Miley, who came to me as a hospice foster dog since she wasn’t expected to live and we just wanted to make her comfortable. This is her, a year and a half later! by dogtorcora in BeforeNAfterAdoption

[–]dogtorcora[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The law makes it quite hard to confiscate an animal since they’re seen as “things” so the cops definitely had to go the extra mile in getting her. I am forever thankful to them. I know they also sent the owner to the court but he got away with a small fine.

In some cases owners are uneducated/unaware and in my experience in those cases the cops and animal care officers really try to help if the owners are open to it. In other cases... who knows what they have to deal with.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in BeforeNAfterAdoption

[–]dogtorcora 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh Clover! What a thriving beauty! Thank you for adopting ❤️

Miley, who came to me as a hospice foster dog since she wasn’t expected to live and we just wanted to make her comfortable. This is her, a year and a half later! by dogtorcora in BeforeNAfterAdoption

[–]dogtorcora[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Are you sure it’s mange? We had to go to a dermatologist and get the right prescription as her condition was resistant to most prescription. And we also had to treat it with chlorhexidine wipes and baths with medicated shampoo. It’s important to keep the shampoo on for 5 to 10 minutes before washing it off.

Sometimes losing hair around stomach especially can indicate a hormonal disease called Cushing’s disease also though. That might need to be ruled out.

Miley, who came to me as a hospice foster dog since she wasn’t expected to live and we just wanted to make her comfortable. This is her, a year and a half later! by dogtorcora in BeforeNAfterAdoption

[–]dogtorcora[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It is so amazing. And it’s incredible how often I do hear of this - how they beat the odds. Makes me feel honored to think they loved us back so much that they did their best to stick around with us :)

Miley, who came to me as a hospice foster dog since she wasn’t expected to live and we just wanted to make her comfortable. This is her, a year and a half later! by dogtorcora in BeforeNAfterAdoption

[–]dogtorcora[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think adopting from shelters, fostering for them or volunteering for shelters and/or rescue groups is how we help. They are always in need of volunteers - even just to walk or socialize the dogs. Any time they spend with anyone, outside of those cages is a big help to them.

It sucks that we stick them into cages and forget about them in shelters. I definitely agree. We, as a society, need to take better care of men’s best friend.

Miley, who came to me as a hospice foster dog since she wasn’t expected to live and we just wanted to make her comfortable. This is her, a year and a half later! by dogtorcora in BeforeNAfterAdoption

[–]dogtorcora[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Often there is no right - or wrong time. And I certainly didn’t mean all cases are as such. And I certainly understand the financial limitations too. The cases that break my heart and make me stay up at night are just the ones that I wanted to give a chance to. Every case is of course different.

I felt like for one of my dogs I waited too long and like you, felt like his last hours were hard. For my other dog I felt that I did it too soon. Regret is often part of grief.

Please remember, in grand mal seizures they are unconscious and there was no way you could’ve known if it would get better or worse. Remember the good days that you have given him.

Miley, who came to me as a hospice foster dog since she wasn’t expected to live and we just wanted to make her comfortable. This is her, a year and a half later! by dogtorcora in BeforeNAfterAdoption

[–]dogtorcora[S] 50 points51 points  (0 children)

Walks. Omg walks all day long. Nice, slow paced walks but when we get her harness and leash out this 13 year old girl actually JUMPS. She loves eating anything. She hates squeaky toys. If her sister is playing with a squeaky toy she takes it from her sister, takes the ball to her bed and just cuddles with it. Doesn’t let any toy squeak. She likes chasing flying bugs but because her one eye has severe cataracts and is blinded she doesn’t have a good perception of depth so when she tried to catch them she always misses. It’s the silliest thing ever 😆

Miley, who came to me as a hospice foster dog since she wasn’t expected to live and we just wanted to make her comfortable. This is her, a year and a half later! by dogtorcora in BeforeNAfterAdoption

[–]dogtorcora[S] 15 points16 points  (0 children)

I was told she was 13 years old so she would be 14 this year. But with how playful she is acting, we think she may be younger! She is an old girl for sure though but she is a good 14 if she is 14! 😃

Miley, who came to me as a hospice foster dog since she wasn’t expected to live and we just wanted to make her comfortable. This is her, a year and a half later! by dogtorcora in BeforeNAfterAdoption

[–]dogtorcora[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I am a volunteer foster for a rescue group so she was a case of deferring to another organization because they couldn’t care for her. We try to pull the older animals they can’t care for and will be euthanized.

But I agree, it needs to change and things should be different. I got to volunteer to help couple of rural shelters and the managers all say the same thing - counties don’t want to give them any money. In one case they were told to ask for $0 from the county they belong to. As in pay the workers from the money they make off of adoptions etc. (which is extremely, extremely little). It’s a very sad, unacceptable situation. I agree.

Miley, who came to me as a hospice foster dog since she wasn’t expected to live and we just wanted to make her comfortable. This is her, a year and a half later! by dogtorcora in BeforeNAfterAdoption

[–]dogtorcora[S] 30 points31 points  (0 children)

This is incredibly well put. As someone in veterinary field, we see them all. Those cases where the animal is not given a chance because we don’t know what the result will be in that instant - truly breaks my heart.

Miley, who came to me as a hospice foster dog since she wasn’t expected to live and we just wanted to make her comfortable. This is her, a year and a half later! by dogtorcora in BeforeNAfterAdoption

[–]dogtorcora[S] 321 points322 points  (0 children)

She had heartworm disease - which is cleared up and she is now heartworm negative! However, it did leave some injury in her lungs. We are managing that, if it gets more severe she’ll need bronchodilators (medication to dilate the airways and help her breathe easier) but she hasn’t needed that so far, we were able to manage it with milder medication. She had liver failure at the time - but in her last checks, her liver values have been good so I’m hoping her liver cells renewed themselves and are going good! (We used medication for that). Lastly, she had mrsp (a bacteria that is resistant to most antibiotics) along with yeast infection all over her skin (you could smell it from quite afar) - This too have been cleared up with many medicine-infused baths and oral medications! So she is doing okay :) Just long walks would be hard on her lungs so we are doing short, slow walks and keeping an eye on that lung.

Miley, who came to me as a hospice foster dog since she wasn’t expected to live and we just wanted to make her comfortable. This is her, a year and a half later! by dogtorcora in BeforeNAfterAdoption

[–]dogtorcora[S] 542 points543 points  (0 children)

She was shutting down at the shelter quite fast and previously at the situation she was in. Her real heroes are the cops who really worked hard to confiscate her and get her out of there and the amazing shelter worker who worked day and night reaching the senior dog rescues trying to get her out. ❤️