Queen Ruby Jean Gumdrop Guadalupe Gucci

Yesterday was a hard one. I made the decision to "put down" my favorite little growler, Lil" Gum. Playing God is the only terrible part of rescuing the old guys. It can really break your heart.
To know Lil' Gum was to love her...or sometimes to love to hate her. She was , BY FAR, the most high maintenance dog I have ever adopted (Mele doesn't count, she was a foster dog). Lil' Gum would wake up about every other night in the middle of the night and sing, scream or catterwall (sp.) until I would yell her name loud enough for her to hear. If any other dog came near her she would growl...there were five others. She bit me on a daily basis. She had to eat in the bath tub so the other dogs wouldn't get her food and she would growl at me every time I put her in, or took her out of the tub. She wouldn't eat her food unless the curtain was closed. She had a favorite stuffed toy that she would get nasty with...when I figure out me computer more I will add some video. She loved to cuddle up in my stomach to sleep. She would kiss me forever. She had the nastiest, most wonderfully gross old dog breath and I loved it. My friend Steph and I called her "old and crusty".
I found Lil" Gum on petfinder.com a few years back. Her picture was so cute. She looked like a min, malamute with a smirk. They had pulled all of her teeth but one, in the front so her mouth kind of caved in a bit. I called her foster mom in New Mexico. Next thing, I got in my 83 VW Rabbit and drove off to get this cute Chi. I had my own business at the time and was broke as heck. I had no idea how I was going to pay for this dog or the trip down there. Luckily I still had good credit. I got to El Rancho and it hit me. The animal rescue only had foster care. They were in the process of building an actual shelter. I called Gums' foster mom, I fibbed and said that I had a Home Depot gift card for $175..the same amount as Gums' adoption fee..I asked if she would trade Lil' Gum for the gift card, since they were building a place and might need supplies. She talked it over with her boss and came back with a yes for me. So, I pulled over and looked at a phone book for the nearest Home Depot. Found it, went in a bought a $175 gift card with my Home Depot credit card, which has since been cut up into small pieces and tossed. Creative Financing, always a plus.
I got to Gums' place. Wow, this woman had 15 dogs and 5 birds in a two bedroom modular. Lil' Gum had her own space. She was separated by a baby gate. Right away she growled at me and I laughed. She rode on my lap the entire way home and growled at me every time I touched her. I learned real quick how to grab her. VERY fast.
When I got her I still had my old dog Naa-yu and my pug Ruby Gup. I would walk the three together which was quite a sight. Naa-yu was a large Akita, Shepherd, wolfy mix. Ruby was, at that point a 45 lb. pug and then Lil Gum. 5 lbs, a limp and a bad attitude.


She was a special girl who will be very missed by me.


This was her rainbow yest...........