Apache

Apache was six years old when he was surrendered to the Everett Animal Shelter. His owner had passed away and he was brought there by the owner’s daughter to be euthanized. Thankfully the shelter instead
contacted Borzoi Rescue of Northern California and Apache was adopted in 2019. After BRNC was rolled into NBRF, Apache and his new family became NBRF’s family as well.

“He was a sweet goofy boy. Didn’t understand stairs and would do a frightening leap down 5 stairs to get to the door. He supposedly was a therapy dog, but was fairly leash reactive. It took us a while to learn his language, but we kept telling ourselves that one day he woke up to his mom gone, his siblings all divided up, brought to a shelter to be euthanized and castrated - how would we react in his position!!!

He was a challenge for sure. A year later we were that one phone call away to say we just can’t get through to him. But we’ve never given up on a pet and we were not going to give up on him! He seemed to sense our frustration and became the good boy we knew was in him. Not without his “prince like moments” for sure but a good good boy!

For a few months now Apache had been slowing down but then would rally. This past month he began losing weight. We bumped up feeding him burgers, hot dogs, steaks, whatever he wanted. Yesterday at the vets he weighed only 57 pounds, significantly down from the almost 70 pounds we got him up to during the first year he was home with us.

The vet thought through his physical exam that he had stomach cancer. We knew he was too old to put through chemo and an operation. They gave him some pain meds and fluids so he was very comfortable last night. We gave him more pain meds this morning before the vet came to the house. I had given him a bath last week so he felt and smelled good. He was comfy on the couch, his favorite spot. It was as good an ending as any of our dogs have had but it’s just brutal."

We know going in that it will never be long enough yet we willingly give them our hearts. The price paid for loving such magical beings is indeed brutal. We share your sorrow, Andrea and are grateful to you and your family for giving him the long, happy life he deserved.

Run with the Angels sweet Apache 🌈 Andrea Gio Cope