This is our foster dog Kammie. She is 8 years old and has been with us about 4 months now. She came from a large city kennel in our area to our sheltie rescue. Her owner died and she was taken to the kennel. Shelties generally do not kennel well because  most of them are too sensitive. Kammie went to one of the kennel’s foster homes so she could get out of that environment. With the stress of being there she had developed a green nasal discharge that she was being treated for as possible kennel cough. From the report I received, it sounded as if she did well in the foster home. She got along with another dog and a child. She was not eating well but I didn’t consider this to be much of a problem.  The kennel noted her weight upon arrival at 59 lbs. She was down to 53 lbs. when I got her. I estimate her ideal weight should be 35 lbs.

I actually have a potential home in mind for her. Kammie would be perfect for one of our previous adopters that is ready for another dog. She has had a string of annoying small things that keep going wrong with her that have prevented me from calling about her new home.

First she still had green discharge from her nose. I gave antibiotics for that. We are working on getting her thyroid hormone levels under control. They were too low which explains a few things. She gets pills twice a day for that. She has already lost a few more pounds so that is going well. Her blood work also showed problems with her liver. We ran it again a couple weeks later and it was better after her various treatments and time to de-stress.  Her blood work also showed abnormal kidney function. We discovered a urinary infection and got more antibiotics. They didn’t work so we did a culture and got different antibiotics. Thank goodness for my pill shooter gun.Things seem to be improving.

Soon we will retest the thyroid levels and check for kidney function again. The vet said it is possible that these kidney numbers are just normal for her. Then…if all goes well she can get a dental and have a benign cyst removed. And once she heals up… then she will be ready for her new home.

Luckily, Kammie is an easy dog. She barks a little but aside from that she mostly just lays around. She comes up to us for petting but if we don’t oblige, she just goes and finds a quiet corner. She does like to spend time outside with the other dogs. I am glad to have the pleasure of being a part of her life.