Rescued Puppy of Pregnant Dog Saved from Euthanasia Helps Family in Return

When a man named Brian saved a female dog from death row at a shelter in North Carolina he got a surprise when he discovered she was pregnant. The dog named Blue had 11 puppies. When the puppies were ready to be adopted, one named Molly found her way into the home of Marisha Renee Hetman Hamilton and her husband after they read Blue and Brian’s story on DogHeirs.

Marisha said they picked the 10-week-old pup “because she was the scared puppy in the corner”. Since she arrived home, Molly has impressed Marisha with her intelligence and her affectionate nature. “She immediately took to me and cuddled me for the first few days,” said Marisha.

Molly also befriended the couple’s other dog, Krissy, who suffered from an enlarged heart. Sadly, Krissy passed way last week. Marisha said that Molly – now 5 months old – is helping them through their grief. “Her crazy antics keep us laughing even when we thought we couldn’t.”

Marisha shared with DogHeirs how Molly has endeared herself to the entire family (chinchilla and cats included) in the short time she’s been with them and how much Krissy will be missed.

“Everyone who meets Molly loves her. She is adorable, loves to play, loves to cuddle, and is incredibly smart. She plays with the dogs in the neighborhood and is always gentle. The first week we had her I bought a few dog treat puzzles. Molly learned it in minutes, but Krissy, who was a red-boned Coonhound (rescue, of course) only solved part of the puzzle. Krissy was a really smart dog as well, we swear she knew English! She learned to spell treat and various other words.”

“Krissy didn’t take to Molly right away but Molly tried. Below is a picture of Molly after she fell asleep on Krissy’s butt.”

“Krissy didn’t seem to mind her after that and towards the end of her life she slept right next to Molly’s crate. Even through Molly’s adorable snoring.”

“She is also extremely gentle when taking a treat out of our hands. I have taught all my dogs ‘gentle’ but Molly doesn’t need it.”

“She is an amazing dog already and we can’t wait to see what she grows into. We know we have another great one on our hands. She runs around the house in circles, she plays with Jaeger (a chinchilla I rescued 10 years ago) and Jaeger plays back. She may be the sweetest, kindest puppy we have ever had.”

“We also have two cats that we rescued (one, Mabel, we found in our sewer drain). Mabel was Krissy’s best friend and was by her side all through the last month. Mabel always rubbed on Krissy and slept with her. While she is obviously grieving Krissy’s loss (she is so sad, it’s very obvious), she started rubbing on Molly when we first got her, and Molly was so gentle with her, we never worry about their interactions. Molly now licks her ear the same way Krissy did. I’m sure she learned it from her.”

“As of this morning, we think Molly started to realize Krissy wasn’t coming back. She grabbed Krissy’s favorite toy of late and has been sniffing and cuddling with it in her crate. Here is a picture from this morning cuddling Krissy’s toy.”

About Krissy, Marisha said, We had an amazing dog that died too soon from a heart defect she had since she was rescued by my amazing hubby,” explained Marisha. “We spent thousands to keep her as long as we did. It gave her 8 months more time of being happy and loved. She took 30 pills a day, every six hours. She had to be walked every couple hours. While we didn’t get to live our normal life, we wouldn’t have changed a thing. Her smile, her wagging tail, and her love was worth it.”

Marisha added, “You know you have a very special dog when the vet cries when she realizes it’s time.”

“The vet [Dr. Ward, Krissy’s Cardiologist] sent us an email telling us the results of her autopsy. This is an excerpt:

‘The most amazing thing, and the reason why the pathologists called me down to participate in the autopsy, was that her heart (and particularly her left atrium) was just so incredibly big. We knew her heart was large from her echocardiogram, to be sure — but the pathologists (who see hearts and heart disease every day) literally told me, “Krissy had the biggest heart any of us have ever seen.” I got tears in my eyes when I heard that – certainly you and I already knew that she was the biggest-hearted dog in the entire world!!  Now we have scientific proof :)’

With Krissy gone, Molly has been a “light amongst the dark”. Marisha said, “Last night she played patty-cake with me while my husband and I laughed hysterically.”

“While we miss our Big Girl, our munchkin is keeping us entertained. Now if only I can talk my hubby into letting her sleep on the bed :-). Krissy did, but he’s still grieving his baby so I think it will take time…although he’s a softie so I don’t thing she will be asleep in her crate tonight!”

“The vet said Molly is perfectly healthy, but we would bestow the same amount of time and money [as we did for Krissy] to keep her healthy as well. We are very thankful for DogHeirs posting Brian’s story. Molly is thankful too.”

~ Submitted by Marisha Renee Hetman Hamilton, Aug 2013