Entered: 01/15/2017
Status: Adopted
Age: 6
Color: Liver/White
Weight: 52 lbs.
Gender: Altered Female
Location: Tinton Falls, NJ
Health: UTD, HW-, mammary tumor removal complete with pathology pending, treatment for bacterial skin infection and ear infections complete, dental complete
Temperament: Reactive to adults in public but fine with house guests, likes meeting children, reactive to dogs on walks, unknown with cats
Update 04/05/2017: “She continues to be a polite house guest and is doing better about meeting people on her walks…less woofing and more polite tail wagging.”
Since her last news Callie had a quick and fairly uneventful recovery from three hours of surgery to be spayed and have six mammary tumors removed…poor sweet girl…but what resilience dogs have! Pathology reports on the tumors are pending. Because of the length of this surgery, Callie’s dental work was postponed until a later date. Her skin condition has healed totally, but her bald areas aren’t sprouting much new hair growth yet.
She is still very reactive when someone restrains her or, in the case of the vet, when the muzzle was being put on her. Something terrible must have happened to this beautiful lady in her past life to cause this reactive snapping to avoid restraint and lifting.
She continues to be a polite house guest and is doing better about meeting people on her walks…
less woofing and more polite tail wagging. She remains an enigma, however, when meeting another person on a walk. Callie will be still while her foster mom pauses to speak to another person; then, for no apparent reason, she will start to bark. Maybe her thought is “Let’s get on with our walk, Mom!”
Watch for updates on Miss Callie as she continues to heal and enjoy the beautiful spring weather. Walking will definitely be a more pleasant experience for her in these warmer months!
Update 03/04/2017: “The friend scoops her up and puts her in the tub without Callie protesting at all.”
Chuck (aka Callie) continues to be a good house guest for her foster mom. She is affectionate and well-behaved inside. She loves having her belly rubbed and will flop over at one’s feet to make it more convenient for her person. She signals her need to go outside by going to the door.
The excessive barking that Callie had done when she first came into foster care and was left alone has diminished greatly. As she has begun to feel better, she has been friskier outside on walks and shows interest in squirrels and birds. Her foster mom has begun using a no-pull type of harness on her with success; Callie pulls much less on the leash in her harness…good girl!
Her behavior with meeting adults and other dogs when on walks is changing. She now barks at those she meets outside her home. She is still friendly with people once they are inside the house and barks when they open the door to leave. Callie seems to like to meet children and comes over to them, wagging her tail when they have asked for permission to pet her.
Callie is not as agreeable as she had been initially with her vet. Given the health problems she arrived with and the recurring visits to the exam table, this may be understandable. On the second trip when the vet tried to examine Callie’s swollen, sensitive tail, Callie snapped and was muzzled to manage her agitation; her nail trim was deferred. On her third recheck at the vet, Callie received a sedative an hour before the appointment which calmed her down a bit. However, she still had to be muzzled when the vet tried to examine her tail…poor Callie.
At home Callie’s medicated baths are continuing to help the skin on her tail and rump heal. She has been less than enthusiastic about some of this bi-weekly bath time. When her foster mom’s adult daughters helped with the bathing, she clearly was not happy. Fortunately, there’s another MAESSR volunteer who knows Callie and helps with her bathing. With that vol, Callie is perfectly fine. The friend scoops her up and puts her in the tub without Callie protesting at all. She did not exhibit any sensitivity when her butt and tail were being washed, either. Callie has completed two courses of antibiotics for her bacterial skin infection. At this point, her scabs are gone and her coat is slowly filling in. The vet would like the medicated baths to continue until her skin is totally healed. After that, Callie’s surgery to spay her and to remove her mammary tumors can occur. With that and a dental, she will be ready for adoption.
Yes, you read correctly. Spaying is necessary as Callie has come into heat, much to everyone’s surprise. Her foster mom is taking this new event in stride. Callie may not realize it yet but sooner than later, she will feel oh, so much better. Check back as she shares the progress ahead!Original: “A good eater, Callie lies down quietly in the kitchen when her meal is being prepared. When it is served, she likes her foster mom to keep her company as she eats.”
When the word came to MAESSR from a Pennsylvania shelter that a Springer in bad condition had been found as a stray, volunteers jumped into action. Dubbed Chuck by the shelter staff, this sweet female quickly came to a temporary and then a long-term foster home. Now, Chuck is a MAESSR girl and is thriving on the love and quality care she is receiving.
Chuck (now more fittingly called Callie by her foster mom) was obviously neglected for a long time. Her coat was thin and dry and her skin had crusty sores in patches probably due to severe flea allergies. Her toenails were uncomfortably long, making walking painful. Oddly, she was not thin.
An angel at the vet’s office, Callie gave the tech and the vet kisses despite being poked and prodded by them. The vet felt it best to shave Callie down to give her sores a chance to heal with antibiotics and twice weekly medicated baths. She is very cooperative when given her bath. Her ears were infected too so Callie is receiving ear drops to treat them. The vet detected mammary tumors which will be dealt with once Callie’s ears, skin, and coat are healed.
Callie is a very good houseguest. She does not get up on the furniture but enjoys sleeping in the very comfy dog bed that her foster mom moves from the living room to the bedroom at night. Callie does not beg or try to get into the trash. Her foster mom is teaching her to sit and wait while her leash is being attached to her collar for walks outside. She is housetrained but does not seem to have a definite signal that she needs to go out. There has been no need to crate Callie when her foster mom is out; she is a responsible girl. Callie’s only problem is that she barks when her guardian is out of the house. Hopefully, this will dissipate when Callie learns that her person will be back.
A good eater, Callie lies down quietly in the kitchen when her meal is being prepared. When it is served, she likes her foster mom to keep her company as she eats. This little lady takes treats gently.
Quite the Velcro girl, Callie follows her foster mom from room to room and quietly settles down for a nap, snoring happily, while her person reads or works on the computer.
Callie enjoys her walks outside and she meets other dogs and their people politely. She does not pull on the leash and she knows “sit” and “shake.” When people come to the house, Callie flops at their feet so they can more easily give her a belly rub.
Watch for more on this former Chuck as she regains her health and continues to live the life of a happy indoor dog!