A very old stray {The Old Fella Story}

[Dixie_Flyer]

Went camping this weekend at a campground on the lake, had not been there for a few years. Once there I began to walk around looking at the different sites when I noticed a very old dog. He just lay there until I got too close then he got up on three legs and hobbled away. Just judging I would say he is at least 11 years old. Well back to my story. The next afternoon he wanders into camp and just sits there looking. He looked so sad, so the wife got a bowl of our dog's food and put it down for him and he came over and ate. He then walked over to our dog and the two of them sniffed each other over and then they lay down together for the rest of the afternoon. That night he disappeared.
The next morning he was back and was a little more receptive of me. I looked at his injured leg and found that half of his rear foot was gone. It had healed and was not causing any problem except that he was walking on the stub that was left with no foot pad which causes him to limp. His front teeth were gone except for one canine tooth and it looked decayed. His eyes were tired looking and showing his age. He spent the rest of the day just laying around looking for a handout and by afternoon the campground host came around and saw him. I enquired about the dog and was told he had been there for three years and that most of the campers were tolerant of him and gave him food.
So what to do? Do you pick him up and bring him home or do you let nature take it course. He can't harm anyone, he has no teeth and he isn't a nuisance unless you don't like dogs, and no one seems to mind him being there. He is gentle and likes other animals as seen by his interaction with our dog. He still would not let me touch him but he would eat from my hand. Enough said, what would you do???

On June 28th 2008 Old Fella passed away of complications caused by bone cancer. Fella spent almost three years with his new family and became the icon of rescued old stray dogs. He will be greatly missed but his foot prints have been left in our hearts forever.

Now Charlie, the ten year old rescued Golden Lab has come to be a part of the continuing Old Fella story. (*Note, Charlie took his journey to Rainbow Bridge unexpectedly September 30, 2008)Suzie continues to charm her way into our hearts with her antics as she has grown from a puppy into a young lady. Togther they will carry on the Old Fella legacy. Come join us in their daily lives and be a part of the best feel good thread in RV.NET history. The legacy lives on.


HIghways Article Puppy Love

Old Fella Burke County Animal Rescue

[Dernhelm]

Hello FOOFs! Am leaving town soon, Vegas to New Jersey, south to somewhere in Maryland, Georgia, Alabama and then a business stop at my client in Texas on the way back to Vegas. Just a nice little trip.

I asked my poor husband, "Could you please just drill a little hole here and put in this screw?" Over an hour later and now we're waiting for the glue to set. Nothing is ever simple for the poor guy!

Meanwhile I personally fixed the bathroom fan and the air conditioner - buffs nails

[Dernhelm]

DOTLDaddy wrote:

Waynesboro City Park. Intersection of S.Liberty and W.5th street. Give Old Fella a pat on the head for me.:)

Thanks so much for answering this question! I'm headed out next week on what might be my last big solo trip, so I want to swing through and say HI to Old Fella too.

[Scottiemom]

Sounds like you have things under control, Burch. It sounds like the upcoming trip to New Orleans will be fun, except for Monty. LOL

My landscaper came by and fixed up the few things I had out of place from the storm. The access door to the water heater on the front corner of the house blew in. The siding covering it was affixed to dry wall. He said that should never have been. So he went and bought a piece of plywood and fit in into the door frame and then screwed the siding onto it. It's very solid now and should be good for as long as I live here. My motion light had been working, but blew out a couple days after the storm. I asked him to look at it and it had power, but the light was dead. So when he picked up the plywood, he bought a replacement and put it up. It's working great. I like that light because I walk Brendon at night and it lights up under my port. I'm lucky he is willing to do these little extra things that Terry would have taken care of before.

We haven't gotten our debris in the park picked up yet either. I'm not sure if the regular contractor we use will be able to do it. He normally picks up trimmings, etc., but there are a lot of limbs that need to go.

People are now starting to come into the park for the winter. Lots more golf carts going around in the evening.

Take csre fellow FOOFS. Would love to hear from more of you!

Dale

[MetalGator]

Good Morning FOOFs

I am still in clean up mode after hurricane IAN. Had a bunch of oak limbs down. I got all the leaves, twigs and small branches either tied up or in large garbage cans. The county was supposed to pick up yard debris Wednesday but they never came. I am sure they are really running behind. I still have 3 large branches that I will either need to use the chain saw on or wait until the county comes around with the picker trucks. Who knows when that will be.

On top of all the clean up, I am having my house painted. I had to cut back a lot of landscaping and move everything away from the house. I also had to move all of the patio furniture off the porch and into the backyard so he could pressure wash and paint. The house is about 60-70% done. Unfortunately, he hasn't been here in two days because his son is sick. Daycare won't allow him to come and his wife can't get off work. He says he is coming on Saturday to finish. It has been a bit inconvenience as I can't let my dogs out the back sliding doors into the backyard to do their business because he has the glass doors covered with plastic for the painting. The only door I can get out of is the large garage door in front of the house. I have been taking all 3 dogs outside on leases in the front yard. Hopefully I only have one more day of having to do that.

Two weeks from today we leave on our trip to New Orleans. It's 686 miles from my driveway to the French Quarter RV Resort. Looks like gas prices are going higher so the fuel cost will be substantial since I only get about 7mpg in the motorhome. Oh well, I didn't purchase the motorhome to just sit in the garage so we will make the best of it.

Monty won't be happy with me as he doesn't like riding in the motorhome. He loves it when we are destinated but hates the ride. We will be leaving on Friday afternoon and will be staying in Tallahassee on Friday night. That will cut off 4 hours of the drive. We then arrive in New Orleans on Saturday afternoon. Looking forward to getting away from work for a full week.

I hope everyone has a great Friday. We need more people posting on this thread. If you have time, leave a quick note and let everyone know how you are doing.

Burch

[Scottiemom]

Glad you made it through with minimal damage, Burch. I had come over to my son's in Melbourne for the weekend and he wouldn't let me leave! LOL He lives in a concrete house, etc., so we rode it out here. Lots of wind, very strong at times, but I'm sure it wasn't 100 mph. My place in Polk City actually faired nicely. The door on my water heater compartment had the siding blown in, but it was all there. A downspout is laying on the ground next to my RV port. My landscaper was over yesterday and got everything back in order. There were a couple ports that sustained damage, but the manufactured houses all made it through. I was amazed at that. I am headed back home this morning. Our water and power was off for 12 hours, so everything should be good. We didn't lose anything here in Melbourne.

Stay safe everyone.

Dale

[Martyn]

MetalGator wrote:
What a day yesterday was. We had wind gusts over 100mph. My front yard is trashed with leaves and branches from my two oak trees. I had one little leak around my skylight in my kitchen but other than that, no damage from hurricane Ian. There is a mobile home park down the street and parts of it look like a war zone. My father in law lives there and his place was spared but his neighbors place lost the roof. The clubhouse roof got peeled off and is laying in the road. Lots of poor people are displaced right now. I have lived in Florida all my life and this was the worst storm we have gone through.

Burch

Glad you made it through relatively unscathed. We know how it feels, after having gone through Michael, here, 4 years ago. My heart goes out to all those folks who are suffering right now.

[dturm]

Glad you are OK and have minimal damage.

My parents had a trailer and site in Ft. Myers Beach in an RV park that was adjacent to the causeway to Sanibel. They sold it after my dad passed in 1985.
Pictures of that causeway make me think that the whole park would have been under water and destroyed by wind and storm surge.

[MetalGator]

What a day yesterday was. We had wind gusts over 100mph. My front yard is trashed with leaves and branches from my two oak trees. I had one little leak around my skylight in my kitchen but other than that, no damage from hurricane Ian. There is a mobile home park down the street and parts of it look like a war zone. My father in law lives there and his place was spared but his neighbors place lost the roof. The clubhouse roof got peeled off and is laying in the road. Lots of poor people are displaced right now. I have lived in Florida all my life and this was the worst storm we have gone through.

Burch

[riah]

Shadow57 wrote:
Happy National Dog Day!!! I have 5 dogs that pretty much run the place around here. I'm blessed to live on a small farm with horses and a few cats.

My "littles" travel with us as we trail ride all over the country. The 3 big dogs stay home and help my grown kids who live down the road take care of the place.

I miss Richard and his beautiful stories, always enjoyed them over my coffee.

RIAH I sure hope the cat comes home.

Happy Dog Day!!!

Thank you for the hope of the cat returning… sadly, she still has not been seen… I’m thinking an owl, red tail, coyote, fox or bear may have done her in… all of those predators are around here…. I guess we were lucky enough to have her in the family for the past 11 years… Just sad because we let her stay out instead of bringing her in at 7 pm that night because it was still light out and nice out… hindsight shows that to have been a big mistake….

I hope everyone is safe and doing well!

[Scottiemom]

MetalGator wrote:
Looks like this hurricane is coming right down our throat. I have been out of town and now have to prepare the house. My mom is in a flood zone and my father in law live in a mobile home so I am going to have some house guests. The generator is gassed up and I have a ton of water and fuel. Isn't life fun?! The doggies even know something is going on. They are acting weird. Their 6th sense I guess.

Burch

I came over to my son's in Melbourne for a planned weekend. Now he won't let me leave. LOL I had picked up all my outside stuff, but I really didn't do anything else. It is what it is. I'm sure I will lose all my frozen stuff. I should have been more prepared, but I thought I would be back and have some time to prepare. My son was afraid if I went back home to do anything, I wouldn't be able to get back out. And I live in a manufactured house. He lives in a concrete house with a 140 mph roof that is tied to his foundation. So we will be safe. He has a generator as well. So we wait. I did think ahead and brought all my meds and all the dog's meds as well.

Be safe, Burch.

Dale

[MetalGator]

Looks like this hurricane is coming right down our throat. I have been out of town and now have to prepare the house. My mom is in a flood zone and my father in law live in a mobile home so I am going to have some house guests. The generator is gassed up and I have a ton of water and fuel. Isn't life fun?! The doggies even know something is going on. They are acting weird. Their 6th sense I guess.

Burch

[dturm]

Georgia plays South Carolina today, I naturally thought of Richard...

[MetalGator]

Good Morning Foofs! I hope everyone is doing well.

I have a couple of long motorhome trips coming up in the next few months. We are heading to New Orleans the end of October for a few days and then on the way back, staying in Navarre Beach for a couple days. It will be about a 1500 mile round trip. Then I am heading to Kentucky to pick up my Aunt to bring her back to Florida. I am bringing a high school friend of mine who has never been to Kentucky. That trip will be over 1600 miles round trip and I am doing it in 4 days. Will basically be "get up there, grab her, and come home". I will be ready for another oil change once I get done with these two trips.

The fur babies will come with us on the New Orleans trip. Monty will not be happy as he hates riding in the motorhome. I have tried so many different things and nothing really helps calming him down. Once we get designated, he is happy. The dogs won't be going to Kentucky so they will stay home with their mamma.

I hope everyone has a great day!

Burch

[GizmosMom]

September 5, 2005

I read the post that began with...."Went camping this weekend at a campground on the lake, had not been there for a few years. Once there I began to walk around looking at the different sites when I noticed a very old dog."

And we all were made better because of Richard and Old Fella

[Scottiemom]

My son has a golden doodle, Lily, and she is as sweet as she comes. I just wish they would do some training because I cannot walk her. They have a fenced yard, so I don't have to walk her when I babysit. But she is a sweetie and so good to my granddaughter and loves my dog too.

Dale