Tilly 3

---

Update 06/03/2019: “Since becoming a MAESSR dog seven years ago, Tilly has known nothing but love and kindness and she has given back love in return.”  

Tilly has crossed the Rainbow Bridge.  Despite her foster parents’ sadness, there is joy knowing she can see and hear once more and is happily chasing rabbits at the Bridge while waiting for her people to join her.

Sweet Tilly’s physical and cognitive condition deteriorated over the last month.  She was more agitated and anxious, especially at night, and increased dosages of anti-anxiety medications did not help her.  She would get stuck in spots within the house and bark asking for help to get herself out.  Her vet thought that she may be experiencing doggie dementia.

With her mental decline came physical decline also.  Tilly would tire quickly on her walks which diminished in length.  With hind quarters weakening, she would occasionally topple over when she was eliminating.  Urination in the house increased, too, with puddles happening daily.

With all of these issues, Tilly’s foster parents knew that it was time for her to pass over the Bridge. 

Since becoming a MAESSR dog seven years ago, Tilly has known nothing but love and kindness and she has given back love in return.  She will be missed. 

Update 04/14/2019:  ”This sweet soul is appreciative of becoming MAESSR’s most recent permanent foster!  Life is good.”

Tilly continues to do very well in her foster home.  She is navigating better inside of the house, running into far fewer things than she had been initially.  She has decided she should sleep in the master bedroom with her people and the resident Springer now, easily finding her way there and settling in to her dog bed. 

Mostly, Tilly sleeps through the night after taking a final potty break before heading to bed.  If she does vocalize during the night, her foster parents know that Tilly still needs to relieve herself.  So, Tilly is put into her harness and she and her foster mom go on a leashed walk around the yard.  Once Tilly relieves herself, she goes back inside, has her harness removed, and goes back to bed.  Her foster mom has learned to go back to sleep too!

When her foster parents are working in the office, Tilly likes to stroll over and get close so she can be petted and scratched.  Her foster dad is especially good at finding the right spot behind her ears for some wonderful rubbing. 

When meals are being prepared, Tilly is right underfoot in the kitchen so she does not miss something yummy coming her way.  With a hearty appetite, Tilly enjoys her meals and then makes her way to the other side of the kitchen to see if the resident female has left something in her dish.  There’s no point in having kibble going to waste!

Tilly still enjoys getting out into the yard and sniffing around.  She loves to roll on her back in the lawn, wiggling and kicking her feet in the air.  Walks are far from aerobic experiences but that doesn’t matter!

After being with her foster family for almost four months, Tilly is finally feeling very comfortable with her foster family and new living situation.   Her foster parents could not bear to see her go through this long period of adjustment again and wanted her to spend her golden years with them.   This sweet soul is appreciative of becoming MAESSR’s most recent permanent foster!  Life is good.

Update 03/11/2019:  “The most exciting thing that her foster parents have discovered about Tilly is that she can hear sharp clapping, so that is now used to get her to come to them.” 

Tilly is quite at home with her foster family now.  She is so much more calm and relaxed that she no longer has to be on her anti-anxiety meds.  She has been fine without this medication.

The most exciting thing that her foster parents have discovered about Tilly is that she can hear sharp clapping, so that is now used to get her to come to them.  One can tell that she gets all excited about being able to hear something, perking up and cocking her ears while following the sound to her person. 

Sleeping through the night is happening more frequently now.  If Tilly starts whimpering and moaning, her foster parents know that she needs to go out to relieve herself—even at 2 AM!  At least Tilly and her person go right back to bed after those late night outings. She is still taken out right before bedtime, but bowels will move when they want to move.  If foster mom misses her night squeak signal, there may be a urine accident in the kitchen in the morning.  Evening water restrictions may have to go into effect since Tilly likes to tank up after eating  dinner.

Much more comfortable in finding her way around the house, Tilly maneuvers around inside pretty well without getting stuck in dead ends very often.  In the morning she likes to stay in the kitchen waiting for her breakfast to be served and heartily chowing down on it.  Since dog bed choices abound in her foster home and their locations are stationary, Tilly always can find the particular one she wants to rest in at the moment.  She also is good about finding her foster parents and goes to them for petting, belly rubs, and ear scratching. 

When Tilly goes outside, she wears her harness whether for a walk or for cruising on a long lead when her foster mom is working in the yard.  She is never left outside alone.  She loves to roll on her back in the grass and wiggle with feet kicking in the air.  On her walks, she has her favorite lawns for rolling in.  Walks are slow but that’s all right since she gets all the time she wants to sniff where those pesky deer and rabbits have been. 

Tilly continues to be very good with the resident cat and dog.  The female Springer is the same age as Tilly and has decided that she should wake their mom up at night when Tilly needs to go out.  Foster mom gets the fuzzy face treatment and then takes both girls outside.  When outside, the resident female will often bump into Tilly to let her know she’s around which Tilly seems to appreciate.

Watch for more on Ms.  Tilly in the weeks to come!

Update 02/09/2019: “Her foster parents were encouraged to let Tilly choose where she would like to sleep at night and that has worked well.”

Tilly is returning to MAESSR’s care because her owner of nearly six years is gravely ill and could no longer care for her.  Tilly was her owner’s pride and joy and giving her back to MAESSR was heart breaking for her.  She wanted the best for Tilly and knew that MAESSR would lovingly care for her for the rest of her life.  Once a MAESSR dog, always a MAESSR dog.

A great deal had physically happened to Tilly over the last six years.  Her owner kept her in prime physical condition, maintaining her at a great weight and keeping her well exercised.  What her owner could not do is change Tilly’s genetic makeup.  Tilly gradually developed progressive retinal atrophy (PRA) which left her completely blind in November of 2018.  To make matters worse, Tilly also developed glaucoma causing her eye pressure to rise and her lenses moved out of position.  Her ophthalmologist was able to get her lenses back where they belonged but to keep them there and to prevent elevated eye pressure, Tilly must receive twice daily eye drops.  The drops contract the pupil so that the lenses cannot move forward again.

Tilly’s blindness is exacerbated by her deafness.  These physical conditions plus moving into a new home environment have made her quite anxious.  Her foster parents have been working closely with their vet and with MAESSR’s President/CEO to create an anti-anxiety medication plan that will help Tilly through this transitional time. 

To keep her stress levels reduced, Tilly receives meds every six hours.  This has helped tremendously in reducing the amount of crying and barking and restlessness Tilly had been experiencing.  And no sleep was not helping her foster parents either!  On this medication regime, Tilly and her foster parents are sleeping through the night. Hurray!  Tilly also wears a dog coat all the time which adds to her sense of security.

The resident cat and resident ESS female get along just fine with TIlly.  The two Springers are walked together using a brace.  Tilly is very cautious when she is walked but after a week she is navigating much better.  She lives in a very quiet neighborhood with very little car traffic and no sidewalks.  She obviously uses her nose and her sense of touch as she walks along the edge of the neighbors’ lawns sniffing and occasionally rolling around on her back kicking her legs and wiggling.  When she is done with walking on grass, she easily negotiates the curb.  A harness gives her foster parents better control on walks so that Tilly does not have to be tugged by a collar around her neck. .

Tilly is busy mastering her new inside environment too.  She can find her way around the one story ranch house, locating her water and the multiple dog beds throughout the house.  She may woof if she gets really stuck but that is happening less frequently.  Her foster family was advised not to coddle her but to let her learn about her new environment on her own.  She is fed in the same spot in the kitchen twice a day and she is a good eater!

Now, Tilly does not hesitate to go down the one step to get from indoors to the deck and when she is going for a walk, she knows that there are three steps off of the deck to the sidewalk.  Otherwise, the deck is gated when she is outside. 

Tilly enjoys exploring on her own in the yard attached to a 30’ lead and one of her people on the other end.  She even helped with yard work on a particularly nice day recently.  Her foster mom had to untangle her occasionally but Tilly took that in stride.  It was suggested that Tilly be tethered in the yard while her foster parents are outside so that she can have more independence while exploring her environment.  The tether screw is going into the ground today!

Like most Springers, Tilly enjoys getting belly rubs and being loved on.  She doesn’t get up on the bed but seems to enjoy sleeping on the couch when lifted up there.  Her foster parents were encouraged to let Tilly choose where she would like to sleep at night and that has worked well.  With dog beds throughout the house and area rugs in the living room and dining room, Tilly has soft places to rest her head; however, she is often found on the cool tile kitchen floor in the morning.  She does not like to be crated and she has full run of the house as she is trustworthy and housetrained.  To signal, she woofs when she wants to go out and is quick about taking care of business.  

At her vet appointments, Tilly has been most cooperative.  From riding well in the car to having blood drawn, Tilly has been a trooper.  It was reported that she is good at the groomer too.

Please watch for more on Ms. Tilly as she settles into her new life.

Update 11/09/2013:  “The second time Tilly got snapped at.  Her reaction was simply to back step to her foster mom’s side where she sat down quietly……..good girl! “

Motherhood suited Miss Tilly.  She reluctantly weaned her pups later than many doting mommas but, once they were on their way to adopting families, she didn’t look back.  She began to gain weight and linger outdoors for off leash time in the yard.  She took interest in the resident and foster dogs in her home and quickly proved to be a great wrestling partner for the youngest of the pack.  

When it came time for Tilly to be spayed, a dental was done too.  There were no extractions but tartar that was beginning to irritate her gums was removed, leaving shiny teeth and fresher breath.  A small wart was also removed.  It hadn’t bothered Tilly but was in a location that could be easily snagged during regular grooming.  She sailed through recovery without a hitch and only experienced one setback…… a bout with giardia.  Medication resolved that intestinal problem and she’s feeling and looking great.  Her coat in growing out from the shave-down she had upon arrival.  It’s very dark liver and has a beautiful wave to it.  She’s a gal who can turn heads!

Tilly remains just as sweet as the day she arrived in foster care.  One evening in the vet’s office really put a point on her social skills.  There were emergencies in the hospital that evening so the wait stretched to 2 hours.  The lobby was full of people of all sizes, as well as their dogs and cats of all sizes and manners.  Tilly particularly noticed another young female springer and politely stepped forward to say “hi.”  She was rebuffed but tried one more well-mannered approach.  The second time Tilly got snapped at.  Her reaction was simply to back step to her foster mom’s side where she sat down quietly……..good girl!  She was mildly interested in crated cats that evening but didn’t strain to check them out.  A timid, toy breed sat 2 feet from Tilly on its owner’s lap for quite a while.  She seemed to sense that he was not at ease and didn’t press to make his acquaintance.  The opportunities she didn’t pass up were meeting 2 11 year-olds, a boy and a girl who each gave her lots of lovins.  

Tilly eagerly steps into anyone’s hands and looks adoringly into faces.  She’s a gem and will bring endless joy to her adopting family!  

Original:  “Though spending most of her time in the nursery, Tilly has taken moments to stop at her foster mom’s feet.  She looks up with a soft, dreamy expression and seemingly says “thank you.” 

Miss Tilly is an incredibly sweet, gentle and loving Springer who has been devoted to her litter of mixed-breed puppies.   With support from her foster family, other MAESSR vols and 2 vets, she’s doing her very best to see the pups through to stability and better health.  Tilly herself appears to be in good health; however, she was homeless and very underweight when she whelped.  Fortunately, a Good Samaritan took her and the pups to a West Virginia shelter when the newborns were 3 days old.  Since the shelter had no nursery, the family was housed with the general population before being listed on Petfinder.   As soon as MAESSR became aware of them, assistance was offered and graciously accepted.

Once in foster care, the needs of this family were simple………….keep all safely nested, clean, warm, nourished, wormed, and watched carefully.  Tilly has been vigilant in doing her part and the pups are headed in the right direction.  They will be introduced to the MAESSR community once all are weaned, a mini-milestone for any litter.  

Tilly has been a dream to work with.  She hasn’t raised an eyebrow as her pups have been weighed, wormed, and handled daily to receive meds.  She herself was matted to the skin and accepted being away from her family for many, short home grooming sessions.  Nothing of her beautiful coat could be salvaged but she’s already growing new fur.  She’s gained weight and will be ideal with a few more pounds added.

Though spending most of her time in the nursery, Tilly has taken moments to stop at her foster mom’s feet.  She looks up with a soft, dreamy expression and seemingly says “thank you.”  She knows she’s landed in a good place.   The best days are ahead for this family.  Keep fingers crossed for everyone’s progress………………