Welcome to my fundraising page for Guardian Angel Basset Rescue, Inc., a cause that's very important to me.

Otis (aka Oddie Boddie to us) first came to us as our 4th foster of GABR five years ago. We weren't told much about before we got him besides the fact he was a severe abuse case. The Otis that we picked up was a basset hound with a bad skin condition, scared of everything and lashing out with teeth in fear. Well within 2 days of him being in our home, we knew we had bigger problems. Otis would not make an effort to go outside to potty, but he was deficating where he laid. When we did get him to walk, we heard a bone-chilling popping noise. We immediately took him to our vet who took some X-rays of his leg. What we saw made your stomach turn and gave us a better understanding of why he was using his teeth. Otis's kneecap looked like shattered glass, presumably done with a baseball bat at young age that was never repaired. We then took him down to the GABR famous vet, Dr. Lou, and left him there for 2 weeks to figure out what to do with him. It was decided that surgery would do more harm than good. Dr. Lou put him on drug regiment and we got him back running around like a puppy with a popping noise. There was a lot that we could NOT do with Otis: take things away from him, be anywhere near him when he was eating, hug him, sit next to him, etc., etc. We saw through the fear and gained his trust over 8 months. We never thought anyone would adopt him, he needed someone to understand his baggage. He was adopted to a couple that looked past it all and the 3 typed pages of DO's and DON'Ts. I bawled like a baby!!

Two years later, our phone rings and it's Emmy Little saying they think they have Otis in a shelter near her. She wanted to know if we'd want to foster him again if it was him, although she already knew the answer!! The husband of the couple who adopted Otis, dumped him at the shelter saying he was a stray to get back at the wife since they were divorcing. Since Otis was technically dropped off as a stray, GABR could not take possesion of him for 7 days and thus had been without his medication for 7 days. Emmy picked up Otis and met us in Paw Paw. I was never so happy to see that Jeep Cherokee in all my life, it had my heart in the back seat!! Emmy opened the hatch and to this day, I can't tell you who was happier, Otis or us!! Otis was a mess with hot spots everywhere and his leg hurting so bad, but he never looked so good as he did at that moment!! I hugged him the whole ride home and quietly told him "Your home baby".

Once we got him back into shape, back on his meds and a skin treatment regiment from Charlotte Olson, he was shining GABR's website again. Otis himself was a changed basset from 2 years previous, so I knew he was treated right by his adopters. He never tried to eat us again, you could put pills in his food without him thinking you were there to steal it, you could sit next to him on the couch, take things from him without losing a hand, etc., etc. The thing with Otis is that he "growls" at you no matter what you do to him, hug him, kiss him, pet him, feed him, walk him. After 9 months of him being on the website, there weren't any takers and there were concerns if he was adopted, his "growling" would be misunderstood as aggression and he'd be euthanized prematurely. It was decided that he'd be a permanent foster.

Otis is now 13 years old and living life on "his" sofa. He can no longer walk his full block, but more then ever enjoys his 30 minute half block that he gets to sniff every blade of grass. He now has Glaucoma that threatened his life in December and once again, defied all odds and came back fighting!! Otis is going blind, but that hasn't stopped him from voicing his opinion!! Otis isn't the best looking basset in the world, but his heart and personality make up for it a 1,000 times over!! Everyone who meets him can't, but help falling in love with him!! Please help and give a donation to Guardian Angel Basset Rescue to help save a basset, afterall without them, Otis would have been dead long ago. We are so honored to call him our Oddie Boddie Baby Doll, we love him dearly!!!.