Holly 9

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Update 07/29/11:

This news on Miss Holly is sad. In the arms of her foster family and the gentle hands of her vet, she went to the Rainbow Bridge.

Holly had not been feeling well for a couple of weeks. It really seemed that everything was falling apart at once for her. Her gums would become very pale and then return to normal. She panted very heavily at times. She had suffered a severe UTI, more than once since her return. With these problems, she had been to her vet several times in recent weeks. Her abdomen had been x-rayed with no definitive findings. Bloodwork was done and looked OK. The next step would have been an ultrasound.

When her foster family arrived home from work yesterday, Holly had taken yet another turn for the worse. She was rushed to the vet, and, together the decision was made to let her go. 

It can’t be easy for a senior dog to lose its owner but Holly had transitioned well since coming into MAESSR’s care. There are times, though, when love, attentive veterinary care, and a generous measure of spoiling can not prevail. Released from her cumulative ailments, the hope is that Holly and her original owner are crossing the Bridge together.

Update 06/25/11:

Holly was adopted but then returned to MAESSR’s care. The medication she takes for incontinence can be quickly and wholly effective in resolving a delicate problem for gals like Holly. The dose must be just right though. 

Holly’s daily dose had not been correctly regulated prior to her adoption, so she was taking too much. This resulted in increased hormone levels which caused her to be extra grouchy, as most of us can understand. Holly has resettled with her original foster family who can avail her of her original vet as well. Together, further work will be done on getting Holly’s medications just right before she becomes available again. 

With a little tweaking of dose and a little time to adjust to the change, it’s fully anticipated that Miss Holly will be reliable in the house and her sweet self once again. Keep an eye out for her progress.

Update 05/25/11:

Holly has made very nice progress with her health issues. Her skin and ear infections have cleared. The thyroid supplement has improved her activity levels and she has started to lose some weight.

The rest of Holly’s news is great too – she has the cutest smile and gets so excited to see you when you have been gone. She makes it clear that she missed you and that she is thrilled you are home. She has wonderful house manners and is a cuddler. She also likes to sneak into the bed with her foster parents at night. 

Who could not want to come home to a wonderful companion like Holly? She’s a mature gal who will bring continuing warmth and joy to one very lucky family!

Original:

Holly was relinquished to MAESSR when her Pennsylvania owner died. She temporarily lived with an extended family member until MAESSR could get her into a foster home. 

This sweet girl has a fun personality and she enjoys playing with toys. She also loves to cuddle and gets so excited when you get home that she is just bouncing everywhere! Holly likes to ride in the car and go for walks. Although she is crate trained, she is not crated in her foster home since she is such a good girl. 

Holly has several minor health issues that her foster mom is currently working on. She has a yeast infection in both ears, but does not like the ear meds being put in her ears. To solve this problem, her foster mom muzzles her for the application. The muzzle seems to relax Holly because then she knows she cannot do anything, and she allows the ear drops to be administered. Her ears are starting to clear up nicely. Holly also has “dry eye” in both of her eyes. Drops have to be applied to her eyes twice a day so her eyes have enough lubrication. Holly does not like this either, so she gets her eye drops at the same time she gets her ear meds. She is responding much better to the whole process and her foster mom is hopeful that soon she will be able to apply the eye and ear drops without the muzzle. Another condition that Holly has is called “spay incontinence.” This means she can “leak” a little urine at times. To control this leakage, she has been put on an inexpensive medication. Don’t worry, Holly. Many senior girls have this issue. Holly is currently on an antibiotic for a skin infection that she has. The skin appears to be healing so that issue should be over soon. Holly’s thyroid levels tested low, so she is now on an inexpensive thyroid supplement. Her foster mom feels that the ear infection and skin infection occurred because the thyroid levels were low. 

Keep an eye on Holly’s page for updates as she starts to feel better.