Marcus’s story was a very sad one. Unbeknownst to anyone, Marcus’s senior dad was sick with COVID and died in his apartment alone and with his pups by his side. It was only when the man’s nephew contacted the police for a welfare check that Marcus’s dad was found. With no family members wanting Marcus or his friend Benjamin, Animal Control was called and they were taken away.
Once at Animal Control, TAF was contacted to see if we could help. Even though Marcus was 13+ years old and had some pretty serious health issues, we took him in. After witnessing how feisty he was, we knew that he had a whole lot of life left in him.
The few remaining teeth that Marcus had were infected and puss was pooling up by around his nose. Having never been neutered, x-rays would go on the show that Marcus’s prostate was huge and was hindering his ability to fully empty his bladder. Even though we knew that Marcus had an enlarged heart, his medical team was pretty confident that he would do well during surgery. He was showing no signs of coughing or any other kind of distress.
Just like we thought, Marcus did fantastic and was already eating full meals, waddling around and fully able to empty his bladder when he urinated. In the matter of a week we were able to significantly improve his health and quality of life. Than came the part that we couldn’t fix... his sadness. It was becoming painfully obvious that Marcus missed his dad. At one point I stretched out on the floor next to Marcus. He got so nervous and instantly jumped right up on my chest. He looked so deeply into my eyes as if he was expecting the worst. One can only imagine that is what Marcus did with his dad.
Now this is the part of Marcus’s story where hope is restored in the human race… a truly remarkable family has adopted Marcus. Looking past his age and years left on this earth, they have wholeheartedly embraced Marcus and made him part of their family. They are selfless people who just wanted to help a senior dog in his twilight years.
When Marcus took the road trip to Michigan to meet his new family, it was quite the adventure. When Marcus got out of the car he met his future family around the other side in the parking lot. I wish that you all could have seen it. You could already see the love in their eyes and their faces lit up with joy. Marcus’s new mom came over to give him a kiss and his new dad picked him up and hugged him. It was absolutely beautiful... Marcus’s dad must have been smiling down from heaven.
Thank you to everyone that donated towards Marcus’s medical care and shared his post. You helped to save a senior dog that would have been euthanized had we not stepped up.
If they can have a good quality of life, we just cannot give up on these seniors… they have all earned every grey hair on their face and deserve their happily ever after.
