Listen into this weeks episode of Just Add Dogs. We're going down to the heart of Texas to talk with a woman whose heart is as big as Texas! Her name? Adrienne Wyse. She and her husband founded the senior dog sanctuary, Forgotten to Spoiled Rotten.
Hear the story of how Forgotten to Spoiled Rotten began and her thoughts on senior and hospice dogs, the love and heartache that go hand-in-hand with each other and what we can all do to help.
Check out their website at: www.forgottentospoiledrotten.com to see how you can help them continue their amazing work! Also follow them on Instagram at @travelinggirlrescuesdogs. Adreinne Wyse also mention these amazing little slings that she uses for her dogs from the Canadian company, The Snuggit.
Read the complete transcript below:
[Intro] Welcome to Just Add Dogs, a podcast dedicated to telling the heartwarming stories of rescue dogs and the people that saved them. Just Add Dogs, gives hope, smiles, and tail wags to both humans and canines alike. While shedding on the joys of adopting your next best friend. Lindsay Eland: Hello dog Lovers and dog rescuers. Just Add Dogs is back with another episode that spreads hope and inspiration because we're telling the stories of dogs who have been rescued and given another chance at love. I'm your host Lindsay. So today I'm joined by Adrienne Wyse, the founder of the dog sanctuary, Forgotten To Spoiled Rotten located in Burleson, Texas. First off, that's an amazing name. I love it, Forgotten To Spoiled Rotten. It doesn't get much better than that. Adrienne and her husband, Adam started this rescue, which provides safe and loving sanctuary to abused and neglected senior and hospice dogs. Their purpose is to ensure that the final months or years of a dog's life is filled with love, companionship and family. They want to prevent as many animals as possible from dying alone in a shelter. Some are adopted out once they receive medical treatment and any who don't find a home remain in their loving care at the sanctuary. These two know beyond a doubt that this is what they're meant to do. So, first off, I just love these two already. You guys have hearts as big, or I would say bigger than, Texas. Well, I'm so honored to have her, so let's give a big welcome to Adrienne. Thanks for coming on the show. Adrienne Wyse: Oh, thank you for having me. It's such a pleasure. Thank you so much. Lindsay Eland: What you do is so amazing. What was it that made you start wanting to rescue and care for senior and hospice dogs in the first place? Adrienne Wyse: I think it was just such an amazing incident that happened. I've always told my family over many years that there's really nothing that I need. So, whenever holidays come along, I always tell my family instead of buying gifts, why don't you give me things that I can donate to the shelter? Or why don't you go to the shelter and pay the adoption fee for a senior dog? And so, my family over the years, and my friends all started doing this. At one point, we were not rescuing, but I did love animals. This has been many years ago, but we went to the shelter and on the day that we were there waiting to drop off the donations, a couple came in and they had brought a very dog with them and they were surrendering this old dog. And they had put his leash on a hook on the wall while they filled out the paper and he laid down on the floor and after they filled out the paperwork for him, they just left and they didn't even pet him or pet his head or say goodbye. And I witnessed his reaction and it was very heart breaking because he knew that he had been left there. And this dog was able to hear, but he was blind and he was extremely thin and frail. And you know, my heart just broke for him. I just momentarily put myself, I guess, in his position.
And so, I knew the officer there and I said, have you put him in the computer yet? And he said, no. And I said, can we take him? Because he's not going to fair well. Not that it wasn't a great shelter. It is, but it's a very difficult situation for a young, healthy dog, you know, much less an older blind dog, that's very clearly ill. So, we took this dog home. You know, it was a very large dog and we got him to the vet the following day. And we found out that he was heartworm positive. He had every kind of medical condition you can think of including cancer. So, he stayed with us for a few weeks, but he mourned the entire time. He cried. He was sad. And eventually, you know, he got sick enough that we ended up having to euthanize him. But I said to my husband, when that had happened, I'm so grateful that he did not die alone in the shelter.
And so, I went back and I was of course, outraged and told the story to the gentlemen at the shelter. And I said, you know, this isn't right, this can't happen. And he said to me, it happens every day. And I said, well, if it happens again, because I didn't believe him that, you know, people would do that, then call me. And he started calling me and then pretty soon word spread to other shelters that we would help these older dogs. So that's really how we got started. And, you know, we were living in the same home for almost 30 years in the middle of the city and we realized that if we were going to do this, we needed to change our entire lives. And so, we sold the house that we'd been in for 30 years. And we moved out in the middle of the country, middle of nowhere. And my husband actually retired early. And he stayed home with the dogs all the time. And I have an office at home. So, both of us are home, you know, a lot. But these old senior dogs, they need your love. They need your time. They need a lot of care. And so, we realized that someone had to be home with them at all times. So that was just a decision that we made for our lives. Lindsay Eland: That's amazing. Adrienne Wyse: It all started with that one dog, that one incident and I feel like, you know, we were just put there for a reason. Lindsay Eland: Oh, Oh my gosh. What was that dog's name? Adrienne Wyse: Charlie. Biggest dog we've ever taken. He was a cross between a Saint Bernard and a Pitbull. Lindsay Eland: Wow. Adrienne Wyse: He was a beautiful dog, but big dogs for us, are you know, they're very difficult to handle. And so, I wish we were in a situation where we could help more larger dogs, but now we just focus on the smaller. Lindsay Eland: So, is there a story of a special hospice dog besides Charlie that you can tell us about whether that's recent, just a dog that was really special to you guys? I know all of them are I'm sure, but... Adrienne Wyse: They are. Every one of them is special to us, but there is one inparticular comes to mind that I was actually just talking about yesterday. And it was a dog that we had taken in by the name of Hazel, a little Chihuahua. And Hazel had been actually pulled by another rescue from the shelter. At the time that they'd pulled her, she had fleas so bad that in the video, her body looked like waves because there were so many fleas, you know. She had obviously not received any care. Her nails were very long and overall her body was terrible, but she ended up going into a foster situation that was not good for her. She went with a foster through that particular rescue that was really not patient with what her needs were and it really did not work out in that particular foster situation. So, we ended up getting a call from the other rescue, asking if we could take her and we did. And she was the most terrified little soul I've ever seen in my life. She was skin and bones for one thing. I actually, if anyone's out there interested in the story, I've posted a picture of her yesterday on our Instagram of what she looked like when we got her and then what she looked like three weeks late because she gained nine pounds in three weeks. We don't believe she was being fed or being fed enough. But she would hide behind our dryers. She would just hide everywhere. She would shake. She was petrified of every little thing. I cried about her every day; it broke my heart. But eventually we did find out that because she had been bred so much, she had developed mammary cancer.
And really there's not a lot that can be done about that. If they have surgery and then the cancer comes back, which is what had happened. So, we had her for about six months that was all that we had with her but this is why we do what we do. The very end, she actually came into my bedroom where she had never come. And I was sitting on a bench in our bedroom, you know, watching something on television. And she walked up and stood there and she looked at and she allowed me to pick her up, which was she had never done. And I picked her up and she buried her little head, my chest. And there's actually a picture of this posted on our Instagram as well. And she allowed me to kiss her and cuddle her. And it turned out that that was one of her final days. And I think that she knew that that day I knew that there was something very wrong that she had allowed that.
So, I took her to the vet and that's where we found out that the cancer had progressed. But we were so grateful to be able to give her those six months where she was safe, being fed. She had the opportunity to be a part of the family if she wanted to. And she would go outside with the other dogs. She did trust them. She would cuddle up in bed with the other dogs. So, she had companionship. And then at some point she realized that maybe she could trust us too. And you know, when that happens, it's one of the most rewarding feelings. There's nothing that anyone can give you or that you can buy that will feel as good as earning the trust of someone who's been betrayed by everyone. And I think about her all the time. So, her legacy, you know, really has lived on. And even though she was only with us a short time, she was a very valued member of our family. And she was someone that has propelled us to continue to help because there are so many out there like her, you know. Lindsay Eland: Oh my gosh, that's such a beautiful story. Hazel, you are not forgotten. We love you. We're thinking about you right now, girl, you are loved. Thank you for sharing that. So, caring for hospice dogs cannot obviously be easy on your heart. I'm sure knowing that you might not have them for very long. So how do you manage the constant grief of losing dogs that you inevitably care deeply for? No matter if you have them for a few days, a few weeks, few months, or few years, how do you manage that? Adrienne Wyse: It's hard. And people ask me this question all the time and they say that they couldn't do it, but it's really a mindset issue. You know, when we see these dogs come in and most of them that come, they're so broken, their little spirits are so broken. They've been abandoned. They've been betrayed, all kind of bad things have happened to them. Sometimes we have their backstories. Sometimes we don't. But they are alone in the world and to me, I cannot imagine a worse feeling than the feeling that no one wants you. And so that's how they come into our rescue. And at the time that they leave us again, they've had family, they've had friends, they go on car rides. We have custom bikes that were built, just big huge baskets in the back so that they can go on bike rides with us. We have grand dogs and they go visit at our grand dogs’ house and they've got friends everywhere. They go and they know love.
And so, I think that you have to look at it like they could have died alone in the shelter and that would have been the set of their lives, that they were unwanted, neglected, not provided with appropriate medical care, you know, suffering and pain and just feeling in general, like no one wanted me or they can have a few months of knowing that they are loved and adored and wanted. And I'll tell you what we have four vets that are our rock stars. I mean, they love these dogs. They take very good care of them. We're so blessed with the veterinary care that we have and are able to provide. And they've extended many of these dogs lives much longer than you would've ever thought possible. So, when they aske, does it hurt our heart? Yes, it does. But when you look at it, like we're so grateful to have been able to give them some good life. And we actually built a dog park at our house and in the dog park, if people come into the dog park, there's little reminders of every dog that has passed hidden in the dog park. So, for instance, we have two hand-painted Volkswagens and one of them has rainbow wheel covers. And in the rainbow wheel covers are the names of many of the dogs that have passed. Every time one passed. I run out there and I add their name. And I think also we keep their memory alive because we talk about them all the time. We have pictures of them everywhere. I'm not saying that we don't break down and cry about them a year or two or three, even after they're gone, we do, but we're just grateful to be able to have them know love. Lindsay Eland: What a beautiful perspective to have. Adrienne Wyse: You trade a little bit of pain for a lot of happiness. And I've had people ask me, would you stop doing it to not have the pain? To me the pain is worth it. It's a small price to pay for what you're giving to someone else. It really is. Lindsay Eland: 100%. That's so beautiful. So, besides the grief, what has been the hardest part of having a hospice senior dog sanctuary?
Adrienne Wyse: Well, I think the hardest part, and I probably shouldn't say this, but I'm going to anyway. I was talking with a friend of mine the other day and she made the comment to me. She said, do you know that in the last five minutes you've made the statement, I hate people five times. And I don't really hate people, but we do see a lot of unbelievable neglect, abuse, you know, lack of care. One thing that we see quite often, that's very sad to me is, you know, older people that have had pets and they love these pets more than anything in the world. And the older people pass away and the family will immediately at times, not always, but drop the pets at the shelter.
We've even had some cases where people cleaned out their family member's home and they put the pet outside and did not care what happened. Or we've had, you know, situations where a person died. They didn't have any family. The landlord will just put the pets outside, not worried about what happens with them. And you know, to me, I guess, because I'm a very compassionate and empathetic person, I would never be able to do that. And so, it's difficult for me to understand how people can walk past a living, breathing animal every day and see it suffering or see it deteriorating or see it not eating or whatever may be happening and just ignore that. Or how someone that you love can pass away and you will take something that they loved so much and just dispose of it. That part of it is very hard for me. You know, these senior dogs, it used to be that they just had a very hard time making it out of the shelter. Now I will say that I'm starting to see more and more that the rescues are stepping up for the senior dogs. And that's wonderful. It's wonderful. I'm so glad to see that. And that there's more and more people that are interested in adopting senior dogs, which is kind of a new trend, too. So, there's some good things going on. Lindsay Eland: Yeah. How do you manage that kind of disillusionment with the human race? I can see where you're coming from. You listen or hear these stories and you're like, oh my gosh, people are awful. Like how do you maybe help yourself keep perspective? Or do you just kind of bank on the love you have for these animals? Adrienne Wyse: What I think is a couple of things. First of all, I know it probably doesn't sound like it, but I really do try to give people the benefit of the doubt. So oftentimes when we get animals that may have belonged to older people. The animals are not well cared for. That doesn't mean that the person didn't love the animal. It may mean that they didn't have the resources or the means to get that animal, the care that it needed. So, I try as much as possible to give people the benefit of the doubt is one thing. I think another thing is that I sometimes just say, none of that is my problem. My problem is going forward. How are we going to get this animal restored back to where it needs to be? And oftentimes that involves, you know, the animal needs heart medication, or they need to be on a special diet for their kidneys, or maybe their mouths are rotten. They have bad teeth, they've got abscesses, they've got, you know, oral, nasal fistulas. They've got a lot of things that are causing them a lot of discomfort. So how do we get them quickly to the bet and get those things taken care of? How do we do that safely? Because lot of times with senior animals, we get a lot of heart patients in and if they have to have surgery. Then we've got to think about, they need an echocardiogram before they have the surgery.
So, I look at the situation at times and I think that's tragic, that’s sad, I wish that had never happened, but that's in the past and going forward, we just have to make it better. So, one thing I will say is I absolutely love Instagram because there are some truly amazing, amazing, uplifting, wonderful golden-hearted, caring people on Instagram. And those people have really become a part of our life and really, they become friends. They're very loving and supportive and they genuinely care about the animals, even if they're in Vancouver and you're in Texas and they see a way they can help, they will help. And so, seeing that there are still many, many, many good people in the world offsets some of that as well. A lot of things in life, it just requires really changing your mindset and seeing what's good about it, you know, or how do you look at it as an opportunity? And that's really how we try to, you know, look at these things. Lindsay Eland: I love that it is so much. Changing your mindset and looking at things in a different way moving forward. That's such an important part of, I feel like dog rescue and rehabilitation and loving, and I love that. Adrienne Wyse: You know, another part of dog rescue, that's so important as we all need to support each other. There are so many good rescues out there. And a lot of times they will step up and try to do something to help me. Or if I have the opportunity, I'll step up and try and do something to help them. It does take a village. It does take other rescues, helping you fosters helping you, great vets helping you. I'm very lucky to have a wonderful husband that's as passionate about this as I am. And he works tirelessly to help as well. So, it's just finding the people in your life that love and support your cause. And then just seeing how you can be positive about the whole situation. And if you can do that, then it's a very rewarding thing to do.
Music Interlude [Music Break 19:01] Lindsay Eland: Something you said earlier kind of moves into the next question I had for you. So most, if not all of the dogs that you take in as your own and care for as your own, were once a part of a family. So, what is kind of the biggest challenge you face when you're bringing them into your home, which is completely new to them, and you're trying to love them and show that you love them, but they're scared. And you know, kind of what obstacles do you run into with that change in a dog's life that they don't understand? Adrienne Wyse: I will say that that's the hardest part of it is people think that dogs don't grieve or their hearts don't break, or they don't feel the pain of loss. And I can tell you that that is categorically not true. They do. But one thing that we have found is that they cling to whoever will bring them comfort. And so, if we have a dog that comes in, that's suffering the pain of abandonment, neglect, separation, loss, whatever, we make sure that that dog gets a lot of extra attention that we hold that dog a lot. We have a wonderful company out of Vancouver that has provided us with these wonderful Snuggit bags https://thesnuggit.com/ that we can put the dogs in. We can think and always be there no matter what we're doing. And they'd love that. And the really interesting thing to me is that the other dogs can tell when a dog comes in, that's broken, broken in terms of their heart or their spirit. You know? And many of the other dogs will surround that dog and lay down with them or give them kisses or cuddle with them and make that dog feel welcome and feel like part of the pack. And I've never had it fail.
Usually, you know, a few days they're pretty sad. And then pretty soon, they're like, Oh, you know, this isn't so bad. I've got friends here. I'm getting food. I've got people that are paying attention to me. I don't know whether they grieve, you know, long-term beyond that. They probably do, but dogs are very resilient. And as long as they're receiving love and care, they adapt pretty quickly. To that point it's been very interesting. We've taken in over the years, three or four dogs that belonged to elderly people that had to go into nursing facilities. And there was no family member that could help or would help or whatever. And we have made it a point to take those dogs, to visit those people. And oftentimes we take them there and the dog recognizes the person they'll wag their tail and they're happy to see them, but they'll inevitably always want to come back with that. Like, it doesn't seem to be a trauma to them to see that person and then to leave with us. So, at some point, I think that they do gain some sort of understanding of what has occurred, but it's really just time. Time and love. And I'm so grateful to have these other little guys that are so loving and so accepting. We don't have fighting. We don't have any of that. And so, I think that helps, you know, a lot too. Again, it just takes a village. It's not just Adam and I. You know, we have a daughter that loves the dogs and she comes over and spend a lot of time with them, especially the new ones. So, we're just, we're very blessed to be surrounded by people that have loved to give and want to do that. Lindsay Eland: Oh, that's awesome. Dogs are just so amazing. I love that you see them comforting each other and accepting each other. And that's awesome. So, you don't have to worry at least right now, or have you, I guess, had to worry about any kind of fights among them or not getting along, with so many coming in and out all the time? Adrienne Wyse: Well, you know, the good news about these old souls is that they've kind of lost the fight. You know, most of them now, every once in a while, you know, we will have one that comes in that is a problem, but we're lucky that we have great fosters. And so, if we have a dog that isn't getting along with the dog set in our, in our home for some reason, or maybe they're a little bit bigger dog, and we have the teeny tiny ones and they're knocking them over accidentally, or, you know, whatever, we have the first option of having wonderful fosters, where we can usually find a great fit for those dogs. But if we can't, we have a couple of other rescues that we partner with that do have open fosters and they will allow us at times to either transfer that dog to their rescue or they'll allow us to borrow one of their fosters. And so that has worked out really, really well, a handful of times. And we're very grateful for those partnerships, but, you know, I posted a video this morning of one of our dogs, Walter, who's just perpetually cranky. And the other dogs, he is a grumpy old man. We adore him. And unfortunately, Walter has stomach cancer. So, he gets away with pretty much whatever, you know, he wants to get away with. But the other dogs know that Walter is grumpy. And so, they just sort of, you know, give him a wide berth. And it's funny because they do learn each other's personalities and they do buddy up, they have little cliques, you know, with different ones that are friends. And then they have ones that they know is probably great, but I'm just going to steer clear because he might snap at me. You know? It all works out in the end. Lindsay Eland: That's great. And like you said, again, it takes a village just supporting each other in all of the rescue. It's so nice that you have those partnerships and people willing to help this one dog. So, everybody comes together. It's not us and you and them. It's all of us together. Adrienne Wyse: There's been some of that in rescue in the past and I hope that that's a thing of the past. I really see people starting to work together more and be supportive more and look at new ways of doing things. And I think that's just wonderful. Lindsay Eland: I do too. I think that's awesome. So, people are usually surprised when someone says they've adopted a senior dog and especially if they've adopted a hospice dog. So how do you think we can normalize adopting senior and hospice dogs in spite of the fact that the truth is they aren't going to be with you as long as a puppy or a younger dog. Adrienne Wyse: That's the reason I started my Instagram account to begin with this because I wanted people to see how wonderful that older dogs are, the senior dogs are. I think that, you know, one of the challenges with hospice dogs in particular and seniors is that there's several challenges. One is that they can be very expensive. And what I was telling people that we work with is that we will work with them to find the most affordable vet care we can find. Oftentimes they need medication and some of the medications that the doctors prescribed that are their standard medications can be very expensive, but there are often other medications that will achieve the same result that you might have to get them from a pharmacy like CVS or Walgreens or something like that. But if you find the right vet and explain to them what your limitations are financially, a lot of them will try to work with you to give those alternative medications for you to help with the costs. So, I mean, I think the cost is one thing, another way that I think we can probably get more seniors and more hospice dogs out. And I do see this happening is for people to step up and say, listen, I love these dogs and I'd love to have one. I may not be able to afford the care.
So, what I would like to do is to foster for a rescue, because if you foster a senior dog or a hospice dog for a rescue, that rescue will be responsible for the medical care, what they want you to be responsible for is the love and the friendship. And, you know, you will have to get that dog to the bed appointments and things like that. It's exactly like you're a dog owner, but you just have the financial responsibility if you foster and, in every city, every state there's rescues begging for fosters. And you know, if we could get more fosters, we could get more dogs out, you know, that would just be a wonderful, wonderful thing. But for people that actually want to adopt, you know, those dogs, I would just say, you know, be prepared financially to take care of a senior or a hospice, make sure you have a vet that is very familiar with senior and hospice. Check out resources in your city for where you can get lower that care.
So, for instance, I live in Texas and we have two foundations. You can go there for basic things like dental care shots, wellness, exams, heartworms, treatment, those kinds of things and they're not profits, it's a much more affordable option then probably, you know, a standard vet now you probably would need a standard vet for other things. But, you know, you can split out your care and say for these things, I'm going to go to this resource. And for these things, I'm going to go to this one. And then I would just say to make sure that you're mentally prepared, there are people that absolutely could not do it. They cannot take the loss and they know that about themselves. And that's a good thing to know because you don't want to get into it and then figure out that you're so concerned about when is this pet going to pass away? How much time do we have that? You know, you're upset about it at all times.
There are other people that, you know, feel the same way we do that but they just want to take in someone that needs love and care and give them a happy ending to their life because dogs do live in the moment and, you know, we can give them their last moment, just happy ones. There's a lot of people that want to do that. So, I just think that raising the awareness through the sources that we have Instagram, Facebook, you know, your program about how wonderful these dogs are and what the need is. Oftentimes when I tell people that we adopt extreme seniors or hospice dogs, they didn't really even understand, you know, they'll say to me what you mean, someone dropped their dog off at the shelter when it had cancer. Yeah, they do. Do they do that to be unkind? No. Most of the time they do it because they don't have the resources to care for that animal. But we're lucky in that we do have the resources, thank God because we have wonderful supporters and donors. So oftentimes we can take a dog that has cancer and they can live another six months to a year or maybe even a little bit longer with the appropriate care. So, to your question, I mean, it really is an education process and it really is finding people that have the heart to do it. Lindsay Eland: Yeah. Oh, I love that. Adrienne Wyse: It just takes a certain type of person. But the good news is there's so many other dogs that need help that if it's not your calling to do seniors or to do hospice, and there's just so many other dogs out there that need help there's puppies, there's, middle-age dogs, there's handicap dogs, there's all kinds of animals out there that need help and we're grateful for everyone that steps up and helps whether it's a senior or a puppy. You know? Lindsay Eland: I love, as I mentioned before, the name of your rescue. So how do you make the dogs in your care feel spoiled rotten? Adrienne Wyse: Well, you know, we've been very, very blessed. Like I said, my husband is retired, so he's at home all the time and I just make fun of him because he just cares for these dogs 24 hours a day. He is constantly giving them snacks or giving them medicine or making their lunch. He serves their lunch on big trays and takes their food out too. We had a company that worked with us to build some custom bikes that have very large baskets so we can take them out on rides on the bike. We have a little convertible, so we'll put some of them in there and just take them out for rides on nice days so they get out of the house. We moved on to a property that has three acres and we built a dog park there. So, we just leave our back door open and they can go out into the dog park and they can play. And, you know, we just try to, um, make sure that everything that they touch is comfortable and soft. They have lots of places, they can take long naps. I work at home. I have an old Airstream that's converted into an office and we had it custom built for the dogs so they can come out and work with me. And their big thing is that they want to be with you. They want to touch you. They want you to pet them. And I could be on zoom calls all day long for my job and I'm right next to me, I can be petting dogs. You know? Lindsay Eland: And just to let all my listeners know right now she has like the cutest little dog sitting on her lap that I got to see. Who's just so sweet. So, when she says she really does work and do zoom calls and everything with dogs in her lap, she's not joking. Adrienne Wyse: Well, you know, I'm very lucky. My company, the company I work for is very, very supportive. And oftentimes when we get on Zoom calls, you know, they want to see the dogs and stuff. And my customers are wonderful. I've worked in the food industry and I have worked with a lot of big restaurant chains and things like that. And the people at those accounts are amazing and they love the dogs too. And so, I've just been really blessed to have a life full of people that are very loving, supportive, encouraging, and help me do everything I can to make sure that that they have good lives. Lindsay Eland: Oh my Gosh that sounds amazing. The Airstream and the dog and the rides in the car, everything, I love that. Adrienne Wyse: About once a month, we go and visit a nursing home. They love that because you know, the older people there just, they love them. They love to hold them and all of that. And my mother was actually a patient in that nursing home at one point. And we just had developed a very good relationship with them and the staff there. And I think that, you know, anyone that has pets, if you have a children's hospital or you have a nursing home or assisted living or anything like that near you, they love it when you come and visit. And especially when you come and visit and bring pets that are, you know, sweet and there's no worry about them biting or anything like that. So, I would encourage everyone to look into that if you've got a place that you could do that. Lindsay Eland: So beautiful. My last question, how many dogs do you guys have currently at the sanctuary? Adrienne Wyse: We have 28 dogs in the program right now, but they're not all at the sanctuary. We've got five fosters that are with us all the time. And so many of the dogs are out with the fosters. In fact, I was just talking to one of our fosters right before I spoke with you. And she's got three of our dogs right now. Two of them are hospice dogs. And one of them is an extreme senior with an attitude. We were talking about that, but we've been very blessed. We've had the same fosters for a very long time and they're wonderful people that love dogs and are very willing to open their homes and very willing to go to the vet and make special food and do anything that they need to do. So, we feel very lucky. But we try to keep it between about 25 and 30, because that's about what we can manage with the fosters. We're lucky our youngest daughter also fosters for us as well. And so, she doesn't have any fosters right now. She actually adopted her last foster [inaudible 34:32] fostering family. Lindsay Eland: So, is there anything before we start getting into our little adoptable dog, is there anything else you want to share with our listeners? Adrienne Wyse: First of all, I'm so glad to have the opportunity to be here and to talk with you. But you know, what I would say to the listeners is if you have room in your home or in your heart for a dog, think about what's the best match for your family and what's the best match for you. If you feel that you can adopt a senior pet or a hospice dog and deal with the pain of losing that pet, but also celebrate the joy that you were able to give that pet, please consider doing it. Because especially right now, this time of year, there are so many senior dogs that are abandoned this time of year when families adopt puppies for Christmas and they take the old dog to the shelter. And then there's the new dog. We get calls from shelters all over the country. And we have been called and called and called in the last month about so many seniors. And, you know, just, I just ask people to kind of look inside their heart and see if they think that's something they could do. And if they could please contact your local rescues or your local shelter and let them know that you're open to doing that, I can tell you that that would be so very much appreciated by so many people. The shelters are so grateful when the seniors are able to get out. Lindsay Eland: Yes. Remember to foster contact your shelter. And yeah, there's a lot of senior dogs that are looking for love and that deserve to be loved and deserve a family. So, before we introduce our feature adoptable dog, I want to tell you just a little bit more about Forgotten To Spoiled Rotten. As I mentioned before, they focus on the senior hospice and special needs dogs that are often overlooked in shelters. They generally take in dogs that are over 15 years old and under five pounds. Although there have been some exceptions, many of the dogs that come into the rescue are in early kidney failure, have cancer, or are epileptic. These dogs stay in the sanctuary until they pass away. For many of these dogs, it is the first time that they have had a family or even lived-in doors. So, while these animals receive the best veterinary care available, the purpose of the rescue is to ensure that the final months of their lives are filled with love, companionship and family. I love that so much.
So now let's see if we can get Taffy, this sweet little adoptable dog, adopted. Taffy was found on the side of a road in Alba, Texas, the person who found her, published her photo to a lost and found page, but left her there. And then two weeks later, she was turned into a vet clinic in that town by a different person who had found her. She was in really bad shape and obviously a breeder dog. And it appears that she had been over-bred and then dumped. But despite this she's just a happy, joyful girl. She is sweet and easygoing with everyone she meets. She is heartworm positive, but don't let that deter you. I have fostered and loved a heartworm positive dog, and she was awesome. She was amazing. And it's not a lot of work. It's just a lot of love and quiet time, which is good. So, Taffy is undergoing treatment now, but it will take up to a year for the worms to be completely gone and for her heartworm to be negative.
So due to this, she cannot be spayed or have her dental done because they need to get her heart strong. She's a giant cuddler and a Lovebug, and the rescue will cover the cost of all the procedures that she needs when she is heartworm negative. She wants to be the center of attention, which is not difficult because she is just so cute and friendly. She was starving when she arrived and has gained a little too much weight so she would love someone to take her on some walks. And she would do well as an only dog or with a companion. They don't know how she is with cats, but she is sweet and gentle with children. So, let's get sweet little taffy adopted.
Remember, Taffy is available now at the recording of this podcast but she might already be adopted by the time you listen, you can cross your fingers. That said, go ahead and visit Forgotten To Spoiled Rotten for more information on their sanctuary and ways that you can support this amazing sanctuary and rescue.
You'll find information @www.forgottentospoiledrotten.com and on our show notes at www.justadddogspodcast.com, and you can follow them on Instagram at, @travelinggirlrescuesdogs. So, go ahead and give them a following. You'll get to see all the precious dogs that they rescue and that are in their care.
So, in addition to subscribing to this podcast, follow us on Facebook and Instagram and go to www.justadddogspodcast.com to download my free resource guide called the basic guide to adopting your next best friend. And if you have adopted your best friend or maybe two or five, and would like to tell your story, please send an email to me at justadddogspodcast@gmail.com or direct message me on Instagram at, @Just Add Dogs podcast. And then if you find a rescue or a shelter or a sanctuary that you love and adore, go ahead and send me an email or a direct message so that I can feature them on the show. Thank you so much for tuning in and listening. I'm so excited to always connect with other dog lovers and support dogs in need. Thank you so much, Adrienne, for being with us today.
Adrienne Wyse: Thank you for having me.
Lindsay Eland: Thank you for coming on. That was so amazing in every possible way. So, until next week, I'm your host. Lindsay,
[Outro] Find us on social media @ Just Add Dogs Podcast or on our website, www.justadddogspodcast.com, check back weekly for new episodes until next time. Remember that to make anything better, Just Add Dogs.