Amina
10) This little bi-colored ("bi-black") girl is Amina, whom we named after an African (Hausa) princess who lived in the 15th century. Amina, whom we believed (in 2002) to be between 5and 8 years of age, was found wandering the streets of West Valley City on an extremely hot summer day and turned over to the West Valley animal shelter. When the required number of days had passed, we rescued her from the shelter and brought her into the Sheltie Rescue program. Unfortunately, just after she came to us, she began having grand mal seizures (several in a day). Our veterinarian's diagnosis was that Amina was having cluster seizures and put her on a variety of medications, which she had to take for the rest of her life. Our vet told us early in 2003 that Amina probably had no more than a couple of months to live, but she was a veritable Energizer Bunny...she kept on going and going and going. Amina obviously had a very hard life in the past and suffered from fairly serious arthritis, but with the relief and reduction in joint inflammation that the Rimadyl gave her, she became one of the most enthusiastic ball chasers and catchers we know. Unfortunately, Amina had several neurologic disorders, possibly caused by some sort of meningitis (or injury or poison or who-knows-what). She was not adoptable and lived with us in hospice care until she died of stomach cancer and crossed the Rainbow Bridge on 19 December, 2005. We'll miss Amina for a very long time.

Annie
13) Annie's owner in the St. George area had decided he was going to "do away with her" either by shooting her or throwing her into traffic! A neighbor intervened and brought her home. He found Sheltie Rescue and, with the help of CARE of Sevier County, Annie was transported from St. George to Richfield and then to Sheltie Rescue. Her teeth were in horrendous shape, her breath was foul, and she could hardly eat because of the pain. Despite that, foxtails all over her, and being arthritic, Annie was attentive, responsive, willing, and loving. She had a world-class dental and began acting like a kid again. She rediscovered the joy of savoring her meals with a pain- and odor-free mouth. And with some TLC and anti-inflammatory medications also enjoyed being a bouncy Sheltie again with much less arthritic pain. She was such a joy to have around! In June, 2006, Annie was diagnosed with adenoid carcinoma, an aggressive and invasive cancer. She fought valiantly, but in late July, it became obvious that the cancer was completely taking over her muzzle, including her breathing passages and even her eye sockets. While we didn't believe that she was actively suffering yet, she was having difficulty breathing. Knowing that it was the right thing to do for Annie, however much it hurt us, we gently released Annie to join her old friends at the Rainbow Bridge. Annie gave us the gift of a year of her life, and we will miss her very much for a long time.

Aspen
7) Aspen was picked up by Animal Control for the "umpteenth" time, and this time his owners didn't bother to come pick him up. Animal Control contacted Sheltie Rescue of Utah and we immediately went to get him. The poor guy was in horrible condition and had to be shaved just to allow us to get down to his skin, where we discovered countless embedded foxtails and other injuries. When we took him to the vet for treatment, X-rays revealed that his right foreleg had been broken and healed (how?) without ever having been treated and set! In fact, the entire right side of his body showed signs of serious injuries, suggesting that he was (at least) once hit by a car. In late December, 2004, Aspen's pain began to get the best of him and he was clearly losing his quality of life. With heavy hearts, we made the difficult decision on January 6, 2005, to release him from the pain and other medical problems. While held in loving arms, Aspen crossed the Rainbow Bridge, where he can play all day without all the pain he had suffered.