Never Forgotten Ranch
a 501(c)(3) charitable organization
Never Forgotten
Our sweet old Dusty made his final journey across the Rainbow Bridge on August 25, 2022. We were blessed with his quirky and goofy but oh-so-loving presence for three heartwarming years. Though battling incurable Cushings disease, degenerative trauma-induced disease in his legs, and recurring melanoma, Dusty always greeted the world with a smile that could inspire the most downtrodden of us. He was a strong and feisty little survivor, and let nothing stop him! Until the day came that the rainbow bridge said he had been strong long enough, and beckoned him home. Dusty was one of the first official residents of our medical sanctuary, and will always be alive in our hearts. Until we meet again, sweet friend.....
Our precious Miss LeeLee made her journey across the Rainbow Bridge on October 7, 2021. She came to us from a local shelter, after being found abandoned on the streets in her senior years. She was heartworm positive, but made it through her treatment beautifully. Unfortunately, though, shortly after her heartworm recovery we discovered that she also had bone cancer. It had metastasized, and was untreatable. The vet estimated that she might have two months left to live, yet her strong will and loving spirit kept her with us for a full fourteen months. She smiled and wagged her tail every day, a true inspiration for embracing the joy of the moment, grateful for the life we have. Miss LeeLee left us peacefully in her sleep, snuggled up in her favorite bed, with her favorite blanky. We miss her dearly, but know she is running free and smiling above us, with no more pain. Until we meet again, sweet friend.....
The amazing Miss Jazzy made her journey across the Rainbow Bridge on July 7, 2021. She was 18 years old, having started her life as a puppy in the city shelter, only to be abandoned there again in her golden age, sad and in pain with a large hematoma in her ear. The condition cost Jazzy her hearing, but that never held her back one bit. She was as smart as she was sassy, and we loved her for all that she was! We are ever-grateful to have had three wonderful years with this independent, strong-minded, gloriously loving girl, and will miss her for the remainder of our days. Until we meet again.....
The precious Miss Ladybug Nina Jane, or Nina-Bina as we often called her, made her journey across the Rainbow Bridge on October 19, 2022, after living at the Ranch sanctuary in Florida for a short four months.
Nina was the first official rescue made by Never Forgotten Ranch, Generation II, in Florida. We met her at the county shelter, where she went after being found abandoned in an apartment, near death. Over time she gained her weight back, her skin healed and her fur grew back in, and she blossomed into the most loving little old lady with the heart of a pup. But scars remained, a painful picture of the past she left behind. And she was gradually losing use of both of her back legs due to a neurological condition. We had started the process of getting a wheelchair for her when her health took a turn for the worse - her kidneys were failing. And sadly, she was not able to recover.
Although we had Nina with us a very short time, it was a critical time. She had escaped the apartment in which she was abandoned, and got to spend her final months in a real home. A home with human and doggie siblings who loved her dearly, all the healthy yummy food and treats she could ever want, soft doggie beds and couches, and the biggest thing ever....a doggie door where she could get outside to enjoy a nap in the soft grass beneath the warm sun any time she wanted. For her, that was freedom. That was safety. That was home.
It was truly a gift to be able to be a part of this precious soul's life, no matter how small. To see the light return to her eyes as she realized she was loved, that when her time came she would be held, comforted, cherished, missed.
Thank you for the joy, sweet Nina. Thank you for the laughs and the snuggles. Thank you for the lessons on resilience and forgiveness. Thank you for the love.
Until we meet again, sweet friend......
Beethoven came to the Ranch in September of 2022, only to cross the Rainbow Bridge the very next month. He was found lying in the middle of the road near the Ranch, horrifically underweight and unable to walk due to a large and painful growth on his leg, clearly abandoned, and in need of immediate help. So we loaded him up and took him straight to the vet, where it was found that he was suffering from bone cancer. Unfortunately the leg was beyond saving and had to be amputated, but at the time the cancer had not yet metastasized to his other organs, giving us a glimmer of home. But sadly, just before he was to start his chemotherapy treatments to help rid his bones of any remaining cancer and stop the potential for spread, the ugly c-word made its way to his lungs. The precious boy's airways filled with blood, and he was suffering. So at our trusted veterinarian's advise, we made the painful decision to let the sweet boy go in peace.
Euthanasia is never an easy decision. But no one should have to suffer when the end is so very clear. And despite Beethoven's short time with us, and the eternal loss of this precious soul, we are grateful for one enormous thing - Beethoven left this world knowing he was LOVED. He did not die alone in the middle of that little mountain road. He did not leave this world knowing only pain and abandonment. He crossed the Rainbow Bridge with his very own foster mom and devoted loving veterinarian by his side. He spent his final days surrounded by those who thought the world of him. He was finally able to know what love felt like. And we know in our hearts, he is there at the Bridge, young and healthy and smiling again, waiting for us.
Until we meet again, sweet friend....