The Story of Molly

This is the beginning of an intermittent series titled, The Story of... where I will write about some of the dogs that have graced our home, both past and present. Today I will share the story of Molly.

I haven't written much about the dogs recently but they are very much a presence in our lives. I took this snap of Nash, Pepper, and Molly at Lisa's home earlier this week.

Molly was originally our dog, not Lisa's. We got her from a rescue and she had come from a situation where she had been used as a breeder for puppies. Was it an actually puppy mill? We are not sure. But it had similar conditions to one.

Molly as she looked when she arrived at the rescue. She's dirty, she's stressed, and she's very, very scared. This photo breaks my heart. (She'd also just had a litter of nine puppies taken away from her.)

She came to us with terrible fears and anxieties - we have no idea what happened to her or why she was (and still is) so terrified of things, especially men.

Craig and I struggled to make her feel comfortable. She got to the point where she would let me approach her and pet her, but would leap in alarm at the slightest sound or if I moved too quickly. She also began to relax somewhat around Craig, although she did not want him to touch her.

Enter Lisa and her dog, Millie. Lisa teaches school and so a couple of times a week, she would bring Millie over for the day, just so she would have some company and get out of the house. 

Lisa and Millie. Photo by Vanessa Isenbarger/Pearl Photo and Design

Millie was an older dog and we noticed that Molly would relax and was much more comfortable when Millie was visiting. She enjoyed having the company of another dog and had more confidence when Millie was around.

We also noticed that Molly ADORED Lisa - she would run to the door and greet Lisa when she arrived to pick up Millie, and then sit by her side if Lisa stayed and visited a while. Molly was a different dog around those two and clearly much happier with them than she was with us.

After nine months, Craig and I finally made the difficult decision to let Molly go and be Lisa's dog and not ours. I cried and cried after she left. But that turned out to be the absolute best decision we could have made for Molly.

Molly had found her forever home. She was deliriously happy and stuck like glue to Lisa's side.

Millie and Molly were companions for three years and then, sadly, Millie passed away in February, 2021. Knowing Molly needed a companion, Lisa got another rescue dog - Nash.

Big, goofy, still-puppyish Nash, young enough to be Molly's great-grandson and big and gentle enough to make her feel safe and secure.

In less than a day, they had bonded and Molly was cuddling up with him to sleep.

It's been a bit over four years since her rescue, and Molly is doing really well. While she still can startle easily and is very hesitant around people she does not know, she has accepted Craig and me and is not afraid of us anymore.

Me giving Molly a good skritch under her foreleg a few weeks ago. Her toes are splayed in delight and her ears are in happy position.

Snooze buddies - Craig petting her as he falls asleep in his chair. (She had approached him and asked for some attention.)

Enjoying some Skinny Pop with me while Lisa is at school. (Molly got the first piece and is chewing.)

Checking me out recently when I was trying to nap on the couch. She was hoping I'd pet her instead of sleeping - what a change from the days when she would run from our touch!

Look at the love in her eyes! She is sitting up on her hind legs and has placed her paw on Lisa's arm.

Trusted to be off leash and enjoying the summer grass in our yard.

It took the first eight years of her life to get there, but Molly now knows she is safe and loved. And she loves right back. 

Deeply.

Missing Millie

It was a year ago today that we lost our sweet Millie.

Named for the lead character in Lisa's favorite film, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers,

our Millie proved every bit as sassy

as her Hollywood namesake!

Millie stole our hearts and she is deeply missed.

What About Molly?

 Second post of the day and a non horsey one, too.

We are adjusting to life without our irrepressible Millie, but Teacher Daughter Lisa has another dog, Molly, who is having to adjust to the loss of Millie, too.

Molly and me driving to my house. She is NOT supposed to be on the console, but she was so excited to be coming for a visit that I didn't have the heart to tell her to get down. (Yes, I took a selfie while driving, but I was in my neighborhood with no traffic around.)

Like Millie, Molly is a rescue and came from a horrific situation. She spent four years as a breeder in a puppy mill and was rescued in December, 2017 when she came to live with us. It has been a long, hard road for her to get over her fears. I don't know what was done to her before she became ours, but I feel fiercely protective of her since so many things terrify her. She feels safe around Lisa, Craig, Pepper, and me, and she especially felt safe when Millie was by her side.

Molly on a walk with me in the park across from our house. She loves to go down by the lake.

This past week Lisa dropped her off at our house every day while she went to school so that Molly would not be alone all day. We do not think she would do well if she were left alone all day at home. At least not so soon after Millie's passing. 

I think she welcomed being around Pepper and us but it was clear she was missing Millie.

Go ahead and climb that console, sweet girl. I am so glad to see you happy and excited about something after such a rough month. We will help you get through this.

 

Millie Passes

 Millie passed away this morning. As Lisa said, "2,579 days was not enough time to spend with the Best Christmas Gift Ever."

Rest in peace, Millie. We will see you again.

Mustangs & Millie

 Well, I got Titania correct! And thanks to reader Wyoming Artwork, I now know who the others are. 

This is Titania's band stallion, Johnston.

As for these two, here is what Wyoming Artwork said about them:

The third picture can be more tricky to tell because these two are getting their winter coats. It changes their colors. The horse on the right is actually Icara. Icara is Sorceror's grandmother and a mare belonging to Johnston, the grulla stallion. The lighting and the winter coat changes her black coat to a sort of red brown. The horse on the left is actually Icara's daughter, Phantom. Once again, that winter coat and the lighting makes the actual coat color hard to tell. :) It's the light patch above her tail that gives her away! So, all of these horses belong to the same band. :)

I've seen this band a million times, so for me they're easy to tell. I only live thirty minutes away from the range, so my family likes to drive up there and spot horses in the summer. Johnston's band is always hanging out on the flats, so we see them almost every time!

Now we know! Thanks so much for your help identifying them!

Some of you have asked about Millie and how she is doing. She is still with us but we believe her time is short.

She's had some really good days, days when she's wanted to play or was thinking about snitching food. In this photo from two days ago, she's investigating the gingerbread houses from our annual gingerbread house competition. That's a very, very Millie thing to do. (She is so food oriented, we've always said that she would sell one of us for half an egg.)

A vet check yesterday showed her blood sugar at 458 despite having had her insulin administered faithfully twice a day. We were actually happy about that number - it's been in the 700s and once was so high they could not even measure it. (A dog's normal sugar level is between 100 and 200.) She's well hydrated but we are having trouble finding food that she will eat. (Very un-Millie!) Sometimes she's wobbly, other times she is play bowing and wanting attention.

Teacher Daughter Lisa is keeping an eye on Millie with Craig and me as back up when she is teaching. We all want what is best for Millie and are cherishing every day we get with her as a bonus. 

And when she tells us she is ready, we are ready to do what is right by her.

Mark, Millie, and Me

Mark Twain once wrote,  "The report my death was an exaggeration" when his obituary was posted before he had actually died. Well, I could write the same thing now only I'd change a word or two. "The news of Millie's death was incorrectly posted." 

Here's what happened: Often I write blog posts in advance and schedule them to post on certain dates. That was the case with the news of Millie's passing. She has been ill since right after Christmas, spending three days in a vet hospital down in Indianapolis, then coming home where she began struggling again a day or two later.

The day I wrote about Millie's passing, Teacher Daughter Lisa had had to go into her classroom and record some lessons for virtual teaching. She asked me to stay with Millie at her home until she could get back. Lisa had made a vet appointment for that afternoon where (we thought) Millie would be euthanized. 

That post was scheduled to go live Wednesday. Wednesday rolled around and Millie was still with us - the vet had suggested we try a new medicine and give Millie 24 hours and see how she did. I debated taking the blog entry down, but we had another vet appointment for later that day with the expectation (again) that she would be euthanized.

But Millie continued to improve. So much so that the vet suggested we keep on treating Millie, give her another twenty-four hours, and then bring her back for a check.

Millie, me, and Molly at Teacher Daughter Lisa's home.

That check was last night and Millie was even better. I saw her after that appointment and she looked like a different dog. Her eyes were bright and she was much stronger physically and showing interest in what was going on around her. So, as long as this rally continues and Millie is happy and not hurting or struggling, Lisa will not euthanize her. 

I don't know how much time we have left with this sweet doggie, but I plan to enjoy every moment of it. And the next time I post that Millie has passed, you can count on it not having been "greatly exaggerated." 

Sick Doggie

 I am away from home and helping Teacher Daughter Lisa with her very ill dog, Millie. I think her time is very short. No time to write today.

Staying with Millie and Molly

Note:
This was posted accidentally to Horsiemama instead of another blog, one that I started writing specifically for Pepper's handler, Sarah. Sarah was very sad when Pepper's Addison's Disease made it so that she could no longer work as a guide dog, and I thought a blog where I wrote about her former partner would make her smile and keep her posted as to how Pepper was doing in her new life as a pet. Entries are written in letter form and from Pepper's perspective. 

Dearest Mom,

I am sorry it has been a week since I last wrote you. I have been at Millie and Molly's house (which was an absolute blast) while Craig and Lynn went to Florida to visit Beach Son Kyle and his family. (Lynn says to be sure to tell you that he isn't really a beach bum or anything. She just makes up names to go along with where her kids live. Music City Son Cole lives in Nashville, Denver Daughter is Sarah who lives in Colorado, and so on.)

Anyway! Staying with Lisa and the girls was fun. I loved having a doggy door where I could run in and out at will. I asked Lynn to put one into our house, but she said that it wasn't a good idea since our yard is not fenced in. Doggone it!

 Millie is the queen of the house and so I let her get into my bed and try it out. (Photo of Millie in the princess and the pea stacked beds and all comfy while Pepper stands next to her and looks up at Lisa who is holding the camera.)

I didn't mind if she slept in my bed - that meant there was more room for me in Lisa's bed!

Photo of Pepper sprawled on the comforter among the pillows. Molly can be seen sitting on the floor in the background.

Sometimes Millie and I both stretched out on the living room floor to snooze. Here we are side by side, but her nose is facing right while mine is facing left. My favorite toy, my rope tug, is handy nearby.

Lynn packed my antler in my travel tub and I spent a lot of time gnawing it. I like to lie on my back, legs akimbo, and chew, chew, chew with it held between my front paws. Do you like this picture Lisa snapped of me doing just that? Oh, that's Molly you can partially see.

Sometimes I didn't want to share my toys. Being a smart girl, I figured out that if I lay on them, like I am doing here on my rope tug, then Millie couldn't grab it. (Funny thing about Millie, she never plays with any toys. Ever! But now she seems to want mine. What is that all about?)

How do you like my Christmas collar? It has peppermints on it - get it? Peppermints for Pepper! Lynn got it for me from Serendipity, an Etsy shop who gives part of their proceed to support guide dogs like me.

Lisa is a teacher and she gets home around 4:30. If I thought she wasn't petting me enough, I'd put my head on the couch, just like in this photo, and give her my puppy eyes. Worked like a charm on her!

Lisa took Molly and me out for a walk every day in the evening. (Millie went separately after us; she can't walk nearly as far as the two of us as she is elderly.) I loved getting to be with Molly. She's really nice, and she told me a little bit about her previous home before she became an Isenbarger. It was a sad story, and she is very scared, especially of men, as a result. But Lisa makes her feel very safe and she is so happy to live with her. I like Molly; she's very sweet, and I keep inviting her to play with me. Maybe someday she will!

Much as I loved my visit, I missed Lynn and Craig. They actually came home a day early; usually it takes them two days to drive to Florida, but they wanted to get home to me so they drove it all in one day. They were very tired, but we were glad to be reunited. I wagged, and licked, and practically danced around them when they walked in the door!

This last photo is of me at home again at last. I have climbed up onto the princess and the pea bed (a stack of Millie, Molly, and my beds) which is my favorite place to sleep. It was good to get home with my family and settle in.

Well, Craig is calling me. He walks me twice a day (and Lynn will take me once, so I get three walks a day!) I love you, Mom, but you know that exercise is important, so I had better answer Craig's call.

Love, licks, and wags,

Peppermint

Molly Finds Happiness

Nine months after rescuing Molly, we saw great progress. She was calmer and liked to have one of us with her at all times, she wagged her tail at us and would take treats from our hands, and she enjoyed walks down by our neighborhood lake. But she still kept her distance from us and would not let us approach her and pet her if she was off leash. Molly just could not seem to help herself, shying away and then looking at us with some tentative tail wags when she felt there was a safe distance between us. (She had been a puppy mill mama with abuse and no socialization.)

When our daughter Lisa came over, though, Molly was a different dog. She would be so happy to see Lisa, sitting next to her, licking her hands and face, following her around the house, and just showing how much she loved to be with her.

We finally decided to see if Molly would be happier living with Lisa (and Lisa happy living with Molly). So, Saturday, September 16, Lisa came over and got her.

We could not have made a better decision for Molly.

Look at that happy face.

Millie likes having Molly around, and will probably grow more dependent on her as she is nearly completely deaf and is getting older. Having a younger dog around should be helpful.

Molly follows Lisa everywhere in her new home, including to the bathroom where she patiently waits outside the door.

 And she has found her "spot" in Lisa's living room where she likes to sleep.

She's given Millie's bed a try (although she has her own) ...

 ... but Millie doesn't really seem to mind. (Millie sleeps on Lisa's bed most of the time anyway!)

There's a doggie door so that she can go in and out at will, plus a fenced in yard for her to run around in without being on a leash.

We still get to have Molly in our home a few times a week while Lisa is at work. She and Millie spend the day with us and then go home around 5:00. 

Molly settles quickly back into being in our home, flopping onto her favorite bed and snoozing as though she had never left. But, she still keeps her distance from us.

No doubt about it, we miss her (and I have cried many tears the past week), but our goal for Molly was always to have her be happy and feeling safe.

Goal accomplished.

Molly Off Leash!

(A bit of history since I don't write about our dog much - Molly is a very traumatized Lab we rescued in December. She has deep seated fears and is requiring lots and lots of time and patience to help her relax and feel comfortable in her new life. While she may never totally get over her trauma, she is making baby steps as she adjusts to a life where she is loved and never, ever hurt.)

We have begun letting Molly off leash a bit in the yard.

 She was pretty unsure of herself the first time, but Millie was there and Millie gives her confidence.

And, since she likes Millie and Lisa (our daughter and Millie's owner) so much, we were confident that Molly would not run away. Millie has been a wonderful friend to Molly and helped her try new things that she has been too afraid to try by herself.

 It has been nice to sit outside with her in the sun.

And I think she has enjoyed it, too.

 And while Millie will wander and sniff the yard...

 Molly prefers to stick close to her people.

I love this last photo of her. She is relaxed and enjoying herself - more "Pinocchio evidence" as we call it that we are on our way to having a "real" dog.