Molly the Collie

last updated:

Listed under:


Molly sadly passed away on 26th September 2008.

Molly was thought to be almost blind and partially deaf, and was the victim of a neglect case. She, along with three other dogs, had been confined in small sheds, without regular food or basic hygiene. As a result of her past – and her hearing and sight problems – Molly has been known to bite.

Now she has a loving new home with the experienced owner she so badly needed.

Molly’s new owner says:

“I’m from the US, have been volunteering at local Humane Societies since I was a child, grew up with two dogs of my own. I moved permanently to London in summer 2003 and have been dogless since then. I’ve been looking to adopt a rescue oldie since the beginning of the summer, when I knew that I was moving into a dog-friendly flat and I’d finally gotten out of my terrible job at a law firm and got this new job at a rescue centre.

Knowing that a dogless but dog-experienced home is rare, I was looking for a really special (almost desperate) case. In May, I saw Molly and Firefly on the oldies club website. I thought immediately, “That’s it, it will be one of them.”

I took some time and waited to see if they would be homed (because I wasn’t moving house til late August). Then in July, I drove up to see Molly in Norwich. To be honest, I was really shocked when I saw her; not that the rescue wasn’t doing a good job, but she was really stressed that day and seemed to have dementia and yet was still in kennels . . .

After seeing Molly, I thought to myself, “She’s not been in a home or had human company for 9 years; she won’t get better until she’s in a home.” I wanted to give her a chance at life, to live the happiest golden years. I didn’t go see Firefly after that. I think it was a blessing in disguise that Second Chance lost their kennel site, because Molly then went to live with Pip (Second chance chair person) for a month, and that month made such a difference.

Whatever Pip did, it was amazing! When I picked up Molly on 3 Sept, she was a completely different dog from the one I met in July. She could be petted (with only ocassional snapping). She seemed more mellow.

Since coming to me, Molly has really improved. In the past 2 wks, I have seen amazing changes everyday. Her eyes are brighter and she responds well to me and my husband. She’s gotten into our routine and rarely messes in the house (although I’d rather her do that than hold it and damage her body). Her legs are getting stronger with exercise. She’s developed a very healthy appetite and keen interest in the goings-on in the kitchen. She’s even very slowly beginning to figure out the kong. Tail wagging increases everyday!

We’ve discovered that her eye-sight is still quite good, although her hearing is not. A lot of muscles of her body have atrophied from non-use and are held in an awkward stiff position, like her right ear and her tail. She is afraid of the dark, so she sleeps with the lights on and we installed garden lights for her yesterday which she seems happy with. She has various aches and pain still unknown (a bit of snapping at certain contact, though very rare now), as I’ve not been allowed to do a full physical examination of her body (the vet has and says she’s fine, but I’ve not yet run my own hands over her) but hopefully as the trust grows stronger, I should be able to do that soon. She’s a bit arthritic yesterday and today. I’m getting Synflex and seeing the vet later today for other ideas and another check-up (she was limping slightly yesterday evening).

We tried taking some photos when she first arrived, but her face was so sad, so lifeless, that I just didn’t enjoy taking or looking at the photos. We took more photos yesterday and she looks much better.

Molly is extremely low maintenance, which suits me well because I do work full time M-F. And most importantly: from where she has been, she can only get better from there, so it’s really guaranteed success no matter what!! It really is just lovely to see though. She was following me around this morning and my husband commented, “Her head and the way she’s looking at you, she’s looking more like a collie today.” :-) ”

Here are some piccies from this weekend of Molly pottering in the garden keeping us company whilst we were installing her garden lights.

Her coat is getting fuller (she was trimmed before she came to her new home).

Resting inside, enjoying one of her beds.

Share to help find homes for old dogs…