Original post in /r/BeforenAfteradoption http://www.reddit.com/r/BeforeNAfterAdoption/comments/2umdtn/shes_not_adopted_she_will_most_likely_live_out/
TL;DR: Matilda was thought to be on her last weeks. 3 months later, she found her home with a family that desperately needed her.
Matilda was an old gal that came to me as an emergency. She was living in a storage facility, in a crate, with a cat as her owner had found herself homeless. Eventually, her person stopped coming by and the owner of facility called animal control. They took in Matilda, but unfortunately, lost the cat in the process. Matilda was then kept in the medical unit of Orange County Animal Shelter, hidden from public view. Then, her number was up. She was made available to the public, and because of her age and medical issues (all of which were entirely manageable) she was scheduled to be put down that same day unless a plan could be formed. Enter Lionel's Legacy. Some may recognize the name from Mufasa, the dog rescued from a sewage treatment plant who has since found his forever home.
Anyway, Lionel's Legacy did what they normally do. They put out an announcement for Matilda looking for a hospice foster, with the understanding that this dog was on death's door. We didn't know anything other than what the shelter was willing to release and that was that she was old and was a medical mess. Based off the information, we assumed she wouldn't last long, but we wanted to provide a loving home in her last days. This is something that Lionel's Legacy specializes in. I saw the post and offered my home, thinking she'd maybe last a few weeks at most. The next day, and she was at my door. It was obvious she had never lived in a house as she was terrified of doorways, and visibly, she looked absolutely terrible. Her coat was beyond dirty, she could barely stand, and she was scared of everything. She spent a good solid 4 hours trying to look for a way to escape. After what was probably her first bath the next day, she calmed down. She had gotten a clean bill of health from our vet (which was weird considering the shelter deemed her on death's door) and from then on, the process of finding the perfect family started.
Matilda, aside from Mufasa, had probably the most applications Lionel's Legacy has ever received for one particular dog and I attribute that to her being a Husky. It is a desirable breed, especially in our So Cal area, but once people found out her age, we never heard back. It had been about 3 months and Matilda was the star of every adoption event. Sweet old gal just laid down and loved being fawned all over, but still, each time, mostly everyone was deterred by her age.
Then, last week, a family contacted the rescue regarding Matilda. They had just lost their Husky the week before and found their family was severely empty. Their son, who has Asperger's was especially taking it hard. He brought her collar to school every day. He didn't smile anymore. He was hurting more than any of them. They thought they should start looking for another dog to help him heal and that's when they found Matilda. I agreed their application sounded perfect, and so we met the family with Matilda in tow. I'll preface with this: I am EXTREMELY critical of the people who look at the dogs I foster... probably to a fault. As soon as we met, I knew this was it. Everyone in the family lit up as I drove past looking for the meeting spot, with Matilda in the window. When we got out, the son walked right up to her and started petting her so gently. We all talked and I had their son take Matilda for a short walk for some bonding time. He didn't need any encouraging. They knew everything about Matilda, even the day she came into my home (something I couldn't even remember). The family then shared their story about the 6 year old Husky they adopted in September that passed. It was touching how hard they fought to save her. While he was walking Matilda, the parents mentioned this was the first time they saw their son smile in a week. When he came back, they asked what he thought and he said he wanted her. Knowing Matilda is an older gal, they made sure he understood that he would need to deal with death again, and he just turned around and said, "Iceberg (his previous dog), would have wanted her to come home with us." I was floored and almost cried.
We do a 2 week foster to adopt period, and on Friday, Matilda's run started. They were ready to adopt her right there as they said she was already a part of them. The entire family was amazing and SO excited. While I was there, they showed me the book they had made of Iceberg, and while they had said Matilda looked like her, I hadn't realized how much until that point. Iceberg really was the younger version of Matilda. Within 5 minutes of leaving, the family emailed me the pictures I've posted thanking me for their new family member. When people ask how I could possibly let go of a foster I've grown to love, this is why. I don't take any decision lightly in rescue and I'm willing to hold onto a dog forever if I feel the family isn't the best possible situation, but this family made a mark on me. Matilda made a mark on me. This will be the story I tell people when they are on the fence about fostering.
Matilda was deemed too old and too broken to be adopted. She was far from it. I urge anyone reading this to reconsider what they believe to be a "too-far-gone" case, and to sincerely look at our senior dogs in a different way. They're amazing, loving, and extremely dignified creatures. There is absolutely a place for them in our crazy world.