Cleveland, OH
When we take a dog into our program, we commit, and Maia is no exception to our mission to ‘respect the dog’. She arrived a few weeks ago, she was obviously overbred, she was overfed, she had a skin infection on her tail, and she had a mammary tumor the size of a grilled cheese sandwich. Her owners could no longer care for her and gave her up, not knowing for sure, but suspecting she could have health issues. She was up to date on shots but in desperate need of being spayed and having the tumor removed.
Maia was cared for by the wonderful staff at Gateway Animal Clinic including Dr. Brian Forsgren, Dr. Liz Sobol and Veterinary Technician Emily Sanders. She underwent a huge surgery to not only spay her, but remove the tumor and correct one of her breasts that was filled up with dried up milk.
Maia recovered in one of our most experienced foster homes with Michelle and Steve and their three dogs. She kept them up at night crying, she paced, she pooped in the house, she had a urinary tract infection, she had to go to the ER clinic the day after her surgery, they made sure she got her antibiotics, her UTI supplements, they took her to Gateway probably a half dozen times and they never once complained. They just took care of her.
While in post-op recovery we met a wonderful family related to one of our Mutt-Match applicants. We attempted to match them up with Maia and they immediately thought of their extended family who had been looking to adopt a Doberman and put them in touch with us. The Gound Family had wanted a Doberman that was kid-friendly, one who who get along with their puppy, and be a part of their lives. They were drawn toward Maia and her sad story, her prior experience with children, and they wanted to meet her at Michelle and Steve’s home. We just needed to schedule the meet and greet to make this happen.
And then we got the diagnosis…..the tumor was cancerous. Dr. Liz is confident she removed the entire tumor but there is never a guarantee the cancerous cells won’t spread into other parts of her body. This news was devastating. For everyone. Emails and calls loaded with questions were asked, and answers were given. Our founder, Becca, shared her own prior experience with the family about three of her own previously rescued dogs (two of whom were SHM Dobermans) who had received a similar diagnosis. There was a lot of thinking going on, and we patiently waited, understanding this home just may not end up being a fit. Especially since there were young children involved.
And then we received the following message from Christie Gound:
“I spoke to Emily at Gateway and she and the surgeons who operated on Maia thought there was about a 30% chance of the cancer reoccurring. She said that if we wanted a dog that was going to live a really long time this was not the dog. Ben and I talked about it and we would still love to meet her, like I said if she only lives a couple of years in a good home we are happy with that. “
Ben and Christie had just gone through a loss with their last dog, a cancer diagnosis. If you have ever wanted to know a couple of saints, meet the Mound Family.
Foster parents to Maia: Michelle and Steve
It was last Sunday and the meet and greet went well. One of their little girls loved her, the other was a little unsure. Ben seemed very uncomfortable, and Christie was deep in thought and a little overwhelmed with Maia’s current state. Afterall, she was bandaged up, quite the hot mess, but had nothing but love to give to them. They hoped in the car, and shortly thereafter we received another email asking tons more questions, and this cute note:
“Isabel, my 8 year old, really enjoyed meeting Maia, and my 5 year old who was reluctant to pet her, said, ‘let’s get her!’ as soon as she hopped in the car.”
Again, we answered a series of questions, Michelle coached them through her recovery process, Becca reassured them everything would be fine with Maia meeting the puppy and we anxiously waited for the next reply. And this is just a bit of what we received:
“We have decided to move forward and foster to adopt. I showed some people at work her picture and they were all, ‘how can you not adopt that sorry thing?”‘ I am going through a little, ‘what the hell are you doing?’ but I am like that with everything. She might be perfect because of her horrible life and at the end of the day I want a dog with a scary bark to ward off the murderers, one to watch over that puppy, and one that the kids can pet without fear of reprisal (puppy teeth are brutal.) The kids are really excited and I am going to get her a cape so no one thinks that I did that to her poor body. It will be tartan and she will be beautiful.”
So, this weekend Michelle, Steve and Maia all hopped in Steve’s truck for one last visit to see Dr. Liz and Emily to make sure her stitches were looking good. She had most of them removed and a few stayed in. The three made the trip to Chardon for the big delivery to the Gound homestead. A holiday gathering was just getting started, family and friends, kids and dogs all excited to meet Maia. We started to check in via email to see how things are going, when we opened our emial and received this:
“She {Maia} is snuggled up on Isabel’s bed right now while Isabel is reading, Ben (no dogs on the bed!) looked in, smiled, and walked away. He told me, ‘It’s been a long time coming for that dog.’ Love all around. This dog is going to break my heart when she passes. She is honestly the sweetest thing, reminds me of our Saint without the hair and slobber! If she doesn’t try to kill Rory in the next couple of days (Maia has tried to play with her numerous times and Rory is all, “what the hell” and runs to her dog room) we would love to adopt her. She deserves a life, thank you for giving her the chance at one. You run an amazing organization, everything you told me about Maia was spot on, it is wonderful that people who are adopting know what they are getting in to. You give them that reassurance and it means everything. Happy Holidays to you and yours!”
Our paws our crossed for Maia, and the Gound Family, and we look forward to hearing from them one more time telling us she has a forever home with them. Until then, we know she is in great hands, and whatever happens our hearts are filled with happiness and joy this holiday season.
