Brownie 6

---

Update 12/22/08: Great news from Brownie! She has been spayed and did very well. She also had her tail essentially re-docked at the same time. The skin at the end of the tail was the only place that did not re-grow hair. It was still infected and bothering her. She was still constantly biting at it, and it was obviously giving her pain. The vet was able to remove the affected skin and reclose the tail (it’s a little shorter now!) so after she recovers, she should be free of the discomfort from that area. Of course, she currently is going after it because of the post-op itching from stitches and the healing process but each day she is better and better. Her stitches will be removed around New Years.

Brownie definitely wants to be with her people at all times when they are home, but she is content to lie at their feet and allows them to do their thing. She does not have a destructive bone in her body so she is allowed free rein of the house. She does not countersurf unless her people are at the counter and she wants to see what they are doing! Brownie has never stolen food but does love to be given a treat when someone is cooking. Her favorite snack is cheese! She continues to amaze all with her wonderful, sweet and loving personality, even with all she has gone through. She will make a wonderful companion to that special family who is lucky enough to adopt her!

Update 11/19/08: Brownie is doing remarkably well! She has completely healed from her surgery and the only spot still missing hair is the very tip of her tail. A vet looked at it this week and she prescribed a cream to help with healing. It still was red and crusty, and Brownie was biting at it, so an eye will be kept on that area. Otherwise, her hair is returning everywhere, and she has become a beauty!

Everyone who saw her in the beginning is stunned at how beautiful and healthy Brownie looks now and they cannot believe it is the same dog! She is a love muffin extraordinaire! She gets so excited when her foster family returns to the house that she literally jumps up to their faces. She will pace around until her foster parents go to sit down and then she bounds into their laps before they even get into the chair. Her favorite place is on someone’s lap, and she will lay there, happy as a clam, all night if allowed!

She has perfect house manners with the exception of loving to be on furniture. Often, she is found snuggled in the recliner when she thinks no one is at home! She gets along great with her two resident foster brothers, and they often share their food. There have never been any signs of aggression (remarkable, given all that she has been through) and she has the sweetest disposition.

She does not particularly like taking a bath and will put on the brakes when led to the bath stall. But she does behave well during the actual wash. Brownie must be bathed every other day, so she quickly learned the routine and where the bath stall was located. She is a very quiet dog and rarely barks but does whine if separated from her family.

Brownie would like a family that will be home or would like to have another dog to keep her company when the family is away. She will need to be spayed in December at which time the vet will check for any remaining lymph nodes that should be removed. The mammary tumor was cancerous, but the pathology report showed that it was completely self-contained, did not appear to have spread to any other areas and was entirely removed. If you have a lone dog, consider Brownie as a companion and welcome her into your family.

Update 10/11/08: Brownie had her first surgery and is home with her foster family once again. The doctor was unable to do everything she needed to have done in one surgery because what he found when he opened her up was much worse than he had expected. In the 90-minute operation, Brownie had a big tumor removed and most of the mammary glands in her lower section. The veterinarian did not want to stress her any more than he had to and will complete the work after she has had time for recovery.

When she got home, Brownie was very uncomfortable. Though she was on a pain patch and two pain control meds, the first night was very rough and both she and her foster family had very little sleep. What helped the most was her foster mom lying beside her and stroking her to calm her.

The good news is that Brownie has grown back so much of her hair that the vet had to shave her belly for the surgery as well as for the patch for pain! She has really begun to fill in where she had lost all the hair from her skin infection. Her appetite has not been affected by the surgery and she is eating well. The next day she scarfed down some apple quickly and is eating her dry food quite well. Her favorite position is on her back with her foster mom rubbing her belly. A drain will be removed shortly, and pathology reports will come soon. The important part now is to see how quickly she recovers. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers as she has a long road ahead of her.

Update 09/29/08: Brownie was into her vet for a checkup and to see if she could be scheduled for surgery. She got great news!! The vet was very impressed with how good she looks. He said she has improved much faster than he anticipated. Her skin has cleared up entirely and, since she has responded so well, no skin biopsy will be needed. The vet was ecstatic to see that she is beginning to grow hair back on her rear end again and even saw some eyelashes reappearing! Brownie now weighs slightly under 40 pounds. She has bounced back so well that the vet anticipates no greater risk of infection with her upcoming surgery.

Because of her amazing progress, the vet has agreed to schedule Brownie for her next round of treatment. He hopes to spay, do a tumor removal and the removal of her lower mammary glands in one surgery.

Brownie continues to amaze her foster family with her resilience and spirit and is lapping up all the attention she has been receiving. Her favorite place to lie down is on a lap, any lap, and she absolutely loves people who will give her attention. She only rarely scratches now and seems to be in no discomfort from her skin issues at all. Even her ears have improved immensely, and she seems to only have selective hearing loss now. This gal certainly hears when her foster family comes home or when anyone does anything in the kitchen! She is a typical female Springer when it comes to responding to commands. If there is food in it, she’ll gladly comply but if she doesn’t feel like it, she won’t. Keep her in your thoughts as she undergoes the surgery to remove the mammary tumors!

Update 09/21/08: Brownie’s surgery had to be delayed until the end of September. The vet felt that her skin condition was not cleared up enough to prevent a possible infection to develop internally after surgery. She has her course of antibiotics increased and is continuing to receive every-other day baths in medicated shampoo. She is improving by leaps and bounds and is even starting to grow some hair on her rear end!

She is so happy to be loved and cared for, leaping with joy when her foster mom and dad come home. Brownie waits impatiently for one of them to sit in a chair so she can climb up and receive some belly rubs. She is doing fine on a non-allergic food and takes her pills with no problem as long as they are covered in liverwurst! She itches rarely anymore and will immediately stop when corrected. She sleeps all night at the foot of the bed on a pillow but would prefer to snuggle in bed with her mom and dad! She has no trouble holding her water or bowels for up to 9 hours at a time, so everyone gets to sleep well. More to come.

Original: Brownie was relinquished to MAESSR because her owner could not afford to take proper care of her. She had not been to a vet in almost two years and was in very sad shape when seen by her foster mom for the first time.

Brownie has a huge mammary tumor which is hanging almost to the ground and is causing her discomfort when she moves. She has also lost all the hair from her rear, undercarriage, feet, ears and most of her face due to a skin condition which has not yet been firmly diagnosed. What hair she does have left is very coarse and thin. When she was seen by the vet in January of 2007, it was thought that she might have mange and one treatment was given for that condition. Unfortunately, her owner never brought her back for the remaining treatments and never returned to have the mammary tumor removed. At that time the tumor was only two cm.

At the time Brownie was turned over to MAESSR, she was in agony from constant itching and was unable to get comfortable or even sleep for any period of time. She was immediately taken for X-rays since the mammary tumor was so large. It was feared that the tumor may be malignant, and it may have spread to her lungs. Fortunately, the X-ray was negative. Brownie’s surgery will take place in two phases. In mid-September the tumor will be removed, and she will be spayed. When she is under anesthesia, the vet will perform a skin biopsy to get a definitive diagnosis for her skin condition. Later, a second surgery will be done to remove all the mammary glands.

In the meantime, Brownie has received two treatments for the mange even though the initial skin test that the vet took was negative. In addition, she is being treated with an antibiotic to help with the multiple skin lesions caused by her constant scratching as well as an antihistamine to help with the itching which is still present although much improved. Brownie’s blood work showed that she is anemic and has a high white count due to the skin infections. She has multiple enlarged lymph nodes all over her body and is slightly underweight at only thirty-four pounds.

Since being brought into MAESSR, Brownie has rebounded and is now eating up a storm. She is being fed a very high-quality food with only lamb and rice just in case the skin condition turns out to be caused by a food allergy. This food is supplemented with spinach to help with the anemia. Brownie has quickly learned the feeding routine and is the first one waiting for her food at mealtimes. She is being fed using the brake-fast bowl which has large, rounded protrusions in the bottom which prevent a dog from wolfing its food down too quickly. Brownie was eating her food too fast and not digesting it completely. Feeding her using this new bowl has helped to slow down her eating pace which will hopefully allow her to retain more of the food’s nutritive value.

Brownie’s foster mom is rubbing her dry, cracked skin with Udder Butter to help soften it and relieve some of her discomfort. She absolutely loves the massaging! It has helped to soften the dry areas and has relieved some of the redness that was initially present. Now, Brownie now sleeps most of the night and she loves to climb up on any available lap for some tender, loving care. She loves to walk and knows what it means when the leash is brought out! Despite of all of her physical difficulties, Brownie is a very sweet-tempered girl. She has had no accidents in the house and does not like the crate, although she will stay in it without barking only protesting with a low moaning which does not last a long time. Her foster mom and dad have left her out of the crate all day with their other male Springers and there have been no issues at all. Brownie now comes up to their bedroom and sleeps with them at night. It is apparent to her foster parents that she has some hearing loss.

Brownie is becoming a more active and engaging dog now that she is getting some relief from her terrible skin condition. Her eyes are brighter and clearer now that she is getting the care she so desperately needed. Her foster parents illustrate the love and devotion MAESSR volunteers have for Springers who truly need their help. Brownie will need medical care for an extended period of time and regular updates about her will follow.