Holly (Adopted)

 

Holly update July 2017:

Holly continues to do well in foster care.  She’s now up-to-date on vaccines and spayed.  Holly has had a series recurrent UTIs and the vet team recommended a trial of Dasuquin, an anti-inflammatory.  The vet believes that bladder inflammation is causing the UTIs and indeed, Holly has had no issues since starting that trial.

Holly is large puppy, weighing in at over 24 lbs at six months.  She is not overweight as she’s currently 15 1/2″ at the shoulders and almost 21″along her back.  It’s estimated that she could be 30-35 lbs as a full grown adult dog.

Holly’s movement is similar to a large-breed puppy, often off balance and her vet notes the dragging of her back nails when she walks.  She has difficulty navigating stairs, and difficulty jumping on and off furniture. In spite of her movement challenges, she can run like the wind on a flat grassy yard and loves to play chase with other dogs.

The ideal family for Holly is one with someone home most of the day, another gentle, playful dog for company and a fenced yard.  Due to Holly’s movement challenges, Holly is not a good match for young children as she could knock them over.  Holly is not stable on more than 2 stairs at a time and for her own safety, she is best in a home with limited obstacles for movement.  Someone strong enough to lift and carry a 30+ lb dog is also key.

March 2017:

As most of you know, we accepted four puppies into our program back in February.  Holly is part of that litter.  She  is a sweet, young, puppy, just under 5 months of age.  Since coming into our program, Holly has been treated for a severe skin infection, (probable) sarcoptic mange, and vomiting.  She is currently being treated for a recurrent urinary tract infection.

Holly often seems unstable on her feet, so much so that we were concerned about a patella or hip issue.  Sometimes she has difficulty coming up a stair or two and at other times she has difficulty moving through the dog door.  Much to our surprise, her veterinary exam noted no orthopedic issues.  The vet did notice that she drags her back toes when she walks and stated her movement issues were neuromuscular in nature.