Sophie 11-139

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Sponsored by:

Dennis and Joanne

You warm my heart, Miss Sophie! From Michelle

Happy Holidays from anonymous

-Anonymous

May 2, 2011

Poor Miss Sophie! She came to my house on Saturday and is in really tough shape. She is 14 years old. She is a mix of Golden and something else like Husky or Samoyed. She has a really dense undercoat that is very much like wool. The first thing that you notice about Sophie is her beautiful white face. Sadly, after that you will notice her terrible smell and the HORRIBLE fur matts. She came to RAGOM as a stray and has been seriously neglected for some time. I have never seen such dense and dirty fur matts. I tried to comb her, but it was impossible. The matts behind her ears were as big as eggs and when cut looked just like felt. The worst matting is under her tail. I am including a picture of it, but even this does not show how bad it is. These matts are urine soaked and full of fecal matter. She has trouble walking due to arthritis in her hips, but I am certain that the matts are also making it more painful to walk. I have not seen her wag her tail either. I am sure that must hurt too.

She was not up to date on her shots, so I could not take her to a groomer until she got a rabies shot. I took her to the vet yesterday and then to a groomer. The groomer worked valiantly for 45 minutes shaving a part of her shoulder and back. They stopped as she was tired and weak. They also feared cutting her skin (which is in bad shape). We all felt so bad that we could not liberate her from this fur torture suit. The groomers said that she needed to go to a vet where they could sedate her and completely shave her. This is NOT the weather that you want to go from three inches of fur to naked, but there is no choice. I dropped her at the vet this AM and they are going to see what they can do about the fur.

Her back legs are very weak and she has trouble doing two steps up to my back door. It is very hard for her to lie down and get up, so she spends much time pacing. Once she is down, she really does not move unless coaxed. She does not have full control of her poop and pee. Sometimes when she gets up, some poop or pee gets pushed out. Her appetite is good and she is interested in what is going on around her. She is very submissive and not really interested in my dogs. She has an independent spirit and likes to check things out for herself. She did sleep in my bedroom Saturday and Sunday nights. It was a bit stinky, but I was glad that she chose to join us. I hope to get her on some pain medication today. She will probably also need antibiotics as her skin is most likely infected.

She is gentle and sweet and deserves MUCH, MUCH better than life has given her. I am going to do everything I can to help her enjoy life again. The next pictures I send will be of a mostly naked and I hope more comfortable girl.

At a Glance #11-139

Breed not specified	Born: May 1997
Female	Weight not specified

Status: Deceased

Profile

Sponsored by:

Dennis and Joanne

You warm my heart, Miss Sophie! From Michelle

Happy Holidays from anonymous

-Anonymous

May 2, 2011

Poor Miss Sophie! She came to my house on Saturday and is in really tough shape. She is 14 years old. She is a mix of Golden and something else like Husky or Samoyed. She has a really dense undercoat that is very much like wool. The first thing that you notice about Sophie is her beautiful white face. Sadly, after that you will notice her terrible smell and the HORRIBLE fur matts. She came to RAGOM as a stray and has been seriously neglected for some time. I have never seen such dense and dirty fur matts. I tried to comb her, but it was impossible. The matts behind her ears were as big as eggs and when cut looked just like felt. The worst matting is under her tail. I am including a picture of it, but even this does not show how bad it is. These matts are urine soaked and full of fecal matter. She has trouble walking due to arthritis in her hips, but I am certain that the matts are also making it more painful to walk. I have not seen her wag her tail either. I am sure that must hurt too.

She was not up to date on her shots, so I could not take her to a groomer until she got a rabies shot. I took her to the vet yesterday and then to a groomer. The groomer worked valiantly for 45 minutes shaving a part of her shoulder and back. They stopped as she was tired and weak. They also feared cutting her skin (which is in bad shape). We all felt so bad that we could not liberate her from this fur torture suit. The groomers said that she needed to go to a vet where they could sedate her and completely shave her. This is NOT the weather that you want to go from three inches of fur to naked, but there is no choice. I dropped her at the vet this AM and they are going to see what they can do about the fur.

Her back legs are very weak and she has trouble doing two steps up to my back door. It is very hard for her to lie down and get up, so she spends much time pacing. Once she is down, she really does not move unless coaxed. She does not have full control of her poop and pee. Sometimes when she gets up, some poop or pee gets pushed out. Her appetite is good and she is interested in what is going on around her. She is very submissive and not really interested in my dogs. She has an independent spirit and likes to check things out for herself. She did sleep in my bedroom Saturday and Sunday nights. It was a bit stinky, but I was glad that she chose to join us. I hope to get her on some pain medication today. She will probably also need antibiotics as her skin is most likely infected.

She is gentle and sweet and deserves MUCH, MUCH better than life has given her. I am going to do everything I can to help her enjoy life again. The next pictures I send will be of a mostly naked and I hope more comfortable girl.

Updates

Thursday, November 10, 2011

I was out of town last weekend, so Sophie got to spend a few days with another wonderful RAGOM foster. When I dropped Sophie off I could see that everything had been set up for her special needs. Lots of rugs on the floors, a comfy spot in front of the door so she could look out on the back yard. The resident cat was happy to keep her company. I felt like I was leaving her at a resort! When I came to pick her up I was not sure that she wanted to go back home to the wildness of my three dogs J

She gave me a bit of a scare last week. One day when I got home she was lying on the hardwood floor at a funny angle and could not get up. I helped her up and found that she had pooped while she was stuck there. I supported her and tried to get her to walk on her own but her back legs kept giving out on her. I took her outside and walked her around more, but she still could not stand. She was not in pain and was interested in eating, so I decided to see if she was any better in the morning. I called the vet and made an appointment for the next morning, thinking that I would have to have her put to sleep. She did not even try to get up all night. In the morning I gave her a little boost to help her up and she walked just fine (or as good as she ever can).

I think that her legs must have fallen asleep when she was stuck on the hardwood floor. Her circulation is so poor that it must have taken a really long time for the blood flow to return.

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Miss Sophie spent a little time with us in St. Cloud while her FM took a well deserved break. I really thought I'd taken more pics of Ms S. but guess these will have to do. She is a sweetheart of an old gal. My other house guest, Daisy, a year old lab, and resident Jax a 3 year old cocker, were very good with her. Unless you count Daisy wanting to eat her food before she was done.

Typically Sophie's FM has her wear a diaper while she is at work. I was/am lucky enough I could go in later and work less and so I let Sophie be diaper free while she was here and she did really well. She had a couple poops, but when on tile that's fine. Her last day here we happened to be out side and she did all her business out there:) Yay Sophie.

I set Sophie up in front of our front door with rugs and blankets and used the big dish holder for food and water. She also spent time wandering the deck or being out in the fenced area. I did find if I took her out in the unfenced yard she liked to wander. But hey new places to explore. We helped her down the 7 steps to our family room and she found one of the big dog beds to be just right. I wasn't worried about accidents as we just pulled the carpet up and the cement wasn't a concern. She seemed to like just laying there and watching the dogs, the TV and checking to see what we did..........which consisted of vegging out on couch and rocker :)

I give her FM kudos for giving her a loving home and all the work involved with caring for her. We both use a towel to help her up and down stairs. FM has a ramp and I know that has been a great help to Sophie. She is not steady on her feet and sometimes needs help to lie down. I always wonder, if they could only talk, what she would tell us of her life before RAGOM. At least we know what it is now.

Miss Sophie can come back and visit us any time. She may be more work, but treating her with love, gentleness and respect her remaining time on earth is what her FM does and we'd love to be able to do the same.

Hugs to you Miss Sophie & FM

Temp FM

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Yesterday I found Sophie in front of the mirror. I think she was checking to see if the plastic pants made her butt look too big.

There was a Sophie first this weekend. She barked! She was out on my porch and I heard her bark about four times. I went out to see what was up. She was lying on the floor next to the futon where she likes to sleep. I think that she may have slid off of the futon and ended up in a position from which she could not stand. I gave her a little butt boost and she was fine.

One of the advantages of getting older and hearing less is that fireworks and storms don’t cause her any distress, so the 4th of July was no problem for her. One of Sophie’s RAGOM fans came to meet her this weekend. Sophie enjoyed the extra petting and attention. Sharon said the Sophie reminded her of a senior dog that she once had. We swapped dog stories, threw a few tennis balls for Mr Wiggins and enjoyed ourselves. It is always fun to meet another dog person!

Monday, May 16, 2011

Sophie has enjoyed not being clipped or groomed or bathed for a whole week! She spends most of her time snoozing, but when I am home she likes to follow me around. Sometimes I put my dogs outside and have a little cuddling time for Sophie. I think that she likes the special attention. While she loves treats, she is a bit picky at supper time. I think that she would prefer to graze all day. Since I have three other dogs who are NOT picky eaters, that is not an option. She will eat more if I sit with her and let her eat out of my hand. I worked out in the yard for about 2 hours yesterday and she did not lay down once. She walked around the yard and stood watching me. I know that she can lay down and get back up, but must not have been in the mood.

I am including a picture of her pretty white paws as well as one from a few days ago when she was relaxing outside. She is wearing the red coat to protect her from sun burn. I still have not heard her bark or seen a prolonged tail wag. She perks up her ears when she is interested in something, but does not wag freely like most goldens.

Sunday, May 8, 2011

From Kathleen S

Saturday, May 7, 2011

A week has made a BIG difference for our Miss Sophie. Two days ago she started showing interest in toys. She is eating all of her food and best of all she has had a total makeover. I took her to Ollu Dog Wash today. They trimmed her up and gave her THREE baths. Where she still has fur she looks like a big powder puff! Her under coat is white and fluffy. Her outer coat has a golden blush on it which shows now that the dirt is gone. She is ADORABLE!

You can tell that she is pretty tired from her big day and is happy to be snoozing.

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Sophie has been freed from the worst of her matts. She was at the vet for 10 hours on Monday. They worked on shaving her in small chunks all day long. They had to let her rest in between shavings. They did not get her fully shaved as it was just too hard on her. This means that she now looks like a sheep shorn by a drunken shearer. It is not a great look, but she is SO much more comfortable! She still needs a bath and will be getting one soon. She needed a couple of days off from the intense grooming sessions. I tracked down her vet records in Iowa and found out that she is a golden/collie mix. She is also 15 years old.

Her blood work came back normal, so I have started her on Rimadyl to help with her arthritis pain. She is still unsteady on her feet, but moves more easily since the matts are gone. She is coming out of her shell and is starting to follow me around the house. She is also taking antibiotics for her skin infection. She has not had any more accidents since the first day at my house.

I hope that as she feels more relaxed at my house I will see her tail wag. All of the changes that she has been through are an awful lot for a senior lady to adjust to. She is smart and interested in her surroundings, so I know that she will settle in and enjoy herself.