Monkey was a little stray that fate placed in a local no kill shelter where I did end of life fostering.  He had a cough and the shelter vet determined he had a severe heart murmur and was not adoptable.  So I took him home where he stole our hearts in a flash.  Monkey was slow to warm up and didn't really like many people.  He was pretty uncomfortable.  His respiratory rate was frequently in the 80's, his tongue would turn blue.  I spoke with the shelter vet who felt he was ok and we shouldn't intervene.  That was unacceptable to me.  So we adopted him, got him to my vet and a cardiologist.  There were some scary times but we got his heart issues under control.  His teeth were in horrible condition and his breath was terrible.  This became our next hurdle.  His mouth really hurt him, causing him to not want to eat at times and to be grumpy.  Coordinating with the cardiologist and vet, we decided to take a big risk and have a dental.  If he wasn't so uncomfortable we wouldn't have done it.  Our gamble paid off.  Monkey was left with just his canines.  Everything else was rotten and removed.  Within a day he was a different dog.  He became SO incredibly happy. 

He loved all dogs but still didn't have much use for people.  Everything he encountered would send him spinning in happy circles.  He loved to go to the bank drive thru, watch the people behind the glass and beg for treats.  He loved car rides and walks.  He was the center of our world and he knew it.  We've had many special dogs in our life but there was just something about Monkey.  We loved him with all of our hearts and know he loved us with all of his heart. He was with us for 17 months.  We sent him to the Rainbow Bridge in February 2015.  We were/are devastated.  Our lives will be full of love and dogs but it will never be the same.

In opening Monkey's House we hope to help many more shelter dogs and encourage others to do the same.   Monkey would have loved this.  The dogs that come to us now are Monkey's Friends.  Please join us in loving them and showing them the best is yet to come, even if it's for just a short time.  There is a great treasure in these thrown away seniors.  We hope to share this treasure with the world.

See CNN's Video of how Monkey started it all.