Cedar #02-171

Cedar was rescued (sprung from jail, actually) from Rochester Animal Control on June 8th....a three-legged stray that nobody claimed, though I can't imagine why.  I fell in love with her face the moment I saw her picture on the internet.....meeting and getting to know her has been a joy!  She came to us a scrawny little thing, about 47 pounds, and not strong enough to even walk around the block.  We discovered a very large tumor (the vet found additional smaller ones) while giving her a bath, so off to the vet we went.  We also discovered she was going into heat, as if she didn't have enough problems already!  She is now UTD on shots, heartworm negative, her blood work came back with very good results for her age (11-12 years), and we're waiting to hear what the radiologist has to say regarding her chest x-rays.  If we get good news, and can put about 5 more pounds on her, she will be a candidate for surgery to remove the tumors and be spayed.  This will be a very costly procedure, so Cedar (and her foster parents!) are hoping for donations from some kind-hearted Golden lovers to help defray the cost of her vet bills.  She's the sweetest little girl, has perfect manners, and after enduring such hard times, has certainly earned the right to live the rest of hers years like a Golden should.....no more wondering when her next meal might be, or always being on the alert for danger, no shelter from a storm....being a stray isn't an easy life!!  Now she has it all, plus almost more love than she knows what to do with!!  Hopefully we can get her healthy and she can enjoy her new life for a few more years :)

UPDATES:

7/7/02:  We celebrated our first month with Cedar yesterday :) She thinks having a DQ within walking distance is way cool, especially on these hot days we've been having lately.

We've been to the vet several times, getting chest x-rays and having a biopsy done on her large tumor. The biopsy was inconclusive, so we're still not sure whether her tumors are cancerous or not, but they most likely are  :(  Looking at her chest x-rays, the vet thinks nothing has spread to her lungs yet, although it's difficult to be certain. The haze that was present indicated she may have allergic bronchitis, and the scarring suggests she has had this for some time. Her left shoulder joint shows quite a bit of degenerative and arthritic changes.

It's unbelievable that with all the problems Cedar has, she remains the happiest little girl I've ever known! Even though she can't walk long distances, when she sees her leash, she's ready to go....just loves meeting and greeting all the neighbor dogs and their humans. By now everyone on the block knows her, so they aren't surprised to see us sitting on their lawn while Cedar stops to rest on her way home :)

We're still trying to put some weight on her....she hasn't been very hungry lately....I'm hoping it's just the weather and the excitement of her trip to Iowa over the 4th of July. Keep your fingers crossed that we can fatten up our little girl.....maybe a few more trips to the DQ will help!!