BELLA III
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| The story behind this 5 month old coated puppy is hard to fathom:
Her owners brought her home from Mexico where they were visiting friends. Aside from keeping her outside, they took pretty good care of her and went as far as taking her to a specialist in Tucson to diagnose what appeared to be allergies. A short while after they came to the conclusion that they were not "dog people" and couldn't handle the work involved so they took her to a local vet to be euthanized! Yup, "my wife can't deal with the walks and feeding, so please kill her.." Hard to imagine, huh? Fortunately the vet would not euthanize a healthy dog and contacted our Southern Arizona volunteer, Bridget. We told her that we had no place to put her but once she saw this little marshmellow, she had to take her home. Bridget has 3 of her own and works, so Bella needs a spot near us so that we can vet, spay and get her ready for her lucky new family.
If you are interested in fostering Bella, please read about OUR FOSTER PROGRAM and submit a Foster Application (found on the Foster Program page). Please check back for more info. UPDATE 8/13/08: Our little charmer has been a very good girl. She walks beautifully on leash, has crated well and slept through the night without a peep. She's using a doggie door which she figured out in a nanosecond. Given that she has never been indoors before, she was quite intrigued by television; backed up, looked puzzled then barked (just in case), was told "quiet" and stopped. Can't wait to see how she reacts to a mirror! Bella is playful yet calm and doing well with 3 other canines including a wolf-dog. We and the Dermatologist feel that she might have had just a skin bacteria from the environments she was in...we're awaiting the results of a culture to eliminate the possibility of any fungus. We're gradually weaning her off of all of the medications they had her on; she's in beautiful coat. Now that she is on a healthy diet, has clean quarters and soon to be bathed, she should be as good as new.
Bella will be arriving in our neck of the woods on Sunday and will join Aunt Marcy, Uncle Jerry (THANK YOU!) and their fur kids Conan and CoCo.
Bella still needs some potty training as she was raised outside and most recently did well with a doggie door, however, she needs to learn how to cue her people when it's time to go outside. This shouldn't take too long as she has two mature canine roommates to teach her the ropes and a stay-at-home foster Mom to keep a watchful eye on her. She's a typical 5-month old; her canine teeth are just cutting through and she's into everything yet easily redirected. She is very smart and responsive. She will be visiting our vet soon for some attention to a raw cut on one of her pads. She will still have to be spayed and chipped but is up-to-date with all shots. Bella will be placed only in a home with ample time for puppy raising and with no more than one other more mature male dog. Completion of a basic obedience class will be required. One look at this beautiful fuzz ball will melt you!
UPDATE 8/20: We're calling her "VIVA," simply because she's full of it and almost lost hers. Given her Mexican heritage, there seemed no other choice. Viva visited our vet today and received a clean bill of health. She weighed in at just under 50 pounds and will be a big girl. Viva had her paw tended to and bandaged to protect it from hot and rough surfaces and to speed up the healing process. It's just a little slice but in a bad spot for an active puppy and should be gone within a week or so. As soon as she takes her bandage off...which might be sooner than we'd like as she loves to put her feet in her water bowl...she will have a bath. She was a very good girl at the Vet's; as solid as she can be; we're impressed with just how levelheaded this youngster is. FOSTER REPORT 8/22: Hi Steff, Just to let you know our furry kid is keeping her bandage on. We had one accident last night but other than that Viva has been following the pack and doing her business outside. By George I think she's got it. She has bonded with Coco because Coco will play with her. Still trying to get Conan on her side. When Viva sees Coco in the pool she gets very excited and REALLY wants to join in. I believe she will be a water dog when the time is right. Nothing has been chewed, she's been an excellent little girl. Not too fond of her crate, would much rather be out with the pack but doesn't protest. She greets company when they come in but then goes off and minds her own business. I've been giving her the "sit" command which she has picked up quickly. What can I say, another perfect fur kid! FOSTER REPORT 8/26: She is such a wonderful puppy. She greets people, gets her pats on the head in and then just goes about her business. She is now running like a race horse with the rest of the pack. When she and Coco finish playing, she goes out to do her business, comes in and takes a nap. When were settled in for the evening she lays by our feet and plays with a toy. Who ever is lucky enough to adopt her should count their blessings. She is a quick learner but most of all she is a very gentle soul. Just perfect. LABOR DAY FOSTER REPORT: She has been trying desperately to win Conan over. I think she has somewhat. He will let her give him kisses and he gives her one or two in return then grunts and walks away. She now knows when it's bed time and willingly walks into her crate. She will whimper in the morning to get me up and to let me know she wants to go "potty." She has gotten the #2 down pat, still working on #1. Sometimes she doesn't quite make it to the grass area but at least she hasn't had any accidents in the house. With a little more patience we will get the #1 down pat too. Viva will be spayed mid September and will be 'good to go' after her recovery. Her paw is just about completey healed and she's ready to meet her future folks. Remember...we will not place a young puppy in a home where the adults are gone at work all day..GSD puppies need lots of your time. UPDATE 9/12: Our girl has been fine until a few days ago when she started limping and holding up her paw again. We suspect there's some foreign body or irritant up in her paw that's just festering...a fox tail, a sliver of glass?? We had her foot and paw X-rayed; all bones normal, no foreign body visible. We had already received a negative on the fungal culture that was done before we took her. She's back on antibiotics...no fever. We're soaking her paw in Epsom salts twice a day hoping whatever it is will work its' way out. We will likely have to lance her pad and poke around while she's under anesthesia on Wednesday. UPDATE 9/18: Our little fur ball sailed through her spay surgery and came out waggin. Her paw, however, remains a mystery. She has seen four veterinarians including a dermatologist and still no fix or cause. We're currently consulting with a consortium of specialists and awaiting their input. The irritation and infection comes and goes and unfortunately, the pad itself cannot be sutured so they can't just slit it open to investigate. Otherwise, she's doing just fine. We'll post what we learn.
UPDATE 10/01: We are absolutely broken hearted over the plight of this wonderful puppy. When we rescued her from the vet to whom her original owners took her to be euthanized, she had a problem with her paw that would not heal. Since then she has seen five different veterinarians none of whom could identify the problem. Yesterday we took her to a specialist; we ran some new blood work and scrapings and she spent all of today hospitalized while a Surgeon, Oncologist, Internist and Dermatologist all scratched their respective heads in bewilderment....no one seems to know what this is and why it won't heal.
Many tests, cultures and biopsies have been sent out the results of which will take time to get back. In the event everyone's efforts do not provide a resolution we thought that the worse case scenario would be amputation of her toe. After shaving the entire paw and thorough examination of this lesion today, it appears to be traveling which means if we can't get a diagnosis and treatment it will mean amputation of her entire forelimb. Front leg loss is far more challenging for a big dog than the rear. Her medical costs have reached the $2,000.00 mark and will climb considerably if she requires surgery. Bella aka Viva's adoption was scheduled for this weekend; it has been postponed until we know what we're dealing with. Between Drifter, Viva and the many owners surrenders unable or unwilling to provide needed veterinary care for their dogs, our resources are being rapidly depleted. We would be so grateful for ANY help. We know that these are tough economic times but even a small contribution would help to keep us afloat and ready to help the next needy fur kid. We will continue to update Viva's progress here.
UPDATE 10/2: Viva had a bandage change today and will have another on Monday. Her blood work and Valley Fever test was negative, there is no fistula. The first of the cultures are expected by Monday or Tuesday; these are repeat tests so we would not be surprised if they don't yield anything new. We are anxious, however, for the tissue biopsies which we should get back mid week. Many concerned friends have emailed asking for details regarding this beautiful puppy and we appreciate the interest. This has been a three-month saga along with many other dogs to care for so we regret that time does not permit us to get back to everyone with all of the details surrounding her mystery ailment. We ask that you please follow her progress here on her page which will be updated as we learn more. We're all pulling for Viva!! Thank you! UPDATE 10/08: Viva has been to the vet just about every other day as she does have a staph infection that has responded well to the antibiotics and frequent bandage changes. This is secondary to her actual problem. We have all of the labs, cultures and biopsies back and the preliminary diagnosis, which also requires further investigation, is PERIVASCULAR PERIADNEXAL DERMITITIS. She has an appointment with a specialist in dermatology this Friday. We are hopeful that this will result in a treatment protocol. The bills keep mounting and we have, so far, warded off the possibility of amputation. We will have more insight after Dr. Lewis runs whatever additional testing he deems necessary. Meanwhile, her tail never stops wagging and she's a happy and alert puppy eager to get into mischief (and remove that bandage '-) What she wants more than anything right now is to be allowed to play with her friends and run. Not just yet, Viva... UPDATE 10/11: Dr. Lewis, for right now, feels that this is not some exotic pathogen and is treating it as a very deep infection that has been under medicated. Her antibiotics have been substantially increased and an additional medication added, for the next 30 days. The appearance has improved considerably already, her sutures (from the biopsies) have been removed and the bleeding has stopped. We're hopeful that we are on the road to healing and if not, it's back to the drawing board. Until then, she will continue to have bandage changes with our vet every 2-3 days. This enables her to walk, keeps her from nibbling on it and the wound stays clean. Unfortunately, other than very diligent supervision, her E-collar is the only way to stop this busy puppy from gnawing on her paw or removing the bandage. This cramps her play style..for a while...and she makes it very clear that she would rather not be so restricted...soon, Baby, soon... Adoption fee $365.00.
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This adorable long haired purebred is in temporary foster care while we see if she needs house and crate training after which we would like to get her settled in
the Phoenix area. She's only a baby so her foster family must be home most of the time and ready to deal with puppy behavior.
UPDATE 8/17:
What a doll! This is a very sound and sweet little girl. She has a very healthy curiosity with a strong willingness to investigate new stuff yet very sensibly cautious with unfamiliar scary stuff.
She was a great passenger left loose in the back of an SUV for hours of driving.
She's confident and affectionate.
