Tessie 10-098

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Profile

Sponsored by:Chris & Christine Olson

Oh Sweet Tessie!  Tessie moved in with us last week after her family's living situation changed and they were no longer able to keep her.  Tessie is a perfect example of everything you love about golden retrievers.  She is a very affectionate pure-bred senior lady (she will be 12 years old in June).  She is very low-key and happily follows us all over the house.  She loves going outside - the sight of her leash makes her do the most adorable dance!  She does have a few health problems: her hips aren't as young as they used to be, she has a mast cell tumor on her belly, and she has some kidney problems.  The latter two issues are of unknown significance - we have a trip to the vet scheduled for Friday so we can see exactly what's going on with sweet Tess.  She gets along fine with our resident golden, Abby, as well as our cat, Stuart.  Tessie is fantastic with kids and is has been very gentle with the  young neighbors who have said hello on our walks (not a jumper, just a lover).  She reportedly does not have any anxieties and does not have any behavior issues that we have noted.  She is house trained and has free roam of the house. Tessie is just a very sweet senior girl who would love to find a forever home!

Plenty more to come - we're just getting to know this wonderful pup!

At a Glance #10-098

Golden Retriever Born: June 1998
Female 70 lbs

Status: Deceased

Profile

Sponsored by:Chris & Christine Olson

Oh Sweet Tessie!  Tessie moved in with us last week after her family's living situation changed and they were no longer able to keep her.  Tessie is a perfect example of everything you love about golden retrievers.  She is a very affectionate pure-bred senior lady (she will be 12 years old in June).  She is very low-key and happily follows us all over the house.  She loves going outside - the sight of her leash makes her do the most adorable dance!  She does have a few health problems: her hips aren't as young as they used to be, she has a mast cell tumor on her belly, and she has some kidney problems.  The latter two issues are of unknown significance - we have a trip to the vet scheduled for Friday so we can see exactly what's going on with sweet Tess.  She gets along fine with our resident golden, Abby, as well as our cat, Stuart.  Tessie is fantastic with kids and is has been very gentle with the  young neighbors who have said hello on our walks (not a jumper, just a lover).  She reportedly does not have any anxieties and does not have any behavior issues that we have noted.  She is house trained and has free roam of the house. Tessie is just a very sweet senior girl who would love to find a forever home!

Plenty more to come - we're just getting to know this wonderful pup!

Updates

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Foster Mom and Dad have been busy enjoying the summer weather and not writing updates about me, so I thought I'd take matters into my own paws.  Truth be told, I have been busy enjoying the summer as well.  I just turned 12 years old in June and I feel great!  The only thing I didn't get for my birthday was a forever family (cue my big brown eyes and head tipped slightly to the side, awwww).

I am all healed up after my surgery and my fur is growing back where they had to shave it off.  Dr. McKie fixed me up really nicely -- my most sincere apologies for all of my attempts to keep my incision open.  And again a big thank you and wet kisses to my sponsors for making my surgery possible!  The vet also got me up to date on all of my vaccines, confirmed that I am heartworm negative, and as an added bonus, noted that I dropped about 8 lbs in the last few months -- I am looking svelte!

I love the roses blooming outside the front door and can't help but stop and smell them every time we go outside (yes, I literally stop to smell the roses, ha!).  I also love to roll over onto my back and wiggle all around on the grass.  I like hanging out with foster mom outside while she plants more flowers and stuff.  The yard here doesn't have a fence, but I'm really good about staying in the yard (why would I want to walk away from the people that pet me??).  In fact, I bark if FM or FD go out of my sight (and I normally don't bark much).  I am not so good with the tie out (I swear, the rope changes lengths on me... I tend to get myself tangled up).   My favorite part of the backyard has to be playing fetch.  My furry sister, Abby, loves playing with the chuck-it and I do, too.  The problem is, she is so darn fast and isn't very good about sharing.  FM throws the ball and by the time I get to where it should be, Abby has already returned it to FM.  I just can't believe how fast she is -- I am left still looking for the ball!

FM and FD had a party at our house for the 4th of July, as you can see I supervised the kegging of FD's homebrew (I supervise most things around here).  I greeted everyone at the door and they all loved me -- who wouldn't?  A couple of little girls who came over were a little afraid of me at first, but then they realized that although I'm pretty big, I am very gentle.  They thought my fluffy tail was pretty cool, so I let them hold on to it.  By the end of the night I was exhausted from so much socializing, but I loved every minute of it! 

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Tessie has had an eventful couple of days!  She had a minor operation to remove the mast cell tumor on the left side of her belly.  With an older pup like Tess, the risks and benefits of surgery have to be considered carefully.  The tumor wasn’t the type that could spread and take her life, but there were some risks to leaving it alone.  This type of tumor has a tendency to bleed and release histamine (i.e.  produce a really bad allergic-type reaction) if they are bumped or cut.  Since Tessie was going to be around our active 4 year old golden as well as possible doggie housemates in her future family’s home, the vet thought that this complication was a real possibility. We think Tessie still has some good years left in her, and after some consideration we all decided that it was best for the tumor to come out.

She tolerated the surgery just fine.  She was more or less back to her normal self by the time we brought her back home.   With a little pharmacologic help, she was even more relaxed than she usually is!  She has been wearing a stretchy fishnet-like “t-shirt” to keep her dressing in place and looks mighty spiffy in her new outfit.  Today is post-op day 1 and she is doing great.  Were it not for the incision and dressing, you’d probably never guess she had surgery yesterday.  We’ll continue to watch her wound, make sure she’s comfortable, and get her back to 100% soon!

Tessie continues to do well otherwise.  She LOVES her new kidney-friendly diet, looks forward to taking daily walks, enjoys the warm weather (you should see her drink from the hose!), and is a great friend to everybody in our home.  She would fit very well with a person or family who wants a relaxed, low-maintenance, super-sweet, quiet, and happy dog.  She probably wouldn’t be best if you are looking for a sporting dog that will go jogging or do agility training with you, but she does need some exercise to stay happy! 

That's all for now, but we'll keep you all posted as Tessie heals up.  Thanks again to her sponsors for helping make her surgery a success!

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Sorry for the delay in updates!  Tessie has fit into our home so easily I forget she's a foster and we need to write updates!  First of all we need to thank Chris and Christine Olson for sponsoring Tessie!  What a lucky lucky girl she is to have people who care enough to make sure she stays happy and healthy -- THANK YOU!!!  Kisses from Tessie!

Tessie is an absolute joy to have around. She is a constant companion who is more than happy lazing around the house all day. She also loves hanging out outside.  She thinks that drinking out of the hose is GREAT and looks so cute bouncing around chasing the stream of water.  Tessie also loves rolling around in the grass and chasing tennis balls. Lets clarify, Tessie LOVES tennis balls.  The only times we have heard Tessie bark thus far is when she is outside in the backyard and either we or her tennis ball is out of reach of her tie out.  Despite being an older lady, she sure dances around like a puppy when she's excited!  She always has a little sparkle in her eye and a smile on her face. 

Here are a couple pictures from a recent trip to the park.  As you can see, she still has some spring in her step!  She tires out a bit more quickly than our resident golden, Abby, but she has just as much fun! 

Bottom line, if you'd like to meet the consummate golden - a gentle, loving, cuddly, and happy companion - you need to meet Tessie.  She deserves a wonderful home, and hopefully you can provide one for her!