Miss Fannie Mae

[6 Beautiful Pugs]

Today the Roadster was graced by a little 12 y/o fawn girl, with very little use of her rear legs and a large, benign tumor on her chest. She was dumped at the Moreno Valley, CA shelter. the people who dumped her claimed she was "stray", of course she has very little use of her rear legs and can only walk a short distance before she must stop and rest.

She was obviously an outdoor dog, free fed and overweight. No one had bothered to remove the large pendulous tumor growing on her chest. Her urine is bloody, probably an infection, maybe stones. then the shelter refused to allow me to take her sooner, keeping her the full 7 day stray hold period, they wouldn't even let me pull her as a foster for them so she could get medical attention.

But today they let her out. I was told I could pick her up today after 2:30 pm. She made me cry. After doing her paperwork and paying her fees, I went back to the small dog kennels where she was being kept. She was lying on a small hand towel over the stainless steel cage floor. She was laying in a days worth of urine feces and blood....shivering. She could not get up. It appeared her rear legs were paralyzed. She blew snt bubbles out of her nose. She was caked in feces on her tail and the sides of her hips. She stunk something awful. She looked up at me and I could see the loose and rotten teeth, the pain, but there was life in her eyes, a spark.

I was very afraid that if she was paralyzed, she would need her bladder expressed and there is no other fosters but me who can or will do that. if that was the case, given her age and other issues, rescue would likely euthanize. I didn't want to see that happen to her. They gave me a towel to wrap around her filthy body and I carried her out to the car. I read her vet notes:

"12/13/11 Dog is geriatric; severe dental disease with thick tartar and multiple loose teeth. Dog has large pendulous mass hanging from ventral thorax. mass is not ulcerated or infected. Dog is not paralyzed -- struggles, but is able to get up and walk. Dog has rear limb weakness, likely from arthritis of legs or spine, and weight of mass may also make walking difficult. Suspect that dog is spayed, but would need to shave abdomen to confirm. No microchip found. Poor candidate for adoption due to age and multiple medical issues. Rec. keep comfortable through stray period."

She seemed happy to be in the car and happy to be petted. I pinched her back toes to see if I had a response.....nothing. I decided to take her straight to my vet instead of home, even as filthy as she was, I wanted to get an evaluation on her neuro function and the tumor before calling Suzi.

Luckily the vet was able to squeeze me in. While waiting for the vet to come in i took the photos below. You can see the crap encrusted on her tail and hip. He said her tumor is benign, but has been there a long time and has a very good blood supply. he felt her neuro issue has also been with her a long time, as she has learned to compensate and use what little she has left to retain some mobility. he felt her bladder and said it was small, a good sign she has control and is able to empty it herself, but not necessarily a sign she can hold it. or that she can keep from falling into it when she goes. Her eyes were good, but she seems to be deaf. We could find no wound or raw area, so are assuming the blood was from her urine. He gave me a prescription for Baytril and Meloxicam and said to take her home, clean her up and if she was doing good in the next few weeks once over her infection and down a few pounds, she should be able to undergo surgery to remove the tumor and do her dental.

At home I put her in the bedroom and gave her meds and some food and water. She ate well. On the carpet she was able to get up and walk. Although it was definitely not right, she still managed to move around pretty well for short bursts....then she would have to sit down. I took the video after she ate and before I bathed her. She hangs a the slider, wanting nothing more than to be with the other dogs. She adores my old Sammy. I laid down on the floor by her and petted and talked to her and she gave me lots of kisses. She is a very sweet little girl. For tonight her name is Fannie Mae.

I called her foster and she is still okay with her, so tomorrow she will make the trip south. I worry for her. I hope she has a wonderful life and an easy go of it.













http://s215.photobucket.com/albums/c...4436844694.mp4

Take care,
Lisa

[tall grass pugs]

Poor old thing. Warmth and decent food together with a nice bath will mean so much to her. Thank you for what you have already done.

[Estrella_Luna]

That poor girl. I hope her foster spoils her rotten. I can't believe the shelter wouldn't let you take her earlier. Anything would be better than her laying in that P.O.S. cage with nothing but a small towel encrusted with feces and urine. Ugh that just makes me so mad and sad.

[Heike]

this made me cry. thank you for getting her out

[puglover22]

Lisa - saying thank you doesn't seem like enough, but thank you......

[Tinker's mom]

Lisa, I don't know how you do this,but I'm thankful you do.She had me welling up with tears,prayers she gets well and has a good life from this point on.

[Snifter]

The poor darling.

[6 Beautiful Pugs]

This one doubly upset me because as I waited in line to fill our her paperwork, the old man in front of me had an adorable little Jack Russel (or similar looking) mix. I talked to the little dog as we all waited and he strained on his leash to come over to me, wagging his little tail. When the man got to the counter, he said he was here to have the dog euthanized because he had bitten he and his wife. As he spoke he looked down and gestured toward the dog, who immediately cringed, cowered and his tail went between his legs, he trembled. I immediately wondered what he and his wife had done to this friendly little dog to drive him to bite them and to be so afraid of him.

The shelter said that they would have to charge him for the relinquishment ($75) plus the cost of the 10 day quarantine period, ($15/day) and a special handling fee for aggressive dogs ($50). The old man said he couldn't pay it, and if he had to, he would just put the dog out and let it starve if they wouldn't take him. They finally agreed on a $40 fee and no quarantine period because he claimed the bits occurred more than 10 days ago. The little dog was led away to meet his fate. I can only hope they called a rescue and that little young man didn't meet his intended fate.

Take care,
Lisa

[shaynapug]

I hate people sometimes!!!

Poor little girl! Poor little dog that was brought in for all the wrong reasons!

I couldn't see the video!

[Wonka & Nilla]

Poor, poor girl.... I'm crying after reading that story and seeing her pictures.

Lisa, Thank you for all you do!!!!