Monkey was a little stray that fate placed in a local no kill shelter where we did end of life fostering. He had a cough and the shelter veterinarian determined he had congestive heart failure (CHF) and was not adoptable.
So, we took him home where he stole our hearts in a flash.
He was pretty uncomfortable. His respiratory rates were way above normal and his tongue would turn blue. I spoke with the shelter veterinarian who felt he was ok and we shouldn't intervene. That was unacceptable, so we adopted Monkey and got him to our veterinarian and a cardiologist. There were some scary times but we got his heart issues under control. His teeth were in horrible condition causing his mouth to hurt so much he wouldn’t eat at times and to be grumpy. This became our next hurdle. Our only option was to perform the dental. The procedure was successful and 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.
Everything Monkey encountered would send him spinning in happy circles. He loved car rides, walks and all other dogs. He was amazed with the bank drive thru, the people behind the glass gave him treats! 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 devastated. Our lives will always be full of love and dogs but it will never be quite the same.
In opening Monkey's House we hope to save and care for many more shelter dogs and encourage others to do the same. Monkey would have loved our mission. 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.