Jessie has been a girl just full of surprises! The initial information we were given on Jessie is that she was picked up as a stray last fall and was at an Iowa Veterinary office, where she was adopted by a family. The family's circumstances changed and after six months as an outside dog, Jessie was returned to the Vet to see if they could place her in another home. The family then contacted RAGOM when they found out Jessie was going to be euthanized instead of placed. We were told her name was Jessie (or Rosie - we're not sure yet), that she was spayed and approximately 9 years old. So off I went to pick up a sweet white-faced senior from an Iowa transport run.
When we took a good look at this girl and watched her in action - we were quite sure she was not 9 years old and her white face is simply her coat coloring. After consulting three Vets at our clinic - the consensus is Jessie is between the ages of 4 and 6 years - so we're settling on 5 years. Upon examination they found that Jessie is unspayed, has a small mammary tumor, and an eye condition called Entropion; all minor issues and she is otherwise very healthy!!
Jessie underwent surgery yesterday for all three things, she was spayed, the mammary tumor was removed for biopsy and her eye condition was corrected on the affected eye lids - both lower and one upper. Entropion is a condition where the eyelid curves in and the eyelashes therefore "scrape" across the cornea causing irritation and in many cases scarring of the cornea. Luckily, Jessie's corneas are still in great shape and have not been damaged. We will wait to hear back that the tumor was benign and anticipate that being the result. It is not uncommon for dogs who have not been spayed to develop mammary tumors. Another great reason to spay your dogs when they are young!
I'm sure we'll be picking up a "hurting" dog this evening, but Jessie's personality will quickly see her through her recovery. Jessie is a real sweetie - LOVES attention and pets, sits so sweetly in front of you just waiting for them. She walks fairly well on a flat collar - she does some bobbing and weaving but does not pull - this is just going to take practice to keep her at your side. Jessie eats well, sleeps well at night on our bedroom floor (likes to snuggle on the bed before lights out!), and has had no accidents. One bout of counter cruising the first hour she was here - we told her "no" and that was it. She virtually ignores my cat - not even interested - and gets along fine with the three resident dogs. Jessie is not one to "dog play" but is very congenial to the other dogs with no arguments - except over a stuffed toy. We have several small hedgehogs - and if Jessie has one and is approached by another dog, she will "growl" them off but no snapping or skirmishes. She will surrender the toy to us, let us take food away from her (even out of her mouth) and you can easily handle any part of her body. Jessie's recovery will take about 10 days to two weeks for all stitches to be removed and follow-up treatments to be done. After that, we'll be looking for her forever home. Jessie's perfect home will be one where she is the only dog - she would love to be the sole beneficiary of ALL pets and attention. We have no young children and have not exposed her to any as of yet. With no "child" history and the fact that she is a stray - I would probably recommend older children only. She is fine with cats. I work from home, so Jessie is not left alone (with our dogs) for long periods of time. She does fine when we leave and we have been gone for up to 4 hours at a time.
