Liberty

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Updated 10/10/06: Liberty has adjusted well in her foster home. She will still growl at her foster siblings if they come near her food bowl, or near her when they are getting a rawhide, but this is easily solved with supervision. The resident dogs do not eat out of the same bowl and respect Liberty’s space, so dinner time is not a problem. This same respect of space is given at treat time. She now no longer growls at them when she is getting attention and just pushes through the pack to be sure she gets a pet or a rub too.

She absolutely loves running out the back door to the yard as one of the pack. She is also walking much better on a leash now but she sometimes still feels the need to lay on the floor when you put her leash on. Liberty has not had any accidents in the house for a while now and has come to let her foster mom know on several occasions that she needs to go out. Gooood girl!!

Liberty’s overall health now is very good. She is no longer on any medications. If you were to meet her today, you would never know she was such a sick little girl such a short time ago, her little wiggly tail and peppy personality just shine right through!

Original: Liberty was fortunate enough to have the protection of a Virginia shelter as she gave birth to a litter of puppies. Sadly, all of her puppies, except one, died in the shelter, likely because of her apparent poor condition during the pregnancy. A MAESSR family pulled her and the puppy just as their time was running out in the shelter. Despite their best effort to save the puppy, it was lost to an infection in the first days of fostering.

When Liberty was examined by a vet, he felt she had probably been pregnant every time she has come into heat. In addition to the toll this can take on a girl, Liberty had 2 kinds of intestinal worms, was anemic, and had pyometra, which is a serious uterine infection. She was emaciated and had scabs all over her. A cracked tooth was noted. Treatment of her problems began with meds to rid her of worms and begin combating the anemia. As soon as she was strong enough, she was spayed which not only assures no more pregnancies but will take care of the pyometra as well. The bad tooth was removed. Liberty is sleeping a lot and has little energy, but the vet assures that this is due to her surgery and everything else she has been through. Her foster family is concentrating on letting her rest so that she can get better.

Between health restoring naps, Liberty’s little flag of a tail wags constantly not matter what. She has a very sweet and docile personality that warms the hearts of people around her. She shares her foster home with 3 resident dogs and will growl if one of them comes near her food bowl or if she is getting attention. Beyond these sensitive spots, she is good with them indoors or out.

Somewhere in her past it seems likely that Liberty was abused while on a leash. If you put one on her, she will become one with the floor. Loud voices are a no-no too. She seems to be housebroken but because of her recent infection, her family is not totally sure of that just yet. With the infection gone, it is hoped that any problem she has will resolve itself.

Liberty will be on antibiotics for a bit longer but has a good start at regaining her physical health. She currently weighs 32 pounds and could stand to gain a few more. When she is ready for adoption, she will need a very, very patient family. Her foster family feels she would do best in a home with only one other dog, or where she could be an only dog, and probably a home without small children. She really needs one-on-one attention and lots of TLC to make her recovery complete.