Prudence

She is 14-15 years old. She is (we think) a bichon/cocker spaniel mix and has Addison's disease. When rescued she required surgery to correct "cherry eye" in both eyes, treatment for a heartworm condition, a heart murmur, two serious ear infections and, ultimately surgery for bladder stones. This was all before we adopted her! She is now developing cataracts in both eyes and must be given frequent drops to combat excessive dryness and irritation, needs regular checks on her ears, and, of course ... vigilant watch for the return of bladder stones.

In short ~
Prudence could be considered a time consuming, expensive medical "package",
but ~
her gentle, loving disposition and her visible expressions of "gratitude" for the care we give her has made adopting a senior dog all worthwhile.
In fact ~
we owe a debt of thanks to this little lady for teaching us the lesson that
life does not end with youth and good health ...
and that happiness is not so much the result of having what one wants,
but of sharing "well" what one has.

In addition to advancing age and illness,
Prudence arrived here in April dangerously overweight.
Below are photos, recording her weight loss.

Prudence (in April '07) at thirty-seven pounds ...

Her grooming was wonderful. Believe it or not her haircut was short. The layers of what looks like hair laying along her sides and neck are actually rolls of fat.

At this weight Prudence had a very hard time even standing up from a lying position. Even a
ten-minute walk (which was done at a painfully slow waddle) had her huffing and puffing hard!

Prudence (in May) at her "new weight" of twenty-eight pounds ...

Her haircut is a little uneven in the pictures below, but at this weight she can run with the younger dogs and play tug-of-war for a few minutes at a time now, which she does frequently throughout the day.

She stands easily and has a spring in her step. Her walk is a rhythmic trot now and she can manage gentle up and down slopes for forty minutes or more.

Prudence loves her walks and is very fond of meeting new people and friendly dogs along the way. We think she begins to "smile" the minute we pull out her leash.

In early October, after living with us for six months, our dear old Prudence showed signs of being "in season". Family of her former owner, who turned her in at the rescue a year earlier, said that she had already been spayed. Hmmm?

A visit to the vet confirmed that, not only was Prudence in season, but she had also developed a mammary mass that needed to be removed. So, last October, Prudence went through another surgery ... spaying and the removal of a cancerous tumor.

She is now fully recovered and, aside from a little stiffness and a lot of napping, Prudence is doing just fine.

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