When Jessica Miller first saw Grandma Dot at the LifeLine Animal Project in Atlanta, Georgia and heard her story, she “was in tears thinking about her staying there for the remainder of her life.”
Grandma Dot is a deaf elderly Pit Bull who is dog-reactive and has heartworm and untreatable lymphoma. Dot had been at the shelter since February, but after her lymphoma diagnosis, the staff beefed up their efforts to find a foster home for Dot so she could know love and family before she died. That’s when Miller stepped up to the plate and agreed to foster Grandma Dot.
It’s thought that Grandma Dot lived outside before coming to LifeLine. She had a heavy chain padlocked to her neck when she was brought in. Miller told iHeartDogs that she thinks Grandma Dot “was used for breeding purposes a lot and then surrendered when they didn’t want her anymore.”
Since Miller is doing hospice care for her foster dog, she and LifeLine use the term “fospice” to describe Dot’s final home.
Miller brought Dot home on July 8, 2017, and in the weeks since then, Dot has changed her life.
According to Miller:
“Grandma Dot has changed my life in a lot of amazing ways. One of the biggest challenges we have had is learning how to communicate because she is deaf. Talk about an amazing learning experience… you have an animal who depends on you for their every need and they can’t hear anything.
I’ve learned to communicate potty time, dinner time, treats, praise, and ‘hello’ and ‘goodbye’ with her. I didn’t know that I would be taught patience, my heart would grow even bigger with love for her, and she would make me appreciate each day as a total blessing. Tomorrow is never guaranteed, but we do have today!”
Miller takes care of the pup’s special needs, and Grandma Dot doesn’t mind taking her medication…
“All she takes is a chewy tablet in the morning for her joint health and a prednisone pill to help keep the inflammation in her lymph nodes down. That’s it! She is by far the best pill taker I’ve ever encountered as well so she makes it extra easy!”
…And she’s spoiled with plenty of treats.
“Grandma Dot loves ice cream, pizza, popcorn, and steak! Pretty much any food or treats she can get a hold of she will eat, except she isn’t a fan of veggies. One of her favorite things to do is chew on her Kong or bones and she adores car rides!”
Miller shares Dot’s life on The Adventures of Grandma Dot on Facebook and updates it almost every day. She loves the attention that Grandma Dot is receiving, but she wants to remind people that dogs all around the country are looking for the same amount of love and attention.
“I encourage people to go out of their comfort zones and do ‘dog for a day,’ volunteer in the shelters, become a foster parent (it is so worth it), or go adopt your best friend.”
(H/T: The Dodo)
