I drove to South Florida on December 11th and picked up Monty. I wasn’t sure what I would find when I got to him but the sight of this poor little Scottie in an emaciated body that was covered in ticks and had a severe case of kennel cough to boot was enough to bring me to tears.

We didn’t know at that time but Monty had a much larger battle on his hands.

When we arrived home and gave Monty a bath we noticed a huge tumor in his mouth, the lower right jaw. My Husband and I were devastated, I had never seen anything like it before but I knew it was not good. It did explain why Monty was so emaciated, he probably could not eat the dry food that the shelter was providing.

We made Monty very comfortable that night, he slept in a pair of PJ’s and a wooly coat, we kept him in our Guest House away from our other dogs. When I went to get him the next morning he was still laying in the same position that I had left him in the night before, I had to wake him up. He must have been exhausted. I think it had been a long time since he had a full belly of hamburger meat and a good nights sleep.

The morning bought Monty into a whole new world he was just so pleased jumping all around and loving all of the of the other dogs. (You see, Monty never met a stranger, he loved every one). I always remember the first time he saw my 16 year old dog for the first time at the water dish, I thought he would kiss him to death.

The afternoon was not so good for us. Monty and I went to our local Veterinarian for a check over. I remember putting Monty on the scale to get his weight and dreading going in to the examining room because of what I would have to face. The news was grim, our veterinarian was certain that this tumor was Malignant Melanoma (oral) and that at best Monty would have only about 2 more weeks left to live. It was recommended to me by the vet that Monty be put to sleep immediately. I decided not to based on the wonderful morning that we had shared. I had the vet take a biopsy of the tumor just to be sure, we also got some medicine for the kennel cough.

Monty continued to improve over the next day or two. The worst problem was the tumor that constantly bled and caused him to drool all the time. I followed him around with a wash cloth. We had a call back soon in those couple of days from the Vet confirming the diagnosis and him telling me again that Monty’s days were short. Still Monty continued to improve.

My Husband and I decided that we were going to make sure that Monty’s last days on earth would be his best.

I contacted another Vet in town that practiced Holistic Medicine as well as some conventional. After a visit with him we decided that Monty’s prognosis may not be so grim. We decided that if only for Monty’s comfort the tumor must come out. The tumor was removed almost immediately and Monty’s recovery was excellent. We supplemented Monty’s diet with lots of herbs and vitamins and also went for Acupuncture twice weekly. While Monty was in our care he never so much as touched a piece of dog food. Monty ate only home cooked meals, the same as our other dogs, lots of beef heart, chicken and pork with lots of veggies, he gained 8 pounds while with us. When it became harder to chew we cooked steaks medium rare on our grill every night for him, it was easy to cut a slit in the steak for pill hiding purposes and Monty could swallow the steak without a lot of chewing.

Christmas came and went, then the New year and Valentines day and Monty’s still going strong. We are lucky in that we have a large piece of property and everyday Monty came right along with myself and all our other dogs for a very long walk and stick chasing contests, even waded in our pond many times.

Monty stayed well for much longer than we had ever expected, but suddenly the Monday before Easter he got very tired, no more jumping around or wanting to walk our grounds. I had the Vet draw blood and that told us that Monty’s cell count was very low. The lowest it had ever been. We knew the end was immanent now.

Monty did try to perk up the next day but he didn’t even make it around our pond once, he tried very hard but knew he couldn’t make it and just sat and watched the other dogs from under the tree. He still had his appetite though and ate steak that Tuesday night. Wednesday was horrible, Monty was so weak. I called the vet and explained what was going on and I was told that the end was near and that I could bring him in and have him put to sleep. I wanted Monty put to sleep at home but we never had a Vet available so my little man was taken to the office so that they could help him cross over. I knew Monty had given it his best shot. He had given us his best 3 1/2 months, but still it had not been anywhere near what I had wished for.

My Husband and I stayed with Monty, we never left his side. We then bought him home and buried him in his casket under one of our big oaks by his favorite pond.

Two days later 2 of our other Scotties joined Monty in Heaven very unexpectedly. We were devastated and being fairly new to rescue I decided that rescue was not for me. That lasted about thirty minutes because every time I thought of Monty I just kept thinking that if I had not been available to him that he would have died at that shelter emaciated, tick infested, tumor in his mouth and his dignity stripped. He deserved better.

Some may not agree with all that we gave to Monty, some may think that we just prolonged his agony. Let me put your thoughts to rest and tell you that our little man had the time of his life with us, he lived a full life in the short time we had him and touched our hearts in a way some may never understand. I always think it’s better to have had a rough start than a rough finish. I know what I would rather have.

I did contact Monty’s previous owner during the time I had him (the shelter had released him with his ID tag on). I was told that she knew Monty was sick because he was bleeding from the mouth, she never had a car so she had Animal Control come pick him up. She then asked if she could have him back!!!!! I would like to think that this person was mentally ill and not of sound mind because it is really sad to think that someone of sound mind could be so cruel.

I wanted to tell Monty’s story because I want people to know how special Animals are, especially dogs and especially Scotties. I want everyone to know how special they should feel that they have been chosen to be owned by this wonderful breed and how important Scottie Rescue is.

Shortly after the loss of our Scotties we took in 6 Scotties from a breeding facility that was downsizing. We kept with us the oldest breeding pair that had been together a fairly long time and adopted the other four to wonderful Scottie homes.

And so the cycle of rescue continues, I know Monty as well as Ferguson and Macdougal would have approved.

I would like to thank our Friend Loretta who freed Monty, My Husband, Brian, Dr. Phil (Skip) Hightman and most of all Monty.

Sincerely,

Brian and Gaynor Leonard

North Florida Scottish Terrier Rescue