Missy 4

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Update 07/10/11:

Missy looks and feels like a million bucks! She returned to the vet recently to get her shots and everyone was so impressed with how great she looks. She has gained 6 pounds in a month and could still use a few more. Her personality continues to blossom. The early dislike for the resident dogs has really diminished and she is now looking to engage them in some play. Missy obviously feels a lot better and no longer wants the resident springers to leave her alone.

Possibly a new experience for Missy – she went for a swim in a stream with a group of dogs and enjoyed fetching a tennis ball from the shallow water. She was not so sure about stepping off into deeper water but, with time, will likely learn to swim as well. Missy did great off leash at the park and led the pack from the stream back to the car with no trouble. Although she had never been to this park, Missy walked right up to her foster mom’s car and waited for the other dogs and people to catch up. What a smart girl!

Missy continues to improve in the house and is nearly perfect with her house training. Now that she is feeling better, there have only been two accidents in the last few weeks, both right in front of the door to go outside. Obviously her foster mom missed the signal to go outside. Typically, Missy barks at the door when it is time to go outside and, on those two occasions, apparently no one paid attention. Although Missy had leaked urine a few times while sleeping soundly right after her spay surgery, this has stopped completely. In spayed females this can be due to changing hormone levels. Once her UTI is totally cleared and the antibiotics completed, her vet feels that Missy may be able to stop the low cost incontinence medicine that improves sphincter tone as well.

Missy is ready to go to her forever home now that all her medical issues are behind her. She feels great and is ready to share some kisses.

Update 06/23/11:

Missy is doing great now that she is on an effective antibiotic for her bladder infection. Given that there were two bacteria growing in there, she will stay on this treatment for an extended time, about 5 or 6 weeks total. Also, the addition of an inexpensive, maintenance med has helped with some post spay incontinence which is very common and easily treated. 

This gal is super sweet and affectionate. She loves to be petted and will curl up with her head in her foster mom’s lap, even while getting her haircut. She was in need of a trim to even everything up and lets her foster mom clip her without a peep, except for when it comes to doing the fur on her feet. Like many Springers, Missy does not like to have her nails trimmed or the fur on her feet trimmed, so she will need some patience and time to get accustomed to this necessary part of grooming.

Missy is a low energy girl who rests quietly in the house and is always close by her people. She enjoys belly rubs and petting and will chase a tennis ball for a bit. She has gotten better on the leash and now only pulls to get to those pesky birds. She has been off leash for short time periods and stays close by, although she will need further training to be fully trustworthy. Missy is hard of hearing so she will need to work on learning hand signals for a reliable recall. 

Always up for a car ride, Missy enjoys relaxing in the back seat with her head out the window or riding shotgun, if available. She likes attention from adults but is a bit timid. She would likely prefer older, more dog-experienced children in her forever home. Housetraining is going much better now that the UTI is resolving and Missy’s other house manners are great – no counter surfing, no begging, no jumping up for this girl. She will occasionally put her head in the trash or steal an item from the laundry basket but she readily relinquishes her prizes. 

This gentle girl is looking for a forever home with lots of love to share. And don’t let her photos fool you. Missy is very camera shy and is expert at hiding her warm, friendly smiling face when the camera comes out. This happy girl is a pleasure and her calm, quiet, and affectionate demeanor is sure to win your heart.

Original:

When Missy’s owner, a Pennsylvania farmer, decided he no longer wanted to breed Springers, he contacted MAESSR and relinquished Missy and her breeding partner, Pete. The dogs were transported to separate foster homes where each is doing well. Although most breeder dogs often have little human contact, Missy is surprisingly well-socialized and affectionate, craving human attention. This Velcro dog is a friendly companion to her people. 

Missy has obviously had many litters of puppies and likely had one recently. When she came into foster care she was drinking and urinating excessively and a trip to the vets suggested a possible infection in her uterus. She was started on antibiotics and was scheduled for her spay a few days later in an attempt to get this under control. While being spayed, a small breast tumor was also removed and this was shown to be benign. Missy came through the surgery with flying colors and continues on antibiotics. Since the drinking and urinating had not slowed down much after surgery, the vet cultured her urine and now she is on more specific antibiotics. Cutting her hair for surgery made it more obvious that she has been a breeder dog. Although the neighborhood children wondered if she had udders – once her hair re-grows and she puts on about 10 pounds, she will look great. 

Missy’s foster family has to keep her confined during the day and has been taking her out multiple times during the day when at home. At night time, Missy can usually make it a full 8 hours without a potty break. There have been many accidents in the house but these have lessened as Missy has learned better to hold it and her foster family has consistently made an effort to hurry her outside for frequent potty breaks. The accidents have lessened after a urine culture was done and the right antibiotic was found. Now that she will not need to drink and pee as often, her foster family can really work to reinforce her housetraining.

Don’t let these health issues concern you because they don’t bother Missy in the least. She is desperate to go running after birds and squirrels but is restrained by a leash until her stitches are removed. Despite being significantly underweight, Missy is a strong puller on the leash and is learning to walk on a harness. She loves to roll in the grass and is always up for a belly rub. Car rides are a pleasure and Missy loves to have the wind blow through her long ears.

With an extra meal every day and lots of treats, Missy is starting to put on much needed weight. As her health improves, there will be more on this sweet girl.