Joy

Updated 2/26/12

Joy, age 6

AVAILABLE

Oh joy! We’ve been waiting and waiting to write up a story for lovely Joy—she had surgery for some lumps on her tummy, and we wanted to make sure that all was well. We just got the pathologist’s report, and the news is great: no cancer, just severe inflammation. But more on that in a minute. First, we’ll fill you in on this sweet girl’s history.

Joy’s GRR story started at the very end of November, when she was brought as a stray to the shelter. “Plump female, very nice and friendly, release date December 6. We are on her if no owner reclaims,” read our intake notes.  But before the day arrived, Joy was adopted to an interested family straight out of the pound. And that was that, we thought. But not so fast…

Ten days later, the adopters brought their new dog back to the shelter, concerned that she was having a rough recovery from the spay surgery performed right before her release. “Pet is lethargic, no appetite, vomiting, bleeding from nipples and incision. We suspect a pre-existing condition is causing blood from nipples, cannot rule out mammary cancer, but mastitis is more likely. Strongly encouraged owners to take pet to their regular vet for follow-up as we cannot test or make specific recommendations here,” say the shelter records. And a bit farther down the page: “Owner elects to return pet as result of post-op vomiting, guarded prognosis for possible cancer, inability to comply with medications as prescribed for pet, concern about any condition that would require follow-up with vet or expenditure of funds.”

Luckily, there was a Plan B for Joy. On December 14, we were contacted a second time: “You had your name on this dog before. Adopters returned her. Are you still interested?”  Absolutely! The next morning Joy was whisked off to the clinic for a thorough exam.

She started at once on a regimen of antibiotics and warm compresses on her tummy, but though she seemed to be feeling A-OK, the lumps along her mammary chain didn’t completely subside. The vet elected to remove them—after first doing bloodwork and chest X-rays to check for anything suspicious (those tests came back 100% normal). And when the pathologists examined the tissue that had been excised, all they found was lots and lots of inflammatory cells: looks like the problem was, indeed, simply a very bad case of mastitis.  Whew! The only issue left for us to address now is a mild “spay incontinence” problem: Joy occasionally leaks a bit during her sleep. She’s started on an inexpensive but effective medication that should help clear that up.  

Meanwhile, Joy is living up to her name & has settled in happily in foster care. She’s a big girl at 92 pounds, but she’s actually not that tubby – she’s just BIG, with big big paws to match. Foster mom is diligently trying to pare off the excess few pounds, but so far Joy is scornful of the fresh veggies added to her chow and spits them out—unless you outsmart her by pureeing them! We know she’ll come to enjoy them, because this girl does like her food: she can smell a treat hidden in your pocket and will pester you to hand it over.

She’s a happy, loving girl who likes to be wherever you are, and gets on great with other dogs. “It took her all of thirty seconds to bond with her Golden foster brother and sister. She adjusted to her new surroundings very quickly. When the people aren’t home, she loves to hang out with her new brother Mason. She keeps him interested and he gets down off the water bed to play, or they lie on the sofa together.”

Joy is a great car rider.  Because of her weight, she needs a little lift to get her back end into the SUV.  No problems getting into a sedan, where she does not have to jump up as far. She still needs some work on leash-walking– looks like she hasn’t had much practice, as she pulled like crazy at first! Now she’s getting the hang of it.

Joy  loves to sit at the front window and watch the squirrels and deer.  She puts her chin on the window sill and stays that way until her little legs slide her down to the floor, where she take a “cat” nap.  Joy is exactly what her name is!

Adoption Procedures