Here’s the elderly lady who arrived yesterday evening — little Miss Duchess, an old blind-and-deaf girl from Carlsbad, California. Alayne took the photo of me holding Duchess this afternoon. We had agreed to take her last week, after a vet tech at the vet hospital emailed us about her.
The vet tech, Mina S., wrote that "a guy brought in his 14-year old Jack Russell to be put down. He was about 85 years old, and the dog had been living in the garage, with no attention, and he said she just slept all day and he was over it. Despite being blind and deaf, the dog was so happy to be out for a walk and paid attention to, prancing around … we just couldn’t bring ourselves to do it, and the vet refused to put her down."
This was a few months ago, and various staff members had fostered Duchess, but no permanent home surfaced for her. And being shuffled around was taking its toll on this old girl.
Mina wrote last Thursday, "We’re really at a loss of what to do. We almost put her to sleep yesterday, simply because she has NO WHERE to go. We held off putting her down overnight, to try just a few more avenues, but nothing has worked out. You are truly our last hope for Duchess. I’m sure you guys are terribly full, and the last thing you need is a blind and deaf Jack Russell — but this one truly is worth the effort to help. She’s loving and sweet, but low maintenance, and just wants a safe place to sleep on a warm bed, and wander around (and she does love to eat!)."
I emailed Mina back on Friday to say we could take her.
So on Monday, even as Alayne and I were reeling from Oscar’s death, I made flight reservations to bring Duchess to Montana. I will admit there was something therapeutic about doing this on the same day we lost Oscar. There are some folks who will (for good reason) think we need our heads examined for taking in such an elderly dog, knowing heartbreak is not far off … especially after all of our recent losses. And I don’t really have a good answer for that, other than to say that this little girl needed a place like the ranch, and here we are.
Yesterday morning, Mina dropped Duchess off at the San Diego airport at 6:15 a.m., and then waited until her Alaska Airlines flight took off for Seattle at 8:15 a.m. She called me to say "Duchess is on her way!" Mina was kind enough to pay for the airfare, even though we were planning on paying for the entire trip. Duchess caught a connecting flight on Horizon Air in Seattle, and arrived in Missoula at 7 p.m.
For an old, blind-and-deaf dog who’s been through a lot of upheaval in her life, Duchess has settled in just fine. She gets along with everyone, and is very happy just wandering around the house and yard. And Mina was right, she does love to eat! Her nose is incredible, and she can smell a dog treat at 10 yards. Here’s a photo I took this afternoon, when she was looking for a treat she knew I had on the table next to me:
Rolling Dog Farm Blog 
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