Della arrived at Bob’s House in April of 2017. Little was known about her, but clearly she had not been treated well by her previous owners. She was extremely fearful of men wearing caps and displayed nervousness and anxiety. We quickly noticed Della loved people and was eager to trust. She was put on several medications upon arrival to deal with her multiple health concerns including a prescription for her high anxiety.

Shortly after her arrival we noticed she was having some issues getting along with the other dogs in the group. Since we are a “free-range” facility, the dogs openly play and interact with one another as compared to other facilities that use kennels to house the dogs. This means that not all dogs make it at Bob’s House. If there is any dog aggression of any sort the dog cannot stay. The rescue we were fostering Della for was not willing to take her back, so we at Bob’s House had to put our thinking caps on.

Della would not be an easy dog to adopt out. Between her expensive medications and her mild dog aggression she would be very tough to place. Della was moved to the front room that is partitioned off from the rest of the house to keep her separate from the other dogs. She was a good little greeter at the front door and loved her leashed walks with volunteers, but this was not a permanent solution. “What do we do with Della?” we asked ourselves. We began to search for a home for Della through adoption. Della sat on our adoption list in the front room of Bob’s House for over 6 months.

In November of 2017 a woman named Janet and her daughter came to Bob’s House to look at the dogs. Janet had recently said good-bye to her beloved Bear and decided at her age she was not interested in a puppy. That’s when her daughter suggested a senior dog from Bob’s House. It was love at first sight when Janet met Della. She was very excited about adopting her, but as she learned more about Della’s expensive medicines and vet bills she felt she could not afford her to care for her. Janet herself is a senior and at age 74 was on a fixed income.

Our Bob’s House team was torn, because we saw that Janet and Della would make a great team, and we totally understood Janet’s hesitation. It was then that a new solution came into play. We asked Janet to permanently foster Della for Bob’s House and we will cover all medical costs. Janet thought that was a great idea. Janet provides the calm home for Della and Bob’s House supplies her medicines and vet care.

I recently spoke to Janet to see how things are going for both her and Della. The pair have been living together for almost 2 years now. Della is estimated to be roughly 12 years old. Janet tell us that Della is doing great! She no longer requires any anxiety medicine. She even has been playing with her daughter’s dog. Della loves to use the ramp to get in and out of Janet’s car to go visit the cabin and run in the woods. Della’s favorite activity is to stalk the rabbits, but has yet to ever catch one. Janet said that Della loves to nap most of all. Janet reports that Della is great company and she thinks having a senior dog is a great idea especially for folks in her age group.