needs a consistent schedule in order to maintain his housebreaking work,  agreed that he should be crated when left alone and want to continue his obedience training.

I have spent all evening worrying about him...

Is he scared?
Is he looking for us, wondering where we are?
Do the kids like him/does he like them?
Are they treating him respectfully/have they yelled at him for not understanding?
Did he eat his dinner?
Does he have a soft place to sleep?
Did he get nervous and potty in the house?
Has he chewed something he shouldn't have?
Will they be patient and give him time to relax and settle in?

I forgot to tell them he always had a night light and music when left alone.  Is he afraid of the dark?

I know these thoughts will subside over the course of the next few days.  I just want him to know he is loved!

Good luck Troy.  We are so glad to have had you in our lives!   May you grow very old and enjoy a long, very loving life with your new family.  We will miss you.

Hello Troy  5/11/13

Good-bye, we love you and we will miss you!  8/2/13

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;o)