In Loving Memory of Digby

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In Loving Memory of Digby Digby was an amazing 2-year old pit bull rescued from a public shelter by United Hope for Animals. He died tragically four months after being rescued.

Digby was a happy 24-month old pit bull mix who United Hope for Animals rescued from a high-intake shelter. Digby was an excellent dog. He got along great with dogs, large and small. He lived in a foster home with cats, and was gentle and polite with them. He was housebroken and well-mannered in the house, and walked well on leash. Digby was a kissing bandit who smooched everyone. He loved going on walks, playing with other dogs, and cuddling. He was all around just a great guy, and loved by many, especially his foster moms. We rescued Digby from a shelter, where he arrived as a stray suffering from severe generalized demodectic mange. Demodectic mange is not contagious to people or other animals. In fact, all dogs have the mites that cause mange on their skin. Veterinarians now believe that some dogs have abnormalities in their genes that prevent their bodies from keeping the population of mites under control. For dogs with this genetic abnormality, suppressed immune systems, or who have experienced malnutrition or stress, the demodectic mites colonize to such a degree that symptoms like hair loss and skin inflammation develop. This is what has happened to Digby. Generalized mange is treated with pharmaceuticals, topical treatments, and supplements to regulate immune function. Digby has made an excellent recovery, and is fully "re-furred." Supplements to support immune function should be given life-long, and most vets recommend a grain-free or raw diet for dogs with a history of generalized mange. Four months after being rescued, and weeks after his total recovery from mange, Digby tragically died unexpectedly due to internal bleeding from an undiagnosed blood clotting disorder. He is sorely missed by all who knew and loved him. Donations to off-set the extensive costs of Digby's care, and the rescue of other dogs from high-kill shelters who have special medical needs, can be made at https://donation.towercare.com/support-united-hope-animals or via PayPal to donations@hope4animals.org. Please note that your donation is in memory of Digby.

Today marks one year since our precious Digby slipped away from us. His story and his indescribable charm touched so man...
28/07/2014

Today marks one year since our precious Digby slipped away from us. His story and his indescribable charm touched so many, and he remains such a large presence in our lives. Our memories of Digby inspire us every day to open our hearts to the underdog. You are always with us, Diggy-Bee.

One year ago today, we became the foster parents to loving, funny, and kissable Digby. He came to us almost naked from m...
21/04/2014

One year ago today, we became the foster parents to loving, funny, and kissable Digby. He came to us almost naked from mange, and metamorphosed into a stunningly handsome fellow. The four months he lived with us were filled with everyday magic, and his unexpected death broke our hearts. In the quiet glow of late afternoon, we laid him to rest today under a grove of white pines at our cabin in Big Bear Lake. He is next to our beloveds Elan and Stella, and will remain forever in our hearts. We love you always, Diggy-Bee.

Our heartfelt gratitude to our friends and fellow volunteers at United Hope for Animals and the Baldwin Park shelter for...
23/09/2013

Our heartfelt gratitude to our friends and fellow volunteers at United Hope for Animals and the Baldwin Park shelter for the beautiful portrait of Digby they commissioned for us. We are so touched to have this beautiful rendering by which to remember him. He is so missed.

We could not lay our Digby to rest with a tag reading "Foster," so he gets a beautiful new tag that matches our other do...
03/08/2013

We could not lay our Digby to rest with a tag reading "Foster," so he gets a beautiful new tag that matches our other dogs'--except for the custom engraving on the back. We love you, Diggy-Bee.

31/07/2013

A B-side video that captures Digby's most gentle nature.

30/07/2013

This video clip captures Digby's loyalty--which was often downright hilarious. He would let nothing come between us. We miss him terribly.

Dear Friends,Our hearts break as we share that our beloved Digby passed away last night. Over the last several days, Dig...
28/07/2013

Dear Friends,
Our hearts break as we share that our beloved Digby passed away last night. Over the last several days, Digby struggled with unexplained internal bleeding. He seemed to lose blood as quickly as we transfused it into him. Digby did not come back to us following exploratory surgery we hoped would explain the source of bleeding and enable us to stop it. We were with him as Dr. Kumar's medical team let him go after attempting to revive him for nearly two hours. There is nothing we could have done differently that would have saved him; for reasons we will never understand, Digby was not meant to stay here with us anymore.

Particularly in this moment of grief, there is no way for us to express the untold joy this funny, bossy little boy we most often called Diggy-Bee brought into our lives. It was an honor to watch him blossom as we facilitated his recovery from generalized mange. He was a wonderful patient, always cooperative and smiling (and a beloved favorite at Dr. Kumar's). His morning ritual of leaping onto our heads at 5:30am (well before we usually need to get up) became a favorite part of our day. We will cherish the tiny claw marks his toenails left on our headboard. Digby was a spectacular friend to our dogs, especially to our active Orla, who could always entice him into a game of tug-of-war. He was an extraordinary swimmer, an extraordinary kisser, an extraordinary humorist, an extraordinary dog.

We told Digby tonight that we adopt him. He will always be ours and we his. He is a huge presence in our hearts, and a constant reminder of the excellence of dogs who might otherwise be overlooked and left to die in shelters.

We will be taking his cremated remains to lay to rest at the base of a beautiful grove of white pines where our other deceased dogs lie at our home in Big Bear, looking into the quiet forest.

We are grateful to all of you for showing Digby love and kindness, and to United Hope for Animals--especially Laura and Sasha --for always supporting him and us, right until the end. His page contains a wonderful timeline of the fantastic fourteen weeks we shared with him, and we invite you to admire him here one last time.

Yours,
Katja and Tuppett

27/07/2013

Digby update: We had a long, exhausting night. Digby is continuing to lose blood. He is having another blood transfusion to get his blood volume to a safe level for surgery, which will identify the source of the bleeding--possibly his spleen. We are grateful to Dr. Kumar and the team at the Southern California Animal Hospital for going above and beyond for Digby. They, like all of us on this page, know how special Diggy-Bee is. Please keep Digby in your hearts this afternoon.

27/07/2013

Please keep Digby in your thoughts. He has had a very difficult few days, and is hospitalized with internal bleeding. Our wonderful veterinarian is doing his best to stabilize Digby and identify the cause of the bleeding. His devoted foster moms will update as soon as we know more.

23/07/2013

The sky is falling! The sky is falling! Well, not quite...But there is no breakfast service here today because Digby is getting neutered. And no breakfast service is pretty apocalyptic in the eyes of a hungry Digby.

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