Cookie, a senior cocker spaniel, had probably asked for nothing but affection and care from her family – so she couldn’t have possibly seen this coming.
On December 30, Cookie, who’s thought to be about 9 years old, and a 1-year-old Labrador retriever arrived at the San Bernardino City Shelter in California. They’d been rounded up as strays, the Sacramento Bee reported.
When their family came to reclaim them, they took only the young Lab and surrendered Cookie because they could no longer handle her medical needs, Lynn Hamilton of OC Small Paws So UT, who is one of many assisting with Cookie’s care now, said in a Facebook comment.
As the family walked away, shelter staff said that Cookie whimpered – crying out for her loved ones.
Abandoned and alone, Cookie had no one else, until fosters came across an ad for her rescue, and rushed in to give her a roof over her head with plenty of affection in tow.
If Cookie hadn’t been rescued, she more than likely would have been euthanized, as senior dogs are often passed up for younger ones. Thankfully, she was given a second chance at life.
She was put into a foster home where she got nice and clean – and where she was able to play until her heart’s content.
But she still has a long struggle ahead of her. A trip to the vet and one surgery later, it was found she had more than 12 cancerous tumors. Cookie was able to have most of her tumors removed during her surgery in early January.
Cookie’s most recent updates show her relaxing and almost all healed from that surgery. Once fully recuperated, a second surgery will follow to remove a remaining tumor.
“We have made the collective decision to not adopt her out,” OC Small Paws wrote in a recent Facebook post. “She will stay under the care of the rescue for the rest of her life in a local forever foster. She also will be under the care of our vet who has already done her first surgery. She is covered and we will be updating as we go along with her.”
Within about a month, Cookie went from a dog abandoned, left without hope and sadness, to one surrounded by a team who loves her.
