Holly

Updated 11/15/10

On a walk around their neighborhood, a young couple met a clearly neglected Golden girl: matted, dirty, flea-infested, passing bloody urine… but oh, so affectionate and friendly. Rather than turn away, “We have to do something,” they decided—and went knocking on doors to find the little dog’s family.So often in these cases, any attempt to help is met with, “Mind your own business!” But this time: “We know we aren’t able to care for her,” said her elderly owners. “If you are able to find her a new home, please take her.”

Holly’s picture soon appeared on a Facebook page—and when GRR President Maura saw it, she contacted the posters & suggested giving GRR a call. Margo quickly headed out to meet Holly, and sent off a rave review, in all caps no less! “THIS IS AN OUTSTANDINGLY NICE LITTLE GAL. EVERYONE WILL WANT HER.” Concerns over Holly’s health meant we brought her in right away, and sure enough, an initial vet visit revealed a raging urinary tract infection. But the antibiotics didn’t seem to help, and by the next afternoon an emergency trip to the vet was in order. A quick ultrasound & X-rays revealed that Holly’s bladder was literally loaded with stones.“Three of them are as large as golf balls, and there are hundreds of little ones. Dr Stried says it is ‘amazing’ & ‘the case of the year.’ I can’t imagine how painful this must be.” At 7 AM the next day—October 23—Holly had successful surgery. By afternoon, she was recuperating—and a couple of days after that, she was frisking around, doing play bows, and feeling better than she had in ages. The further good news is that the problem can be controlled by keeping a sharp eye out for ANY signs of a UTI, then treating at once—the stones form as a result of an overgrowth of bad bacteria in the bladder. In foster care, she’s had a few accidents, but the vet is confident those will resolve as she recovers fully. (As you can imagine, her bladder walls were terribly thickened and inflamed as a result of the infection and stones.)

Holly also has heartworms, but she’s already had her first injection. “Second treatment  will  be around December 8,” her foster mom reports.  “Exercise restriction for another month, until around January 8, 2011.  Then she is considered heartworm free & is off exercise restriction. If a family surfaces for her shortly after 12/8 and can keep her quiet until early January, they could give themselves an early Christmas present! Holly is a super great, sweet dog. She would be perfect for anyone and may be particularly happy with a family. She is so social, sweet and well-behaved she would make any family happy. She gets along with all people and animals.”