Jalo Revisited

One year after Jalo now Gidget was adopted, I asked Mary to provide us with an update, hoping she could share with us the joys of adopting a Senior dog! Mary writes:

And of course, this little Sheltie, Jalo, came home with me… when I first saw Jalo (now Gidget) walk up my driveway, she had no fur, sores covering her little body and little chipmunk teeth….but she definite has attitude! She walked right up to my 18 year old cat and ate her food! She knew she found her forever home! My little Gidget is just a sweetheart!

Gidget never leaves my side and when I leave the house, she waits by the front door for my return. Gidget runs the house….Trek and Hey Boo Boo know that she is in charge and she seems to enjoy it! I swear she has sense of humor!

Gidget’s age is not known, but her vet and I believe she is well past 10 years old. It did not take me long to realize Gidget is deaf. At first I thought she was just stubborn, but when she didn’t hear the vacuum, I knew she was deaf…but Gidget does enjoy being vacuumed! Now that she has an amazing new coat, it helps keep the house a little cleaner! Gidget was just a breeding dog that was dumped when she was no longer of use, She never knew love nor how to play. She now knows love, but still just stares at me when I throw a ball. The old “puppies” love unconditionally and are love bugs!

I remember when I first lost Nitro checking Petfinder for another senior Aussie and found a sweet, horribly neglected 11 year old Aussie named Summer. I knew that Gidget would need a lot of TLC, so I thought I would wait until Gidget was settled in and comfy before looking for a companion. In April I checked again on Petfinders and found that Summer still needed a home….I guess it was meant to be that Summer would come home to the Burns house! Another senior that no one wanted would now have a forever home! I know people want the perfect little puppies, but I wish they could understand how precious the old “puppies” are and the joy they bring to your life! Summer is now named Hey Boo Boo….and what a doll baby! She had a horrible life as a breeding dog, but is now living the life of leisure.

Gidget's first Easter in Cocoa Beach — Gidget’s first Easter in Cocoa Beach

She was given a nice doggie bed, but she prefers the white futon! Anytime I walk past Hey Boo Boo she rolls over for her tummy rub! Hey Boo Boo, Trek and Gidget compete for tummy rubs! I need a third hand! But when you lay down with her, she wraps her paws around you like a child. It is so great to watch Trek, Hey Boo Boo and Gidget together….they love their walks, visits to the beach and drives in the car.

I love my precious seniors… I still miss my Little Nitro terribly ….he brought total joy to me which made me commit to only adopting the seniors. The old puppies need to know love, hugs and kisses… for whatever time they have left. I truly have a full and happy home…..Eve (18 year old kitty), Trek (Bob’s 9 year old Shepherd mix), Gidget (12 plus Sheltie) and Hey Boo Boo (12 year old Aussie)!

Mary

This is an awesome before and after photo eh? This little girl just happened to be dropped off at Miami-Dade Animal Services while Jackie was just walking by…. and she called me! Cute little thing is about five years old and she weighs in at 35 pounds. There is no background information, no reason why.

Here are her photos on Facebook.

On Facebook, Mickey Hibbard writes: it always puzzles me,, WHY?? and HOW?? these babies are so sweet, and abandoned to death?? ugh,, shame on the owners,,but blessings are coming to jalo,, and some soft hearted people out there, who have been waiting just for her ♥

My response to Mickey is all we know is her story has just begun my dear. I hear she has been very neglected. It will take much work to get this girl healthy again. Jackie is in charge!!! She is a sheltie, about five years old, but she is in bad shape with regard to hot spots, matting and her coat. Jackie reports the only way to treat the skin is to shave her down a bit. Good news is her teeth are good and she is heartworm negative… that is a miracle! She will undergo the TDL transformation for sure!

We will have more photos and details about this sweet little Sheltie, but for now, she is sleeping in a comfy bed next to Jackie safe and sound! I didn’t know what it was about her face that reminded me of Little Nitroright away, but now I do… it’s those eyes, and especially her eyebrows! We have since learned that Little Nitro passed away Wednesday. We hope that his story, his history and the way in which Nitro touched people’s hearts, will help promote adopting a senior pet. Even though Jalo is estimated to be about five years old, once again, her vet believes she “looks” much older because she has not been well cared for. Here’s more details written by Jackie:

Hi Gisele,

Jalo and I had a very busy day. She did great throughout the night. Slept soundly on her bed which is located at the foot of my bed. She didn’t move a muscle. I dont think she has ever slept on an actual bed before. She probably thinks she is getting the luxury treatment. Once we awoke she went right outside and did her business. After getting ready it was off to the vet.

I took her to Briarwood Animal Hospital in Miami, where I used to work for almost two years. Dr. Diaz, my old boss was great. He loves meeting all my rescues and is always ready to help. He confirmed the previous diagnosis of Seborrhea Sicca. After speaking to him about the different treatment methods we both agreed that the best way to attack the skin condition at its core is to treat it with antibiotics (Cephalexin 250 mg twice daily) and to shave her and treat her with medicated baths (Dermazole shampoo) three times a week. We will monitoring her progress for improvement. If her skin does not improve in a few weeks then he will add an anti fungal medication to continue to combat the infection.

Dr. Diaz informed me that this kind of skin condition can be caused by a number of other underlying issues, the main ones being thyroid problems, diabetes, and Cushings disease. While I am still waiting for the results of the thyroid test, diabetes and cushings disease has been ruled out.

Her blood work was normal except for her white blood cell count which was a bit elevated but that is normal given her skin infection. After discussing her treatment I began shaving her coat. You could see the instant relief in her eyes. It took me two hours to carefully shave her, being sure not to irritate her skin further. Shaving her revealed several large patches of dead and scaly skin. As I was shaving her paws down I noticed that her front left paw had not one dew claw, but two! I had never seen that before. After clipping the area further I noticed that both de claws had grown so long that it had pierced her skin and was embedded. One of the de claws fell out after clipping. The embedded portion of one nail had to be pulled out using hemostats. Fortunately there was no infection at the site of the nail and no abscess had formed.

Once shaved I bathed her using the medicated shampoo, being sure to scrape off all the dead skin. Her coat already looks so much better. She behaved so well and was so cooperative during the whole process. I have never had a dog behave so well during a body shave in my two years at working at the clinic. Everyone marveled at how excellent she behaved. Once I brought her home she immediately perked up. She has been exploring my home and walking up and down the house wagging her tail. She occasionally will come up to me and rub her face on my legs and then roll over on her back for me to pet her belly. She is really starting to open up. I think she is a real treasure. Will be sending you photos later tonight! ~Jackie

When I saw this photo on my phone, it didn’t show much detail. But this morning, I see a lot of redness, I see those bad spots Jackie talked about. Jackie asked me if she could shave Jalo… I said no, but after she described her condition and explained that there would be no way for us to treat her skin condition without a fresh start… without shaving all of that un-cared for hair… I said yes!

Jackie states that Jalo ignored some cats, but we are going to try to cat-test her shortly!

Adoption Update:

Hi Gisele and Jackie,

My friend stopped by to take a couple of pictures…hope they are okay! I thought it was cute that GiGi walks with her blanket like Nitro…she is a funny girl! I also sent a picture of Nitro…they look so much a like….Gisele, you were so right when you mention she reminded you of Little Ntiro….those sad little eyes….but this little GiGi is mischievous…but very funny!

I never know what I am going to find when I come home, but I greeted like I have been gone for days!

Everyday is a new day with little GiGi! Take care and thank you for all you do for this precious puppies!
Mary