Jessie 8

---

Update 02/09/09: Jessie went to visit a surgical specialist to see if any repairs could be done to her broken nose. Unfortunately, the answer is no. The surgeon felt that there was not enough bony material and skin to properly anchor any fixes. He also felt that she had compensated so well for her injury that surgery might take away some of her movement of her upper lip that she uses to pull food into her mouth.

Jessie’s foster mom is totally amazed at how well Jessie copes. Jessie eats Milk Bones, likes to chew on toys, and eats dry food with some wet food mixed in. This girl is super nice and is going to make a fabulous addition to someone’s home.

Original: Jessie and her kennel mates Bob and Fred were part of a business deal in Maryland. Their kennels were being sold including the contents, namely Jessie, Bob, and Fred! The purchaser of the kennels contacted MAESSR to help these Springers find loving forever homes.

When her foster parents picked up Jessie, she smelled like the barn she was living in, so she was taken to a good pet store that has self-service dog washes. The store owner helped them wash her and she opened Jessie’s mouth to check out her teeth. It was quite a sight as Jessie appears to only have teeth on one side. Also, her pallet, the roof of her mouth, is broken across the entire nose. This allows the front two inches of her snout to flop around because there is nothing to hold it rigid. Since there is no separation between her throat and nose, she has the increased risk of sinus and nasal infections. This explains the difficulties she has eating even wet food, because she cannot open her mouth. When she attempts to open her mouth, the top of the snout falls down. She is able to eat soft food, but it is not a pretty sight.

Jessie was taken to the vet for a complete evaluation. The vet felt that this is an old injury from some type of severe trauma. Jessie’s foster mom thinks it looks like someone hit her with a 2 X 4. The vet recommended that she go to a surgical specialist to see if anything can be done to fuse the two parts of the roof of her mouth together. The vet does not think they will be able to since the injury is so old but is hopeful that the specialist will be able to repair the hole between the nose and the mouth. Jessie will go to the specialist on Feb 2nd.

Jessie is a shy girl who is extraordinarily sweet. She is a true Velcro Springer with her foster mom, but is shy around her foster dad. She actually got loose of her collar while he was first walking her alone. She immediately ran and waited by the gate until she was let in. Since that time, she has become somewhat more comfortable walking on a lead and has worn a collar continuously.

Although it does not appear that Jessie has had any training, when she is asked to sit, she will sit directly in front of you. She rides very well in the car. In the house, she would love to major in counter surfing, but her foster family has been discouraged from doing this. Jessie seems to be housetrained and has been given free access to the house with only one accident.

Watch for more on sweet Jessie!