This Ole Dog Rescue

05/31/2026

Finally, three days of yardwork is done! Mowing, w**d eating around all the fences, treating the w**ds on the driveway, I do this every few weeks! Spot treating the w**ds in the yard is done. The dogs were all very patient and now back to our normal routine routines!

05/30/2026

Only a couple more days to donate through North Texas giving day for animals! If you are able, I would really appreciate the support!

We are on a heartfelt mission with two main objectives. Firstly, we are here to provide a final, loving home to end of life senior and hospice dogs who have been abandoned, surrendered by their families, or left after the death of their loved ones. Our commitment includes...

05/29/2026

There are always lots of chores to do around the sanctuary! So when I’m not hanging out with the dogs, cleaning or doing lots and lots of laundry! I’m maintaining the property - mowing, trimming around the fences, picking up rocks, keeping the landscape beds clean, picking up tree limbs . Thank goodness I have the screen in the door so the dogs can go in and out. They like to keep an eye on me if they can see me and are always happy when I’m done!

05/28/2026

Just another day at the sanctuary. Gus seemed to like going into everyone else’s crate so I added a bed in one of the spare ones. He really seems to like going in there! I’m not sure why this makes me so happy but he just seems to be very content to be in there when I cannot spend time with him.

Mabel seems to be fitting in just fine. She does shows some separation anxiety so I will have to deal with that. I don’t think she’s destructive, she just gets very anxious, almost like when a storm is coming. I’m working on getting her to eat in her crate. She doesn’t bother the other dogs when she eats outside of her crate, and that’s a great thing, but I want her to get used to it in there. Otherwise, just an average day at the sanctuary!

05/26/2026

Quick Memorial Monday update. Mabel slept through the night but did not want to go into her crate this morning to eat. She was comfortable on the couch so I brought her food dish to her. She ate over half but then stopped. Because she didn’t eat anything last night and she is so thin I hand fed her until she was interested again. She didn’t eat everything but she ate quite a bit. And then she just hung out on the couch all day and napped until just before dinner time when she sat up and started shaking again. Yep, more thunder! She actually wanted to go in the crate and seemed very comfortable there. She didn’t eat very much, just a couple of bites. But she is not nearly as anxious as she was last night. Although, the thunder wasn’t nearly as bad! She did not want to come out of her crate to go outside but I left the door open and eventually she came out, went potty and then found her way to a dog bed in the living room. We’re supposed to have rain for the next week, although that changes daily! We will just have to take it day by day and eventually the storms will stop and hopefully I can get some weight on her.

And then a little quality time with Gus. I feel so bad that he cannot come in with the rest of the dogs but I have to keep everyone safe. He honestly just wants to lay next to me so I try to spend at least an hour a day with him on the patio. And then the normal routine of getting ready for bed and everyone waiting until I crawl into bed so they can find their spots! Happy Memorial day!

05/25/2026

For today’s Sunday senior update we’re going to look at Mabel‘s integration into the group! She came into the bedroom last night and started on the dog bed, ended up on a platform at the base of the beds. She seemed to be very comfortable throughout the day sleeping mostly on the couch with the other dogs and occasionally getting into one of the dog beds. All the dogs seem very comfortable but with an extra dog on the couch, everyone’s trying to find their place! Everything went smoothly until the thunder started right before dinner time! So this will be my first experience with Mabel during storms. Her reaction is pretty similar to Susie and Teddy, Susie actually responds pretty well to trazodone and has gotten much better, Teddy is very needy and needs to be right next to me all the time. I will talk to Dr. Tracy about the trazodone dosage for Mabel. So far we have a successful integration, we came into the bedroom early tonight because of the storm, lots of thunder! Everyone seems to be more comfortable here!

05/23/2026

My limit is really 10 dogs at the sanctuary. Physically and financially it’s what’s most comfortable for me. Especially now because I have two dogs who are not integrated in and they fill my quarantine areas. But sometimes circumstances mean I make an exception, and that was the case today. I always give dogs a new name when they come to the sanctuary, new life, new name. So Mabel, a.k.a. Coco, was found as a stray at 14 years old. According to her microchip, her owner had passed away and when contacted, the family did not want to keep her. A wonderful couple had found her and the family asked if they would just keep her. So they did. But their work schedules and Mabel’s storm anxiety made it difficult for them, and for her. When they contacted the sanctuary and asked if she could come, I was hesitant. But sometimes you just look at a dog and feel that it will work out. And that was the case with Mabel! They brought her to the sanctuary, she integrated directly in and she has now found her forever home. I will take her to see Dr. Tracy this next week and we will get a full work up so I know how best to treat her and keep her comfortable. Welcome home Mabel!

05/22/2026

For this throwback Thursday we’re going to look at the expenses and donations received for 2025. I realize I didn’t ask for donations very often and it certainly showed. Only about 20% of my expenses were covered. Another $16,000 on my credit card and I had to take a loan against my van to pay the rest of the expenses. Still trying to work on asking for donations, it’s not something I love to do but I also can’t afford to keep using my personal credit cards and taking out loans! I hope this helps to understand what it cost to run a sanctuary for senior and Hospice dogs. It’s not cheap, but I knew that going into this, and I would not choose to do anything else! Feel free to ask any questions! And thank you all again for your support!

05/20/2026

Sorry I’ve missed a few days for videos! It’s been busy at the sanctuary, catching up on chores and trying to get all the grass mowed around the house since it’s going to storm for the next nine days! I had to run out and grab a few things today so I stopped and got bacon cheeseburgers at sonic for the dogs since I missed Tuesday treat day. Everyone’s always polite on Tuesday treat day, unless a burger is involved and then Hannah goes crazy! She wants everyone’s burger!

05/16/2026

I tried integrating Gus back in with the group but he and Campbell went straight for each other. So Gus has to be separated for everyone’s safety. If I found the perfect person that just wanted a big cuddly lap dog, he could go to another home but until then I try to give him some individual attention where he can just hang out on my lap. He’s in the sunroom separated by a baby gate so he can see everything, he just cannot come out and be with me on the couch or in bed at night. This breaks my heart but it’s better than him being on the street or in a shelter. As the dogs get older they get a little crabby and will snap at the other dogs. Right now that is Campbell and Hannah. When this happens the other dogs just walk away but if I have a dog that will not walk away then it causes issues, and this is what has happened with Gus. I had the same issue with scooter and Roscoe and so Roscoe was separated for over a year but got to spend individual time together.