Mona owner instagram: https://www.instagram.com/acciofaith/
breed: Sapsaree
color: Black & Grey
gender: Female (neutered on 2022.4.2)
age: 10Y4M (est. DOB 2011.12.24)
BW: 18kg
2021.12.26 DHPPL(1), Rabies
2022.01.13 DHPPL(2), Corona(1)
2022.01.27 DHPPL(3), Corona(2), KC(1)
2022.02.10 DHPPL(3), KC(2)
2022.06.11 Ab test (very good CPV Ab; good CDV Ab)
2022.07.29 Plan to move to SF
Last Heartgard Plus on 6.25 (next 7.25)
Last Bravecto on 6.12 (next on 9.12)
Last internal dewormer (ParaCop) on 6.5
HEARTWORM TREATMENT
2021.12.30 Positive for heartworms & anaplasma (4Dx Plus test)
2021.12.30 Start 21-day premedication of heartworm treatment
2022.01.21 1st Injection for heartworm treatment
2022.01.22 2nd Injection for heartworm treatment
2022.01.23 Start 15-day medication post to heartworm treatment
2022.07.22 or later, a heartworm test is needed to confirm
make of pre- and post-medication of heartworm treatment
major: doxycycline, prednisone
minor: Ursodeoxycholic Acidc, L-Aspartic Acid L-Ornithine, milk thistle
BACKGROUND
Mona appeared on a stray-dog notice with comments ‘heartworm positive’. With her age, it seemed like a death sentence. It was no wonder that she was not adopted. Thus we rescued her on Christmas Eve.
MONA IS...
Mona is an old female sapsaree. She loves walks, meaty treats, and to stay by your side. What she thinks is a mystery because she is expressionless a lot of times. But her eyes twinkle when she sees you to return from work or when you open a bag of yummy treats or when she notices a walk time is near. She gets along with most dogs but rambunctious young dogs.
SOCIABILITY WITH PEOPLE
Mona is friendly and sweet with people. She could be a little suspicious about you being a good person at first. She will open up once she realizes you are okay. She is likely fine with small children or indoor cats.
SOCIABILITY WITH DOGS AND CATS
Mona is friendly to other dogs too. She approaches and greets them with her tail wagging. She hardly plays with them though, probably with her low energy. She occasionally mingles with them when she is excited. Most of the time she sunbathes, sleeps or sits & watches quietly the dogs playing in the yard.
Mona has not been with cats. But she will be okay with cats.
ENERGY / ACTIVITY LEVEL
Low in general.
However, Mona is a different dog during nature walks. We take a walk after breakfast. After breakfast you’ll see her waiting for a sign to go out. She loves leash-free nature walks especially; she smiles constantly and walks energetically (for her) during the walk. She is good in coming back to you on command. And she won’t leave you or the pack.
THINGS TO KNOW FOR A LIFE TOGETHER
House broken? Yes.
Training? Not tried but good with "wait" and "come"
Leash training? Tried but pulled.
Car rides? Good
Shedding? Low
Barking? Low
Appetite? Good (2C/AM & 1.5C/PM)
Separation anxiety? None (she will sleep)
others: Mona loves meaty treats. Her two favorites are freeze-dried beef liver and soft chicken jerky.
SPECIAL NEEEDS (see Mona's blood test results in PDF below)
Mona was in poor health when she came to us. She hardly ate and laid down most of the time. She could see but her eyes were cloudy. She seemed to have trouble in maintaining balance while she walked. She walked in a hurry (as if she was afraid of loosing her balance if she walked slowly). Her eyes were without joy and hopeless.
December 30, 2021
The 1st vet visit. We learned her platelet count was very low. A 4DX plus test showed that she had anaplasma in addition to heartworms. We started the treatment for anaplasma and heartworms right away.
February 10, 2022
We visited the vet because Mona has anal gland inflammation. It was after the heartworm treatment (injections on Jan 21st & 22nd and she finished her medication post to heartworm treatment by Feb 6th). The blood work showed that her platelet count turned normal but she was anemic (low RBC), high GPT and BUN. Mona received a prescription medication for anal gland inflammation (7 days).
February 19, 2022
Mona's anal gland inflammation was controlled by this time by medication. Simple blood test to check creatine to rule out kidney problem. Creatine normal and GPT better (almost normal). Still low RBC. We decided to feed her better and keep checking her blood.
April 2, 2022
Simple blood test gave normal results (why didn't we do complete blood work? I don't know.. we should have). Thus we proceeded to spay her on the same day. The vet removed mammary gland tumors from her 2 nipples and ovarian cystic tumor that he discovered during spaying surgery.
May 7, 2022
Complete blood work resulted in very high GOP, GPT and ALP. Suspecting a liver problem, we attempted an ultrasound. But the liver was not shown up. Mona was prescribed medication for liver (1 month). RBC normal. We all surprised because Mona was doing great physically and mentally. She was active (accompanying our daily off-leash morning walks) and seemed happy.
May 17, 2022
Simple blood test only to check liver enzyme indices. Better than before, still high GOP and quite high GPT.
May 19, 2022
We visited a big hospital and did x-ray and utrasound to see if she has liver cancer. The results showed nothing that could explain her high liver enzyme indices. To rule out liver cancer, a biopsy was needed that required a surgery under anesthesia. We decided to keep what we have been doing (let her taking liver medicine and checking her blood once a month), considering her advanced age.
June 11, 2022
Complete Blood work. Low RBC again; GOP high; GPT & ALP still quite high. These values are getting closer to normal range, though.
IDEA HOME
Mona will do better in a house without rambunctious young dogs. Mona will avoid them.
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Mona's Stray Dog Notice. Mona seemed to have been cared somewhat by her previous owner, judging by her fur shown in the stray-dog notice. The picture was taken in late Nov. Thus it seemed to have been trimmed around August for the last time.
Mona was rescued on Christmas Eve, 2021.
She had stayed at the pound about a month before she came to us. She seemed enervated and depressed with very low appetite. She did a lot of rest, sitting or lying, at that time.
She was positive for heartworm and anaplasma. The results of blood work wasn't good either. Initially she had low platelet. Thus we decided to postpone the spaying surgery (and any other surgery) until her blood test returned normal results. We decided to proceed with the treatment of heartworm and anaplasma.
Mona felt pretty good when we visited the vet for the heartworm treatment.
But she whined in pain and spent time lying 1-3 days after receiving the injection.
Mona recovered well from the heartworm treatment. But her blood work showed low RBC. Thus she was fed more carefully with more red meat and seaweed, both of which are supposed to be good for anemia.
Her condition improved gradually with good food and rest. Finally on April 10th, 2022, the blood test gave normal results and she was spayed. While preparing her surgery, the vet discovered she had mammary gland tumor. During spaying, the vet also found ovarian cystic tumor. Both tumors were removed. Mona made a speedy recovery. She has been stable even since.
Mona is happy. She eats well. And she loves walks.
Mona enjoys car rides without motion sickness.
It is not fun to be abandoned with heartworm diseases and tumors, at an age more than 10 years. We hope she could enjoy her remaining time on this earth as any dog should. She deserves it.
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