Dory the Hospice Foster Dog

Meet Dory. She’s a petite little bulldog who was used in a puppy mill and dropped off at a shelter as soon as she exhibited health problems. She’s been diagnosed with heart failure. I’m officially a hospice foster. I take her to a new vet on Monday and hopefully they can give me an idea of what her timeline is. She’s already had a failed heart surgery and there’s really nothing else they can do for her other than draining fluid out of her belly every week.

I’ve had a few people ask me why I would do this.

The truth is, I’m a little baffled by this myself. I mean, I am NOT A CAT PERSON and there were definitely some tears the day I dropped off the super cute kittens (little monsters) last week.

I can’t thank her previous foster enough- he did an incredible job with her. I asked him why he wasn’t keeping her to see her through and he said, “I didn’t sign up for that kind of heartbreak.”

I know I’m signing up for exactly that kind of heartbreak. My friend Jen wrote a post last week about heartbreak- and in it she said that maybe heartbreak isn’t meant to shatter our heart into a million pieces, but to break our heart open so we can receive more love.

I haven’t seen a lot of death in my life. I know that makes me fortunate. And I also know that it won’t last.

Honestly, the first time I saw Dory’s picture on Instagram I knew- this dog is for me. I emailed the rescue and told them she’d captured my heart. And- when it was decided that she’d go into hospice I volunteered to take her anyway.

So, here we are- navigating the end of her life. Depending on how much time she has I may put together a bucket list for her. Because given her history, this dog deserves to experience all the beauty and joy that this world has to offer.

Send me a little love down below. I think I’m going to need it.