6 Year Old Mary

Mary, after grooming and vetting.
Mary is one of the "20 Pennsylvania Bichons", who were turned into a kill shelter, by a "breeder", near Coalgate County, Pa. She was then charged with over 20 counts of Animal Cruelty. All of the dogs were very, very, thin. This is what Mary looked like before...
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This is what her foster mom, Tracy, has to say, about Mary...

Subj: Mary and the Vet
Date: 8/23/2000 7:39:20 AM Central Daylight Time
From: TLOSZR@aol.com
To: Pup3

Robin,

Just wanted to give you a quick update on Mary. She is a sweet little lover of a dog but afraid of her own shadow. She is great with my kids (3,4 and 8) but she jumps at every noise so I would suggest a home with older kids or none. She will not go potty outside at all. I had her out for 3 hours straight last evening and she never went. Took her in and she went on the paper. I am hesitant to keep her crated since I have seen her step right into her own mess after she goes. My two dogs have been barking and sniffing around her but she just looks at them and seems at home. She fights the leash like crazy, we are taking it slowly. She is not a barker at all, quiet little lady. She does pace quite a bit when inside but is still and calm outside.
I will put pictures in the mail by Tuesday. I took one before she was groomed and after. They were able to keep from shaving her down (I have a great groomer) but her fur is pretty stained from all of the years of neglect. She smells MUCH better!LOL
She will need to have her teeth cleaned while she is in to be spayed also. The groomer indicated that both ears have infections too so she will need meds.
Just wanted to let you know the scoop in case there is any home in mind for her. I do hesitate to ship her since she has been through so much but once she is in a good home she will be fine.
Tracy and Mary the magnificent!

and

I put before and after grooming pictures of Mary in the mail to you yesterday. Note that the after pictures that were taken outside make her look much whiter than she is now. However, I do think her fur will lighten up just fine once she has been through a few more grooming cycles and is bathed regularly.

The vet needed to pull three of her teeth that were loose and full of disease. She will need to be on antibiotics as well. The spaying went fine. He did find a few fleas on her so I will treat her for that also. (couldn't see those buggers in all that mess before)
She will also need meds for the double ear infections. He said they were terrible.
She will need annual teeth cleaning from here on out. She has also had a reaction to the booster given at the shelter that has caused a lumpy mass between her shoulder blades. This will need to be watched to be sure it is nothing else. She has a bit of arthritis in her back legs that does not seem to bother her now. She just walks with a pronounced side to side swaying but can run and jump with the best of them.

This will obviously increase the vet bill but I told him to go ahead since I could not imagine her spending any more time with those bad teeth and painful ears. I did ask for a discount if possible. I said, "of course you have heard of Small Paws Rescue, right?" Well see what they can do, if anything. Can't hurt to ask.

We pick her up from the vet this afternoon. Hopefully she will not be too mad at me for putting her through this but I did promise her that her days of birthin' babies were over! She is so appreciative of the love she is getting here, I know she will make someone a terrific pet. She won't move an inch when she is being pet, even lets us give her a belly rub now. The progress in a few days is amazing. Her pacing is even a bit less too. Her little spirit fills our home, she will do the same wherever she goes.

Tracy