Princess Phyllis

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Update 09/23/08:

Princess Phyllis continues to be a dream foster, so sweet and well-behaved. She had quite the adventure recently when her family packed up and attended MAESSR’s picnic in Pasadena, Maryland. She got along with all dogs and humans and was the perfect little lady all day long. Her foster dad took her for a little walk by the water where she happened to find some old fish bones. She immediately dropped and rolled in them. After that, she got up and chased a squirrel up the tree. She did very well staying at the hotel with the resident male and continues to go with the flow in any situation. 

As far as her health, she is still on an antibiotic for a kidney infection. This may take several more weeks to clear up. Her urine is becoming more concentrated which is good news. Through one test it has also been learned that Princess has low thyroid. She is now on a very inexpensive medication for treatment. This will most likely give her a little more energy and hopefully improve her appetite. 

Princess has been very picky about what she wants to eat until lately. She had been uninterested in all dog food but was very attentive to people food. Oh, dear! Then her foster mom discovered a dog food that comes packaged like salami rolls and is available at most pet stores. Princess loves this and is eating it very well. And, it is much better for her than the people food that she likely had been eating most of her life. More news on this gal as she continues to step out and up!

Update 09/03/08:

In an effort to figure out why little Miss Princess Phyllis had an adverse reaction during her earlier spay attempt, she has had more testing for liver and kidney function and a chest x-ray. Everything keeps coming up OK. The vet did put her on an antibiotic for a possible kidney infection and there were good results when her urine was retested. A thyroid test was also done and those results should be back soon. Her foster mom has had a terrible time getting her to eat lately and has been tempting her with straight chicken on her dog food. Hmmm – how could she resist that?!?!?

Between visits to her vet, Phyllis is a perfect little angel at home with the cutest personality. She loves to cuddle and just pushes her little body into you with every chance she gets. She has tried to play with the resident dog a couple of time, but he has no idea he is a dog. His passion in life is tennis balls and, since she isn’t a tennis ball, he wasn’t interested. He just looked at her like she was crazy. Phyllis is a very sweet girl, and though still a bit perplexing health-wise, she is easy to love and will make someone a wonderful companion when she’s ready.

Update 08/05/08:

A couple of weeks ago Princess had an appointment to be spayed. The vet did pre-surgery blood work and everything came back fine. When she put Princess under, her heart rate suddenly dropped and the anesthesia was reversed. Princess did not start breathing on her own for quite some time and took a very long time to wake up. She was not able to be spayed at that time and gave everyone a bit of a scare. 

Further testing is being done to see if anything might be going on with her health to have caused this. So far, all tests are showing normal, except one that may indicate some kind of kidney infection. She is getting further tests on that. As of now, her liver and kidneys are functioning fine and her heart and lungs seem to be normal. Keep fingers crossed that her further test results will all be normal and that her next visit for spaying will be totally normal too. 

Princess continues to be the sweetest love bug and enjoys nothing more than to cuddle with her people. She still makes the cutest little low volume, barking noises at dinner time and when ever she thinks she is going for a walk or for a ride in the car. She is a perfect lady at the vet. The vet assistant commented that she just “goes with the flow” when she is there. Princess loves everybody that she meets on her walks. She recently spent a week with a 12 year old niece staying in the house and attached to her very quickly. 

Princess is a little watch dog whenever someone rings the doorbell. You won’t need an alarm system with this girl in the house. She sleeps soundly through the night and her foster family has to wake her up in the morning to go potty, so everyone can sleep late if they want to. 

The cat and Princess are doing just fine. The only time she gives him a short chase is if she is feeling frisky and the cat runs past her. She never pursues him far and this doesn’t happen very often at all. She is still wonderful with the resident male Springer. 

Princess has the perfect amount of energy for a mature lady and is one of the easiest foster dogs her foster mom has been around. She would do perfect with a low key family that likes to take daily leisurely walks.

Original:

Princess Phyllis found herself in a West Virginia shelter after the daughter of the owner turned her and a smaller dog in because of the owner’s allergies. The smaller dog got adopted but poor Phyllis remained there. The shelter was very full and thankfully they contacted MAESSR for help. 

During her first vet appointment, Phyllis got all of her vaccinations and she will get a booster in a few weeks. She has two lumps on her underside that the vet wants to check out when she is spayed. The vet suspected that Phyllis’ licking and chewing on her rear quarters was due to flea allergy and now that she is rid of fleas, this should get better. Her foster mom bathed her with an anti-itch shampoo and has given her an antihistamine to give her more relief from her itchiness. Phyllis is being fed a duck and potato food in case she may have some other allergies. 

Miss Phyllis has proven herself to be reliably housetrained and just as sweet as they come. She is wonderful with the goofy, laid-back, resident male Springer and has only showed mild interest in the cat. When the cat was placed eye to eye with her, she turned her head as not to look at him, but she has given him a very short chase of about five strides and then lost interest. If you raise your voice at all, you can tell that it just really hurts Phyllis’ feelings as her foster mom found out once when asking her not to chase kitty. This was on the first couple days of arriving in her foster home but now hasn’t chased kitty in several days. Phyllis has shown herself to be a faithful guard dog barking at the dangerous vacuum cleaner that makes so much noise! 

Phyllis loves attention from her people and her favorite spot is on the sofa just snoring away in sweet dreams. This little girl has the softest, sweetest personality. She loves being next to her people and loves to be hugged and brushed. Little Princess is not high energy but LOVES to go for walks. When you pull out the leash, she gives a cute little “ruh ruh ruh” and spins in a circle. Going for a ride is another one of her favorite things and she will vocally let you know that she wants to go with you. Phyllis is so good in the car. She lay in the back with the resident Springer and slept all the way from Virginia to North Carolina. 

Princess does not like a crate at all, but she does not need one. She is reliable to be a good girl when left at home. She will give a little whine and grumble protest when you leave, but this hasn’t lasted more than a few minutes as her foster mom has waited outside the door to check. Princess Phyllis does not chew, but she may put her feet up on the counter just to see what is happening. When told to get off, she does so immediately. Her foster mom is an obedience trainer and just started clicker training with her. The first night she learned “watch me,” “sit,” and “down” very quickly. This made her foster mom very excited and now she can’t wait to go further with Phyllis’ training in the time she is there. Her foster dad also found out that she “speaks” on command. Sooo smart!

If you are looking for a sweet, well-trained love bug who doesn’t require hours of exercise daily, this is the little girl for you. She will reward you with lots of lap time, love, and cuddles.