Ruth – June, 2017

“We are heartbroken to report that Ruthie Baby Bear (aka Ruth) crossed the bridge after a courageous eight-month cancer battle. She and Joe came to us as a bonded senior pair–fosters, at first, but then adopted after Ruthie’s diagnosis. She quickly became Poppie’s little girl. Ruthie was a brave, bright, spirited fighter.

“After receiving bad news, we took her through In-and-Out Burger drive-thru for a puppy burger and French fries. Later, we made her a special Ruthie mix with her favorite foods–smoky ribs, smoky chicken, hamburger, mashed potatoes, and other goodies. She ate them out of a bowl we held for her. She let us take her paw prints and a few clay impressions. We stayed up most of the night with her, and she slept much of the night in my arms, more peacefully than she had in recent days.

“The next morning, she mustered the strength to go on a ride to the park and for a short walk with Jo Joe, Amy, and me. She ate a little bit of her other newfound favorites for breakfast–soft white bread, roasted chicken from the store, some hamburger, prosciutto, and hot dog pieces.

“We took her outside to one of her favorite spots–the patio sofa, and played some of her favorite music. As she became more ill over the past few months, although she was a rocker, she started to prefer jazz. It was an oddly quiet morning and the heat held off, and the vet came. While ‘trane played in the background, we rubbed her ears and her butt and fed her a few pieces of prosciutto and hot dog and told her we loved her, thanked her for coming into our lives, promised her we’d look after Joe, and asked her to be brave one last time. Ruthie Bear passed quickly, quietly, and peacefully.

“Our hearts are still broken, but we are trying to be strong for Joe. In just a short amount of time, Ruthie stole our hearts.

“Thank you, NCBR, for working hard to save them from the shelter and allowing us to foster and adopt.

“Some of our favorite photos of our Baby Bear–on the way to her new foster and adopted home, learning what the drive-thru means, and playing one of her favorite games–peekaboo-whackamole.”

~ Stephen T.