Mary Ann

#13-080 Mary Ann, update 8/12

Medical Hold

We knew this old Golden was in rough shape when she arrived,  so it’s no surprise that her  first month as a GRR dog has had its ups and downs. But Mary Ann didn’t make it to a ripe old age already without being a pretty tough gal – and she’s still soldiering on. Go, Mary Ann!

Just a few days into GRR care, foster mom became concerned that Mary Ann’s appetite came and went, and one of the meds she was taking seemed to be making her feel pretty miserable, too. Better safe than sorry—back to the clinic, a change in antibiotics, and some more time on IV fluids to address dehydration and perk her up. Those horrible ear infections were taking a long time to show any improvement, so: “Something else must be up,” thought her vet, and decided to take additional X-rays. Bingo! The films showed that Mary Ann’s ear canals were so calcified (yes, from years and years of infection and inflammation) that they were affecting her jaw & her ability to eat. We made immediate plans to get her to a specialist, with an eye towards surgery, but in the meantime, her diet was switched to easy-to-eat “gruel” (soft food thinned with water). That helped! She put on close to five pounds and clearly felt more chipper.

On August 8, Mary Ann arrived at the surgeon’s office for ear ablation, an operation in which the entire ear canal is removed; in such severe cases, it’s the only way to eliminate the calcification and infection. When the doctor began to work, he discovered a huge abscess—a pocket of infection—beginning in Mary Ann’s left ear, passing behind her left eye, and reaching her throat. There was so much infected fluid in the abscess (close to 8 ounces) that Mary Ann’s esophagus was pushed out of position. With the abcess drained and the left ear canal removed, the vet decided to stop there instead of also removing the right ear canal. “Surprisingly, the right eardrum is still intact, so we may be able to salvage that ear after all.” After such a long and difficult surgery, Mary Ann came to and was up & around a lot sooner than the vet expected. Good news!

The vet did comment that she still cannot open her jaw all the way, and he suspects that she probably has  “masticatory myositis,” an atrophy of the jaw muscle that is autoimmune in origin. It can respond to steroids, so we’ll start her on a course of prednisone and keep our fingers crossed.

And oh yes, those skin issues… while she’s on prednisone, we’ll take her off oral antifungal medications but continue with the medicated shampoos, which Mary Ann seems to enjoy.

Please send positive thoughts Mary Ann’s way, with wishes for her feeling better each day! So far, so good: Foster mom picked up Mary Ann on Monday afternoon, 8/12. “When we arrived home, she quickly went potty, ate a good-sized meal, drank water, and has laid down for a rest. Unfortunately during her hospital stay she lost five pounds and is now at 44. Never fear, I'll work diligently to pack on the pounds. She looks like a Russian babushka with her little kerchief on her head and her eyes seem brighter. She's also much more inclined to wag her tail. The techs said she was running around and seemed quite energetic. I'm very pleased with her recovery so far.”

#13-080 Mary Ann, age 10

AVAILABILITY TBD

HW POSITIVE

It was another blistering July morning in Central Texas when the old Golden appeared on a kind gentleman’s front porch… it looked as if, sometime during the night, she had wandered as far as she could and, too tired to take another step, had simply laid down to rest her old bones. “Who could she be?” he wondered as he headed off to work. “Well, she’ll likely find her way home by tonight.” But when he arrived home in the evening, there she still was. Whatever instinct had led her to that porch hadn’t steered her wrong: she’d picked the very place to find the rescue she needed. Her new friend bought some food and gave her a bowl of cool water to drink—and when she still hadn’t budged the next morning, he contacted the local shelter. “I think she might be ill,” he explained. “Can you find her some help?”

No sooner said than done! The staff sent us a photo of a skinny, long-eared redhead, her expression solemn, her auburn coat flecked with gray. “We’re beyond swamped with the flood of July 4^th strays & we’re having to kennel outdoors. The younger ones can take it but it’s so tough on our oldies, and this one isn’t well. Animal control is just not the place for her! She’s SO sweet, so patient and undemanding, but she needs more medical care than we can provide.” For one thing, those beautiful ears were clearly badly infected – red, swollen, painful, oozing. The flaps are thickened from old hematomas, telling us that the ear infections have likely been a lifelong problem.

We made immediate plans to get her to a vet – and the above-and-beyond shelter manager even shuttled the old gal to the clinic! Now what she needed was a name: something sweet and simple and old-fashioned. “Mary Ann” seemed just right.

A new name—and a new life, too. How good it felt to rest her aching body on a soft, cool dog bed at last. After who knows how many days of homelessness and uncertainty, what bliss to be cared for by gentle, loving hands! As the staff bathed her sore and itchy skin, combed out the snarls and mats in her fur, and carefully cleaned her painful ears & packed them with medication, Mary Ann wagged her appreciation and gratitude.

At just 49 pounds, Mary Ann is underweight. She has infected skin, intestinal worms, and heartworms; her teeth are bad; and of course those ears are a project for sure. But after what looks like years of neglect, she’s in the right place at last. In fact, she so charmed the clinic staff that one of the techs, who just happens to be a GRR mom already, volunteered to take her home and foster her. Talk about your ideal situations! Getting her to and from the vet for her appointments will be a breeze.

More to come as Mary Ann regains her health. We’re all looking forward to seeing her feel better & better!