Hannah 4

---

Updated 5/8/05: Hannah’s troubles may soon come to an end after 9 months of various diagnostic tests and treatments. After being treated for the last month for one last urinary tract bug, she’ll be tested and should pass with flying colors. In the meantime, she’s been hanging out on a boat in the Chesapeake, jumping into the water at every chance. She sure is a water dog! She’s a very expressive dog, making sounds very much like she’s trying to speak. Very obedient, she comes when called, sits on command, and does the greatest little dance for food.

Having had some close springer buddies during her foster stay, she may do better in a home with other dogs, but this shouldn’t be a requirement, more a recommendation. She has, for the most part, been with a human most all the time. For the rare times when she is alone with the other dogs and cats, she does great and has full run of the house with no need to crate. Happily, she has not assumed the counter-surfing habits of her less well-behaved roommates. With a thick and shiny coat, she’s the picture of an inquisitive, healthy 5 year old who will soon be ready for her forever home.

Updated 3/16/05: Thanks to all her supporters at MAESSR and the University of Pennsylvania Vet Hospital, Hannah has just about recovered from a long term, but curable problem. As it turns out, she was infected with a very rare strain of anaerobic bacteria called corynebacterium. After treatment with a long round of a special antibiotic, her urine is visibly clean as a whistle. Once she’s had a week to pass the antibiotic out of her system, her urine will be re-screened and, pending the advice of U Penn, possibly another corynebacterium screen will be done.

After a positive report, Hannah’s next great adventure will begin with a family that needs an incredible love bug who thinks humans are the best thing since dog bones!! This is an incredibly nice turn of events for a pup who had it so hard her first 4 years.

Update 1/25/05: Poor Hannah she came into rescue in August and we still don’t feel she is ready to be offered. Hannah has had a recurring problem with dark urine. To date, the following tests have been completed:
8/19 – Urinalysis
10/22 – Complete Urinalysis
11/1 – XRays/Urine Culture
11/8 – Initial bladder ultrasound
11/8 – Combo Chemistry, CBC, another complete urinalysis for benchmarking
11/10 – Abdominal Ultrasound and Radiographs
11/18 – Bacterial cultures
11/18 – Histopathology
11/18 – Bladder exploratory surgery
11/19 – more medications
12/15 – Another ultrasound at Veterinary Hospital at University of Pennsylvania (VHUP)
1/7 – More blood screenings at VHUP
1/7 – Cytoscopy at VHUP

Updated 12/20/04: Hannah gets more comfy every day in her foster home, but continues to look to her springer brothers for “what to do next” messages. It’s good she has had this extended time to learn about living in a home from other well-adjusted (wee-eeell, sort of!) springers. She acts like a mom to them as well, grooming their eyes and ears whenever given the opportunity.

Her teeth are sparkling white from a cleaning and her spay incision has healed. Her foster family is helping her through further testing to diagnose a urinary tract problem before she becomes available for adoption.

She’s developed quite a mouth on her, barking at everyone who goes by and has a hard time stopping, even when strongly discouraged. Her foster family can only guess she is fiercely protecting her new surroundings at all costs. Hannah has ingratiated herself to the friends and neighbors of her foster family and they will all miss her when she does move to her adoptive home.

Update 10/18/04 Hannah gets more comfy every day, but continues to look to her Springer brothers for “what to do next” messages. It’s good she has had this time to learn from other well-adjusted (wee-eeell, sort of!) Springers. She acts like a mom to them as well, grooming their eyes and ears whenever given the opportunity.

She’s developed quite a mouth on her, barking at everyone that goes by and has a hard time stopping, even when strongly discouraged. We can only guess she is fiercely protecting her new-found surroundings at all costs. Our neighbors and friends are amazed when they hear Hannah will soon be leaving, since she’s ingratiated herself with everyone with whom she comes in contact. We tell them she’s bound for a loving home that has been waiting patiently for just the right gal – what more can a pooch ask for?

Her teeth are sparkling white from her cleaning, her spay incision is just about healed, and she’s on the last week of her antibiotic for a reoccurring bladder infection. The vet said she thought it spread from her uterus, so with that gone she should be A-OK. We’ll find out for certain this Friday the 22nd.

Update 9/24/04: Hannah has become quite comfortable in her new environment with 2 male dogs and 3 cats. She is always ready to roughhouse with the boys. She’s now completely housebroken. Hannah has adapted quite nicely to her crate, although her foster family does not need to use it any longer. They keep trying to introduce her to the wonderful world of toys, but, she just doesn’t get it.

Despite having been used simply as a vehicle for puppy generation for 4 years, Hannah does understand the warmth that humans can provide. What a love bug! She cuddles whenever possible and is the perfect size for a lapdog. Smart as a whip, she has learned to sit, stay, and wait for permission to eat snacks. She does have abundant energy, probably because she was penned in all her life, but it is certainly manageable.

It’s always difficult for Hannah’s foster family to give up a foster, but the level of life improvement this gal has had and her joie de vivre since she’s been rescued has really given her a special place in their hearts. It seems as if each of their springers is so wonderful, but this one really takes the cake.

Hannah is being spayed in the coming week and will be ready for her forever home soon.

Original: Hannah is one of the Maryland 7.  It was clear that she had not had much love, attention, or grooming in her 4 pitiful years on earth.  Her first night in safety, she patiently sat on the porch while we carefully removed matted fur bigger than softballs for over 3 hours.  Living with these mats had to hurt her, as did the removal, but never once did she protest.  After her first of 6 baths, she still smelled unbelievably bad.  The following morning, another 3 hours of mat removal uncovered a beautiful petite gal who just needed new humans.  As a bonus, she also got some brother Springers and siblings cats who she adores. 

At 40 pounds, Hannah is, to put it plainly, one great dog who has some housetraining issues that are disappearing more each day.  We suspect this may be due to her in-heat status that continues to puzzle her neutered male counterparts.  She likes her crate, crying only a wee bit before it’s time for sleep.  As she becomes more accustomed to her new surroundings, she protests a little louder each day but always settles in quickly.

Her 3-hour ride to her Pennsylvania foster home was spent in complete quiet.  At times I had to pull over to make sure she was still there!  Slowly she is coming into her own, woo-wooing at the mailman and any other person who dares threaten her new abode.  She has just enough spunk to be completely endearing, comes when called and is learning basic commands quite easily.  She’s reluctant to ride in the car but is getting plenty of positive reinforcement from her new buddies. 

Hannah’s first professional grooming is Friday.  She goes to the vet tomorrow for a complete blood work up prior to her spaying and teeth cleaning next week.  Worms were detected during her first visit, as was minor eye and ear infections, both of which are cleared up.  All this gal needed was a little attention and pays it all back tenfold – by just being the happy content. She’ll make a lucky someone a loyal companion for many years to come.