Entered: 12/30/2016
Status: Adopted
Age: 13, Born 03/18/2004
Color: Black/White
Weight: 40 lbs.
Gender: Altered Female
Location: Girard, PA
Health: UTD, HW-, benefiting from incontinence medication, benefiting from a joint supplement for stiffness, treatments for Lyme disease and urinary tract infection complete, dental including extractions complete, lipoma on back not requiring intervention, age-related clouding in eyes, partially deaf
Temperament:Good with adults, reportedly excellent with children, good with dogs, good with cats
Update 03/20/2017:“She is an affectionate girl, and will come over and nudge an arm if she feels she is not getting enough loving. What a sweetie!”
Happy Birthday, Dear Sadie, Happy Birthday to you!! Sadie has just turned thirteen and is truly proving that seniors are the best!
The birthday photos of Sadie make her look a bit “unkempt,” but, as her foster mom explains, she had to be shaved down quite close because of the awful condition of her matted coat. Her coat is starting to grow back, but the fuzzy undercoat is growing faster than the smooth, shiny topcoat. She is just beginning to get the start of featherings on her legs, ears, belly, and sides. With proper coat care and more time, Sadie will probably have a beautiful, shiny coat with wonderful featherings, much like any bench bred show dog! Also, her front legs are still stained from her previous living conditions, but that will be replaced with nice, white hair…. the white hair can be seen growing in where she was shaved for an IV line.
And that IV line was from when she had her dental work done. Sadie had a complete cleaning and a couple extractions. The vet did leave another couple teeth that he said weren’t the best, but were not bad enough to give her trouble. She must not have any discomfort chewing because she really does enjoy her bones!
After completing medications for her urinary tract infection, Sadie still had some “dribbling” issues and was put on incontinence meds which took care of the problem. She also recently started taking joint supplements as she was showing signs of stiffness in the morning and after sleeping all day while foster mom is at work. She is more active now than in previous years when she was confined to a pen so a bit of soreness in this senior lady is not unusual. Once she’s up and moving, she does pretty well running around the yard and going for walks. Speaking of walks, in her excitement Sadie will pull a bit but does settle down.
This contented senior is not much of a barker, but will “woo-woo” when dinner is being prepared and when she gets excited. She also has a little “happy dance” she does. She is an affectionate girl and will come over and nudge an arm if she feels she is not getting enough loving. What a sweetie! Sadie continues to get along with everyone in her foster home…canine and feline.
But, wouldn’t one think, just maybe, this gal might deserve more undivided attention. She’s one of seven dogs in her foster home and would probably love to be in a home with maybe just one or two canine buddies to keep her company if her family wasn’t home all the time. Whatever family does finally adopt her will be blessed with a very good girl whose only fault is that she isn’t younger, because she is the kind of dog you would want to have around forever….
Original: “During her vet visit, Sadie was a very good girl and even gave the vet kisses during the exam.”Sadie had been living with her owners in Pennsylvania since she was a pup. Previously their son had groomed and taken care of Sadie, but he left three years ago and this former indoor dog was relegated to the outdoors. When an acquaintance was asked by the owners to check on her while they were out of town, she found Sadie living in a muddy outdoor pen. Sadie’s hair was overgrown and matted and she had just a plastic dog house with no bedding for shelter. The Good Samaritan knew that Sadie deserved a better life. She had her groomed and convinced the owners to relinquish Sadie to MAESSR. It was determined that about 30 pounds of hair was removed during the grooming process. Sadie is now safe and warm in MAESSR’s care.
When Sadie joined her foster family she greeted everyone, both canine and feline, calmly wagging her tail and exhibiting a happy demeanor. She was very inquisitive and wanted to check out everything. However, she appeared to worry that she might be returned to a cold outdoor pen. As such, she wanted to know where her foster mom was at all times, whining or barking when she left her sight. She also wanted no part of being left outside and tore a screen door with her teeth to return inside even though several resident and foster dogs were with her. She comes frequently to her foster mom for some loving and, maybe, reassurance. Initially there was a little grumbling towards the other furry members of her foster home.
During her vet visit, Sadie was a very good girl and even gave the vet kisses during the exam. She must have known that she was in good hands. She was brought up to date on all vaccines except Bordetella. While her ears were not particularly bad, she will require the usual “Spaniel” cleaning and attention. There is a lipoma on Sadie’s back that should not be an issue.
Although there were no accidents at first, Sadie has started “dribbling” urine. As no bladder stones showed up on an x-ray, she is being treated for a UTI with an antibiotic that should take care of both the UTI and Lyme disease. If that doesn’t help the “dribbling,” incontinence meds will be introduced. The vet recommended having Sadie on the antibiotics for two weeks before doing anything with her teeth. They are in poor shape and she may need some extractions. Sadie does have the usual age-related cloudiness in her eyes, and she is hard of hearing but not completely deaf.
Sadie is really making herself right at home now in her foster home. She is more relaxed when her foster mom leaves a room and also isn’t panicking when outside for more than a couple minutes. She’s getting along beautifully with everyone (both canine and feline) and the initial growling that had been going on seems to have passed. Sadie discovered the bone and toy box and emptied it in an attempt to find every bone. She has decided that the recliner and her foster mom’s bed are the best sleeping spots! Her foster mom knows how she had been living…and the resident canine girls must somehow know, too, because they also are allowing her these choice sleeping spots!
What a turn of events for this sweet, deserving girl. Stay posted for more news on Sadie’s progress.