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Elizabeth "monster" Borden (Mac's Beaver)

Jester

By Jester
in Remembrance

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Jester Sr Grey Lover

Jester

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Lizzie had quite the eventful life. I've never told her story before because it was in her best interests to be icognito, but I will tell it now.

 

She came to my adoption group (GEGR) as "Tammy" in 2004. She was adopted straight from the hauler to a lovely, older woman who renamed her Alice. She lived there for about a year when her owner passed away. She came back to GEGR and was placed in a new home, with a new name: "Ginger." She lived with that family for a few years and got into all kinds of trouble. She attacked their neighbor's little dog and put it into ICU. She also occasionally bit their young son. A few months later, she bit another neighbor's dog's tail off THROUGH the fence between their yards. That signed her death warrant - you see she was living in Virginia, and two attacks to companion animals there gets you labeled as a viscious dog. We found all this out when her family had to make a choice - pay for the extra home owner's insurance, place placards all around their property, and keep her on leash/muzzled anytime she left the house, or have her euthanized. They called me (it was the week of Christmas) to let me know they were going to have her euthanized. My husband and I quickly asked them to give her up, back to the group instead. They agreed without hesitation (they felt they had failed her) and my husband drove to the vet's office in Virginia immediately to get her.

 

His telling of that story is much better than mine, and is much better in person so you should have him tell you when you see him. In a nut shell, when he let the folks behind the counter know he was there to pick up "Ginger" they responded in hushed silence, with a cold stare, and then emptied the waiting room. That's right, it was the end of December and they made everyone take their pets outside. They then brought a belly-crawling, terrified "Ginger" out of the back room sporting a bright red bandanna. My husband said the sight of it all made him laugh. He signed the release papers, removed the bandanna and then took her outside and mingled with all of the people from the waiting room until "Ginger" calmed down. He brought her straight home and we began the process of deciding what to do with her.

 

We (GEGR Board of Directors) discussed putting her in doggy "witness protection." Basically, we would send her back to the track where they would obliterate her ear tattoos and "lose" her (send her to another group in another part of the country). We talked about euthanizing her. We talked about rehabilitating her, too. The final decision was to give her a week at the Wainwright boot camp and assess her and then make a decision about what to do with her. I quickly determined that she was just a very sensitive dog who needed the right mixture of firm and friendly in an owner. We kept her for about 2 months, working with her on basic training at home and also taking her out and about to socialize her properly. After those 2 months, I mentioned to my husband that I thought it was time to put her on the website and find her a home. After all, we knew what she needed in an owner. He disagreed. He actually looked me straight in the eye and said, "I think she'll need to be here for at least a year before we consider adopting her out, and if she needs to stay longer than that she can." I was dumbfounded. I told him that there was no way I was prepared to keep her that long. We bickered back and forth for about another month until his birthday - I adopted her and gave her to him. It was a match made in heaven.

 

We decided then it was time for her to have a new name. We tried on lots of names, but the one that stuck was Lizzie Borden. We thought that was pretty fitting given her checkered past. Her nickname became Lizzie the Monster, and then was shortened to just Monster. I do think we called her Monster more than we called her Lizzie laughing6.gif Over that next year I believe that she bit everyone in my family except me. Kids really aren't very smart, but I'm not sure what my husband's excuse was. Oh there were certainly times that she *wanted* to bite me. She would get frustrated, pull her head back and bite the air off to the side (making sure I knew that she wasn't *actually* going to bite me, but that she was mad).

 

In the last few years I found myself calling her Elizabeth rather than Lizzie or Monster. She really did turn into a sweet, fun, happy dog. She was one of those pups that would whine just to hear herself whine, which drove me absolutely insane. She knew it, too. I would tell her that I didn't like her, I didn't want to adopt her (My husband made me do it), and that she was just a meanie. She would look back at me with a twinkle in her eye, wag her tale, and let out a YOWLING whine. Damn dog. This past weekend, Lizzie suddenly got very sick in the course of a day. I thought it was just a stomach bug, but after about 5 days of nursing her back, I took her to the vet's office today and we discovered that she had a rather large mass in her abdomen. While we were discussing possible courses of action, Lizzie had a very intense, full body seizure. I made the decision to let her go, and I know it was the right one.

 

Lizzie, you damn dog -- I'm miss you already.

Dee
with June Bug (June Bash) & Jazzy (Superior Jasmine)
Squirrel Wars Blog (http://thesquirrel.is-a-player.com)
Missing Lizzie, Maisy Ann & Bella Ann, Chadcek, Lady, Cooper, Tiera, and Sider from Greyt Expectations Greyhounds

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robinw Greyaholic

robinw

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Diane and Paul, I'm so very sorry. She couldn't have ended up in a better home. flowers_red.gif

siggy_robinw_tbqslg.jpg
Xavi the galgo and Peter the cat. Missing Iker the galgo ?-Feb.9/19, Treasure (USS Treasure) April 12/01-May 6/13, Phoenix (Hallo Top Son) Dec.14/99-June 4/11 and Loca (Reko Swahili) Oct.9/95 - June 1/09, Allen the boss cat, died late November, 2021, age 19.

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Batmom Greyaholic

Batmom

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I'm so sorry.

 

Godspeed, special girl.

Star aka Starz Ovation (Ronco x Oneco Maggie*, litter #48538), Coco aka Low Key (Kiowa Mon Manny x Party Hardy, litter # 59881), and mom in Illinois
We miss Reko Batman (Trouper Zeke x Marque Louisiana), 11/15/95-6/29/06, Rocco the thistledown whippet, 04/29/93-10/14/08, Reko Zema (Mo Kick x Reko Princess), 8/16/98-4/18/10, the most beautiful girl in the whole USA, my good egg Joseph aka Won by a Nose (Oneco Cufflink x Buy Back), 09/22/2003-03/01/2013, and our gentle sweet Gidget (Digitizer, Dodgem by Design x Sobe Mulberry), 1/29/2006-11/22/2014, gone much too soon. Never forgetting CJC's Buckshot, 1/2/07-10/25/10.

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RobinM Greyaholic

RobinM

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A very heart felt tribute to a very special girl. I am so sorry.

 

 

 

 

ROBIN ~ Mom to: Beau Think It Aint, Chloe JC Allthewayhome, Teddy ICU Drunk Sailor, Elsie N Fracine , Ollie RG's Travertine, Ponch A's Jupiter~ Yoshi, Zoobie & Belle, the kitties.

Waiting at the bridge Angel Polli Bohemian Ocean , Rocky, Blue,Sasha & Zoobie & Bobbi

Greyhound Angels Adoption (GAA) The Lexus Project

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