Markey is a four-year old male Boston Terrier that was rescued from the CACC shelter in New York City two days before he was going to be euthanized. His trials and tribulations since he was rescued could be the subject of a book. I will give you as brief an overview as possible and, for his protection, I will not use the name he had in rescue.

Markey's story is a textbook example of what can go wrong with placing a rescue dog with the wrong people and how some people misrepresent themselves to rescuers as caring and loving people Unfortunately, some of these people are not what they claim to be. In some cases, the dog's life is in greater peril than it was before.

The first time I saw Markey was when I picked him up from the CACC shelter in New York City. He was a pitiful sight. There was drivel on his face from the dewormer he had just been given, and he weighed only 14 pounds. He had some hair on his tail and none on his back legs. Had no upper front teeth and was not neutered. The shelter informed me that he was "crate aggressive." I was instructed by the Boston Rescue coordinator to pick him up so that he could be transported to his new home in another state over the weekend with the proviso that they would have him neutered.

During a period of two months Markey had three different sets of "forever" parents. His first parents gave him a brand new name and gave up on him after two days. This came as a surprise since this person was involved in rescue. Their reason--he was too food aggressive, and they were worried about their small female Boston puppy. They also claimed that Markey had bitten one of them. Although they had assured us that they would return him to Rescue if things did not work out, that's not what they did.

One day, I received an urgent call from the coordinator telling me that the new owners planned to place Markey in a shelter, and she asked if I could intervene. I tried to convince the owners to hold off a little longer until we could get back to them with another plan. Before we could do anything, they placed him with a couple in another state who had an older female Boston. He stayed there about three weeks.

The new owners had him neutered because he bit the wife's hand, and they thought that neutering him would make him less aggressive. Even though it never happened again, the wife told one of the rescuers that she could never trust him again and once again, Markey was without home. A rescuer picked up Markey at the owners home, because they refused to bring him anywhere, and I met the rescuer half way to pick him up.

During the time that Markey was with his second parents, someone else expressed an interest in adopting him when he came back into rescue. She said she had lost her own BT and was eager to get another one. We did not think her home was suitable for him because she had a six year old child. We tried to explain about his crate aggressiveness, but she insisted it would not be a problem and that she would never give him up and that he would have a home with her forever. We also explained that another rescuer wanted to adopt him, but she kept calling and asking that Markey be given to her. Finally, she was informed that she could adopt Markey with the understanding that he would come back to Boston Rescue if things did not work out, and she readily agreed.

I had Markey for another weekend until he could be picked up. When the new owner saw him, she commented on the missing hair on his body, but I assured her that it would grow back. Markey was reluctant to go with his new parents, but I assumed that he had just gotten attached to me. Again, I requested that he be returned to Rescue if things did not work out, and she said yes. The following day, she called me to say that everything was fine. A day later, she called again to say that she did not want him. She said Markey was too aggressive, and she was afraid he would bit her daughter. When I asked her to return him to rescue, she refused and said that she would never give him back to me or to rescue.

The weeks that followed were a nightmare for those in rescue, and horrific for this little BT. I endured telephone verbal abuses from this couple as well as threats to put Markey down, and poor Markey was physically abused. One evening we received a call informing us that Markey had been straightened out. The wife claimed that she had slapped Markey's face. As a result of the blow, he fell to the floor and relieved himself. The owner then said that after this when he opened his eyes, he was no longer aggressive. I was shocked and afraid for Markey. On another night, she called to say that she was going to give him up and wanted me to find a prospective parent, but she wanted to check over the new person. I tried to show no interest because she had done this to me before and she liked to play mind games with you. I agreed to meet her. On the day we met, I took another rescue person posing as the new adoptive parent with me. I was speechless when I saw his condition. Markey had been with them six weeks, and his condition had deteriorated much worse than I imagined. When I asked why he so skinny, she said he would never be fat because he ate too fast and then threw up everything he ate. I took him to the car while she talked to the other rescue person because I knew that I could jeopardize the whole thing by getting angry with her.

The next day, I took him to the vet, and we finally discovered just how bad off Markey was. First of all, he had a bad cold. He was also dehydrated, undernourished, his fur was coming off in clumps, and his toe nails were so long that they were curled in. He had sores on his sides and back legs, and the vet said that he had the worst case of flea infestation she had ever seen. It was so bad that she could not continue with the examination without first dipping him.

Markey has been adjusting to his new environment as well as taking his medications and vitamins. He now weighes in at 22 pounds. In four weeks, he had gained six pounds. His cold went away, but when the medication was stopped it returned again. The vet said this was not normal, and that he needed to be checked out. When I took him to the vet, she had a surgeon stand by to examine him as well. As it turned out, they discovered that Markey had such an abnormally long palate that it was obstructing his breathing and going into his trachea. They couldn't believe this was never discovered before. Surgery was then done to correct this problem.

This explained why Markey would never lie down to sleep. He always slept sitting up. I thought it was because he did not trust us completely. But the problem was that he could not breathe properly while he was lying down. This also explained the noises he made while he was eating. It sounded like he was attacking and growling at his food. Actually, it was his attempt to breathe while eating. This condition also caused him to snore very loudly. Even with ear plugs, we could hear him three doors away. After surgery, he was given a new lease on life. You should see him. Markey can now lie down on his side and sleep normally, and he can breathe easily. He still snores, but normally (like all Boston's do, and most of us, for that matter). The noises that made people characterize Markey as viscous and aggressive where really symptoms of a congenital deformity.

A few weeks ago, we took Markey for a walk in the park along with our other three dogs, and they ran around like crazy having a good time. After we got home, they continued running and playing in the yard. The next day, I noticed that Markey was limping. I called the vet right away, and after xrays, it turns out that he has luxating patella in both knees and his hips never fully developed, instead of being round they are flat. Markey needs four surgeries, two for the hips and two for his knees. Because the vet felt that this would be too much for him, he prescribed medication to bring down the swelling in his knees and hips. Everything was going fine until we had to stop the medicine because it can't be given for long periods without causing other complications. He woke up the next day unable to walk. He had to be carried. I immediately called the vet and was told to give him another small dose. Although it helped, the next day Markey could not walk again and, this time, he also ate and spent the whole day curled in a corner of the sofa.

After another consultation with the vet, it was determined that Markey's most serious problem at this time is his left knee. He requires surgery immediately. The swelling is so bad that a pin may have to be inserted. Surgery on the hips will have to wait until Markey's knee heals to reduce the stress that his hips will have to endure while he is healing from that surgery. I have already scheduled the first operation to be done while I'm vacation so that I can take care of him.

Maybe you're wondering what makes Markey so special. All I can say is that I have seen him before and after he was shuttled around the different owners, and I am amazed at the changes in him. This is a Boston that no one wanted, and no one ever took the time to find out what was wrong. All they wanted was a free, beautiful looking Boston from rescue with no problems. No one really paid attention to him or tried to find out why he was the way he was. There was even talk by some members in rescue to put him down because he was "so vicious" without even meeting or seeing Markey. I'm so glad that there were other people in rescue who came through and were not so quick to judge. And I will always be thankful for those people. Markey's first breakthrough came when we found out his "real" name. The moment we said it, he responded. Who knows what his past was like and how disoriented he must have felt finding himself alone in a shelter with no one who knew him or his name. Not being able to breathe properly had a lot do with his behavior. Imagine not being able to sleep lying down for four years. Also imagine pain so severe in your knees and hips that you sometimes could not walk.

Markey deserves a chance to live a better quality of life. His black coat is now shiny and the yellowish color on the white portion of his coat is now white. The hair on his tail has grown back and so has the hair on the back of his legs. He was very easy to housebreak. He listens to my husband and me, and obeys when we say "no." Everyone at the animal hospital likes him and thinks he is such a wonderful boy. He has never snarled at or bitten anyone there. He has not even bitten us. Markey is left loose with the three other dogs in our household while we're at work, and when we open that door in the evening all four dogs use to rush out to greet us, all wanting attention, now there is only three to greet us at the door.

UPDATE!!Markey's first operation could not be held up any longer so he was operated on and this is how he looks two days after his first operation to his knee. The band around his neck is a patch with a time release pain killer. This is one of his favorite spots to hang out in.
Since he was gone overnight, when he came home he got showered by licks and kisses from the three other dogs. He is recovering well but must be contained from doing any running or jumping (that is the difficult part).

As you can see from the picture Markey's hair is growing back on his left leg. On Friday, I took him for his vet appointment to check on how his left knee healed and the vet was very happy with the outcome. Markey healed correctly and he will have no arthritis on this left knee as he gets older. Which is great news considering how difficult it was to keep him from jumping and running. We have know scheduled his right back knee for August 31. Markey has been happy for only a short time in his life and should have a chance for happiness and to run and play like other dogs. Since he has suffered so much in his short life, the surgeries can help bring him some measure of relief from his pain.

UPDATE!!Markey had surgery on his right leg on Thursday, August 31st. According to the vet, this leg was very bad. There was no cartilege between the bones in his knees. When Markey tried to walk after the surgery he was dragging his right leg. For some reason he had difficulty picking it up. I guess at this point his hips must have been bothering him. This particular surgery was hard on him. He did not eat anything for three days and I called the vet because I was worried, they told me this was pretty common. One thing he did like to eat was my tomatoes. I actually took pictures of him trying to get to them. It was pretty funny. Overall, he did not do as well as his left leg.

Markey saw the vet two weeks after the operation to remove his stitches but he was still limping and would hop around on three legs. The vet told me to bring him back in two more weeks. If at that time he was still limping he would then put a cast on his left leg to make him use his right leg. For his therapy I had to walk him 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes in the evening. On September 30, he was seen again by the vet and this time the vet was very happy with his condition. Both his knees were doing well and he felt that he would get stronger. Now he just has to go back to the vet on October 27 to make sure he no longer limps. It's amazing to see him walk without him getting into a corner afterwards in pain. We now have to build up the strength in his legs and build his stamina. The first few times we went to the park, he would get tired easily and I had to carry him back to the car. Today when we took our walk in the park Markey was able to make it all the way to the car. He was tired, but he made it and it was wonderful to see. So hopefully in a few weeks he will be running like a mad little demon.

Donations are to be made to B.A.R.C.