(Diagnosed a malignant adenocarcinoma. Euthanized on Dec, 28, 2022)
Rest in peace, Pearl. We loved you.
breed: Sapsaree
color: Grey
gender: Female (spayed on 2022.05.13)
age: 4Y (est. DOB 2018.06.01) (She seems much older, around 8?)
BW: 23kg
2022.05.26 DHPPL(1), Corona(1), Rabies
2022.06.09 DHPPL(2), Corona(2), KC(1)
2022.06.23 DHPPL(3), KC(2)
2022.12.20 Diagnosed a malignant adenocarcinoma
2022.12.28 Euthanasia
Last Heartgard Plus on 11.1 (next 12.1)
Last Bravecto on 9.10 (next on 12.10)
Last Fenbendazole (internal dewormer) on 10.27
BACKGROUND
Pearl was abandoned with a serious biting wound in her hip and tail area. The would was full of maggots. YongIn City Pound did a lot for Pearl. The biting wound was cleaned and disinfected. Then they spayed her because she bled due to either pyometra or dead fetus inside her uterus. They also operated on her for bladder stones and mammary gland tumor. They let us pull her out after she gained some strength back.
PEARL IS...
Pearl is big, kind and gentle with people and small dogs. She is very quiet. I think she must have endured human aggression for a long time without a whimper with her tail hanging low. Everyone who sees her agrees with me. She has dignified acceptance of whatever the fate may bring upon her. Now, with her regained strength, she greets me by coming closer whenever she notice me around her area. She give me her head low in my arms showing her gratitude and affection. My only wish is... to find her a good family who could show her the world is so worth living for.
SOCIABILITY WITH PEOPLE
Pearl is friendly. She approaches a stranger and him or her pet her. But she avoids touch sometimes as if she feels pain. I think it is her memory of pain from the wound she was abandoned with, not the real pain. She has gotten better in recent 1-2 months. I could caress her entire body in a long stroke without worrying her suffer from (imagined or real) pain now.
SOCIABILITY WITH DOGS AND CATS
Pearl likes small dogs or male dogs or gentle dogs. She approaches and greets new dogs with her tail wagging. That is all. She hardly plays with other dogs. I think she wants to be left alone or only with small number of gentle dogs, so that she could enjoy quietness and peace.
She had stayed inside home with me and other dogs briefly, not long after her rescue. I noticed that she was restless with no space to call her own. And she did not like rambunctious young dogs. She was not house broken either. Her health was not improving quickly and I noticed her walking was unstable. Thus I moved her to the section of the yard where she could be isolated by a gate and the ground is level. She no more needed to walk up an down 2-3 stairs to go in and out of the house, which seems to be difficult for her at that time.
Pearl has been staying isolated from the rest dogs for a few months now. Everyday I let the other dogs to enter her area or vice versa by leaving the gate open. She does seem to mind a puppy or small dogs to enter her area. But she hardly comes to the main yard on her own (She comes to poop/pee most time she visits the main yard, She tries her best not to soil her area. Whenever possible, she answers nature's calls outside of her area). She must have developed possessiveness over the area she stays. I occasionally saw her chasing away my big female GSDs by charging toward them with hissing sound. She does not fight, though.
Pearl reminds me of an old lady who went through so much in her life that all she wants is some peace and quietness. She is okay with small children but... she prefers to be away from big bossy people or rambunctious young ones.
Pearl has not been with any cats since she was rescued.
ENERGY / ACTIVITY LEVEL
Very low
THINGS TO KNOW FOR A LIFE TOGETHER
House broken? No
Training? Not done (she does not seem to be interested in pleasing people at all)
Leash training? Yes (she does not pull in general but she does not listen either. She walks slowly, sniffing around, pulling firmly toward she feels like going).
Car rides? OK
Shedding? Low
Barking? Low (The only time she barks is when she is left out from a walk. I think her vocal cord was surgically cut. She has this husky barks, typical of such dogs whose vocal cord was surgically manipulated to reduce sound intensity).
Appetite? Fine (she has been served with yummies since the rescue because she was anemic and too thin. Now she is about 24kg, still thin with little muscles).
Separation anxiety? None
Others: Pearl is very particular in a way that she avoids peeing and pooping in this area of hers, if she could. She tends to hold until she is being led out of this area. When she could not hold any longer, she pees in the same corner of the yard and poops under the same bush. When she is led out of her area, she has to discharge quickly. Thus she may poop or pee on the pavement. Thus I always walk her a little before a car ride (She also puts up during a ride. But then she make a mistake right after she is out of the car).
SPECIAL NEEDS
Pearls has some problems in walking, especially with her front legs. She will have difficulty in walking sharp up or down slopes or a long stairs. Thus hiking would be tough unless the trail is a very easy one. She could walk slow and steady on even grounds everyday for 30 min or longer.
IDEA HOME
Pearl needs a stable environment where she could find peace and quietness. She loves slow walks on an even surface. She could not go for a hiking unless it is a very easy course without abrupt slopes.
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Pearl's Stray Dog Notice
At the foster home, right after the rescue (June, 2022)
Still Pearl was in a delicate state. Her wound in her hips is still red, which she refused to be touched for an ointment. She had slight unbalanced gait during walks. Her right eye and the tip of both earlobes inflamed. She felt pain here and there over her body (June, 2022)
We have high hope for Pearl. She survived the wound and diseases that almost killed her. We hope she regains her health back and finds a very nice family who would love her and NEVER abandon her when she most needs help.
About a month after her rescue, I have noticed two unusual things about her walking. (1) She has trouble in walking up or down the stairs (more problem for up). And she often falls on the ground by awkward footing from her front legs. (2) Her arms seem to be out of the shoulder and turned forward and inward, which gives her shoulder a hunched look.
We made a visit to my local vet and then to a big hospital with orthopedic specialists. Long story short, Pearl has her cervical spinal vertebrae being fused together, which could cause some pain and some motion problems from the depression in the spinal nerves by the fused spines. Pearl's condition was not very advanced. Thus the vet prescribed anti-inflammatory drugs and pain killers, which did not improve her symptoms noticeably. This condition is not something that could be fixed easily by a surgery. Thus we decided to watch for the time being.
We made a closer observation when she almost falls. The problem is always in her left front legs. Firstly, she puts her front paws on the ground in a crossed way. Secondly, her front paw hits the ground with knuckles instead of paw pads and she almost falls (See the video below). This happens occasionally when she is tired or she walks up on the slope. When you walk up the slope, your foot meets the ground earlier than when you walk down the slope. It seems as if she does not estimate the time her paw hits the ground on upslope. Thus she hits the ground with clenched paw. (We don't know if these behaviors are related to the fused cervical spinal vertebrae).
About her hunched shoulder, the vet thought the lack of muscles might be the cause and recommended to feed her enough food with good nutrition. Pearl also had anemia at that time. Thus she was fed good-quality kibbles with wet food for every meal. She has gained and looks fit (not thin) these days. Still I think her shoulder is the same, though it is hard to notice due to her grown fur.
(Mona is another senior dog. Please compare the shoulder area of Pearl with that of Mona.)
Pearl has been improving slowly for the past 6 months since her rescue. Still she has trouble in walking up or down the stairs or the hills with sharp slopes. Thus I gave up on bringing her with the rest of the pack to our daily off-leash walks up on the hills. Instead, I walk her around the neighbors about 30 mins. She loves it. I bet she likes a longer walk but I don't have time. Her mood is improved also. All in all she seems stable with good appetite.
This following photos and videos are all taken from Oct to Nov, 2022.
Pearl loves a walk very much. She perks up whenever she thinks I take her out for a walk. In this video you can see that Pearl avoids stairs. She always takes a round route to get down from the house. She has difficulty in walking up or down the stairs. It is as if her single front leg could not support her body.
Pearl's daily walk in the neighbor. She occasionally makes wrong footing with her front paws walking on upslopes. She may have problem in the mountains, but she walks fine on even grounds.
Pearl waiting for me with another aged small dog named Dongdong (Nov 2022)
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