SPANKY AND DARLA
FEBRUARY 2005 AND ONGOING

GREAT NEWS!! SPANKY AND DARLA HAVE A NEW, FOREVER HOME!!!!!

Darla and Spanky came into foster care together. Darla is around 8-9 years old and apparently came from a puppy mill. Spanky came from Canada and is around 10-12 years old. We have no specifics because their papers did not come with them.

Their owners surrendered them because they have some serious family illness and are not able to care for them. Their lack of time meant that both were essentially living in their crates except for potty time. We knew that Spanky had lost most of his sight due to eye infections but we were shocked to see him when he arrived at the vet's office for surrender. Spanky's eyes were in very bad shape with active infections. But his ears were also severely infected to the point where they had swollen closed. And his skin is so badly infected that his chest and belly areas are black. His owners felt that he wasn't in any pain because he did not cry and whine so they did not seem to understand how much he must have suffered. If you can imagine how you would feel with eye infections so severe that you went blind from them and ear infections so severe that you could no longer hear. And many Westie owners are familiar with the black, yeasty skin issues but few see them get this bad. Dogs often do not let on to their level of pain and discomfort. In a pack, a sick dog is often killed by the other dogs so their nature is to hide their pain. It doesn't mean that there is no pain.

Darla was in much better shape. Her ears are infected but not so severely. While Spanky will require ear surgery on both ears to even begin to treat them, Darla's ears are being treated and are improving quickly. Darla needs to be spayed and she will soon be ready to go into foster care.

Darla and Spanky are very interdependent. Spanky is a very calm, quiet little guy and doesn't easily upset. But Darla feels she is responsible for Spanky. She was his "seeing eye dog". At times she would put her mouth on his neck and lead him. She gets very upset when they are separated.

PLANS:
(Dr. Carol McKee, Southpointe Veterinary Hospital, Allen Park, MI 313-381-7180)
We will be waiting another couple of weeks to let antibiotics continue to work on Spanky. He needs to have his ears surgically opened so that medication can reach the area of infection. But because of the infection, surgery can be tricky. Somewhere around the 21st of the month, he will probably have his surgery so that we can begin treating the ears more adequately. We hope that this will allow him to regain hearing, at least to some extent. It is possible that, if the infections cannot be made to come under control, we will have to go in and do a surgery that would destroy his eardrums and leave him deaf. We are trying to avoid that. In the meantime his skin and eyes are being treated. His eyes are already showing a lot of improvement and he seems to be regaining some sight. We will be testing soon to see just how much.

As you can imagine, this is all an expensive process. When we are done we will be left with two senior dogs, one of whom has limited sight and possibly limited hearing. But Spanky has been through so much and has such a great spirit we think it is worthwhile. Many of us have begun to call him SPUNKY instead of Spanky! And his sister has been so loyal to him, we have to try to keep them together. If we can't find a home that will take them both, then at least we will look for two homes that will take one each and make them very special little dogs for their remaining years.

March 11, 2005
We have had some good news on our little ones. From the vet caring for them:

I checked Spanky again yesterday. He is able to see now - his right eye has cleared up quite a bit, his left eye still has alot of vascularization of the cornea and pigment and still some very thick discharge.

His ears are improved - the swelling has come down enough that I can get an otoscope into the ear canal now. His skin continues to improve but has a long way to go.

My revised plan for him is to start him on 25 mg Atopica once a day for 15 days, then if he is tolerating that well, increase the dose to 50 mg once a day. I am going to hold off on surgery of his ears now and hope that if we can resolve his allergies, that the ears will improve even more.

I have Darla scheduled for her spay on Tuesday. I will do a complete exam of her ears at that time, but she is looking very good. Her behavior has improved immensely also since she has been there.

So, I feel that it is good news for both Spanky and Darla!


March 24, 2005

Darla and Spanky left the vet's office after being there for a month and came home to foster care on Wednesday. They are both doing very well. Spanky has enough sight to get along well. (If you did not know he had sight problems, you would not know it from watching him move about.) He can even do steps. He loves to go outside in the yard and explore. He is a sweet boy and very pretty. He clearly does have hearing even though his ears are still closed. He responds when you call and seems to actually hear very well. Some of this may be because he is following the other dogs; another reason for keeping him with Darla if possible.

Darla insists on being close enough to touch Spanky when he gets his frequent baths

The doctor wants to wait for 3-4 weeks to see how much the meds may help before deciding on surgery. Note: I am not finding that his eyes have any excessive drainage now. The infections have cleared up but he will probably need eye drops for the rest of his life. His skin is improving nicely and he is growing his coat back already.

Darla is doing well also. She has been spayed and her medical issues are all cleared. She could be placed except that we would like to keep them together. Darla is very concerned about Spanky and doesn't like him to be out of her sight although she has started to let him go in the yard without her. She checks on him frequently and is a real "mother hen". Darla is very sweet. She loves to climb in your lap for petting (so does Spanky). She may be 8 years old but she looks and acts like a 1 year old. She hasn't been the least bit nippy.

Both have been getting along very well with the two resident dogs. Neither has growled or been the least out of sorts. Spanky gets eye drops and ear drops and would prefer not to. But he puts up with it nicely. Both went to the groomers and did a fine job there also. They look so much cuter now.

SPANKY AFTER GROOMING @ THE DOG SHOPPE IN ROCHESTER HILLS, MI

DARLA AFTER GROOMING @ THE DOG SHOPPE IN ROCHESTER HILLS, MI

March 28,2005
Another vet (Dr. Theodoroff, Animal Medical Center, Rochester Hills 248-852-9800) looked at Spanky today and was pleased with what he saw. We had run out of medication and since moving into foster care, we are now a long distance from the original vet. The new vet checked Spanky over and indicated that he is now able to see into the ear canals quite well and doesn't think there will be a need for the ear surgery. The treatment to date is working well. We will continue with ear drops and the Atopica in hopes for more improvement. His eyes are looking (relatively) good but we will do another tear test in a month or so. This all likely started with something that is not unusual in older dogs...dry eye. When dry eye isn't treated, an eye infection will start and because the resulting infection was not treated, his eyes were damaged. The infection is now cleared but because he doesn't produce tears, there will always be a need for medication. His skin is improving. Because there is still some smell associated with the black skin, he is receiving a medicated bath almost daily. We are also cleaning both dogs' ears 2-3 times a week. Spanky continues to improve and is just the happiest little boy.

Darla has become very attached to foster mom and would really like not to have to share her attention with 3 other dogs. During Spanky's last bath she didn't demand to be right next to him...she was willing to watch from the floor. When we got home from the vet, she gave most of her attention to foster mom instead of to Spanky. We see this as a good thing in that she seems to be recognizing that Spanky can take care of himself now and doesn't need her in the same way that he used to need her. We would love to see the interdependence continue to reduce. Darla deserves to be allowed to live her own life without all that responsibility for Spanky.


April 7, 2005 Darla and Spanky continue to do well. Spanky no longer requires daily baths. The smell is almost gone and his hair seems to be more grown in every time I look. He is peppy and playing like a puppy. He likes to play ball and can see to fetch as long as the ball isn't thrown at a distance. He joins in on play sessions with the other dogs. Darla used to worry and try to stop the play but now she seems to see that he is okay and lets him play under a watchful eye. Spanky likes to climb on the back of the couch and "trill" in your ear in hopes of petting. Darla snuggles right into your body and wants to be held and petted. She also likes the back of the couch and even behind the couch. They both get along with the other dogs but I think they would like to be the only two dogs in a home so they could get even more attention and petting. Darla was a little leery of a man who visited but would go and get a treat, then return to foster mom to eat it. Spanky has no concerns. He trusts everyone.


April 29, 2005 Spanky went to the vet today for a tear test. His eyes have not been producing tears which is what caused the infections to start. We have been treating them since he came into Rescue and today we had a chance to find out if it was working. Spanky is such a good little boy. He held very still while the vet stuck a test strip into his eye and waited for it to work. In the end, Spanky's eyes both showed normal tear production!!! Now we will stop the medication and watch to see if he can produce those tears on his own or if he will have to have eye meds for life. We will go back in one week to retest, assuming his eyes don't look dry prior to that time. What a fighter this boy has been!! And so spunky now. He bounces around and demands his dinner or attention when he wants it! He has a wonderful spirit!

Anyone interested in adopting a Westie can go to our Rescue Website to get the application and read about our rescue process.

This was Spanky when he first arrived. Compare the black skin on his chest to the recent photo after his grooming. He has come a long way.