This is Princess Bootyful's story so far which is upsetting but hopefully will have a happy ending because we would now like to find her a caring forever home.
Princess Bootyful is an approx 3-4 year old Jack Russell x Beagle who was rescued by a member of the public on Saturday 3rd November at about 8pm at night.
She was spotted running in terror in and out of fairly fast moving traffic on a very busy A road on the outskirts of London. Nobody was stopping to help her and her rescuer witnessed several near misses as people carried on with their business, not really concerned about the tiny dog who was about to die in front of them.
Luckily the people who did actually care (a total of one car and two people) were very persistant and carried on with their attempts to catch her and finally did.
She seemed very relieved to be out of this terrifying noise and confusion of loud cars and lorries with loud horns, with the added terror of it being Bonfire Night weekend, with a very large firework display going on just a couple of hundred yards from where she had been dumped.
As soon as she was in the car she fell asleep almost instantly...exhausted and frightened, yet glad of some security and comfort.
They attempted to call various people for help. Some told her that she should release the dog back where she found her, so that she could find her way home. Others told them that they did not deal with stray animals.
Eventually someone passed on our number and although we knew what the law is regarding stray dogs, the description given to me of the dog and the state she was in, told me that she was not just a dog that had bolted at the sound of a firework and even if the rescuer was just in a panic, I know the local dog warden so could easily give her a ring on the Monday morning and let her know that we had the dog.
So, little stray dog was on her way.......
When she arrived, the first thing I noticed about her was exactly how frightened she was. She wasn't just nervous of being handled or nervous of new people. She was absolutely petrified. The first glimpse of her in the car was a tiny dog trying desperately to make herself tinier. All of her little legs tucked in as best she could (considering her condition) and a complete round ball of nerves and fear. The lady had lost her nerve a little with her as she let out a tiny growl (fear based) when she went to touch her, but I am not a stranger to being bitten, so thought the best approach was to lift her up into my arms from the car and then hold onto her until she had calmed down.
I ignored the slime all over her (I'll get to that in a minute) and just concentrated on trying to reassure her. It didn't take too long. The struggles became relaxed very quickly as I chatted to the rescuer and she accepted that she was not going anywhere for now!
Inside the house we went and we had the normal interest from the other dogs, but they were not allowed anywhere near this lady just yet!
Unfortunately there was no time to settle her in. The first job had to be a bath because, apart from her being covered in a very even layer of fox poop all over her body, she was also covered in human spit and phlegm. She was drenched through to the skin with it. I have no idea why any group of people would take it upon themselves to bully a tiny, defenceless and we have found out, completely non-aggressive animal like this girl, but at some stage that evening, it had happened.
She is not the type of dog to run when frightened. She will curl up in a ball on the floor and stay as still as she can, so I guess this made her an easy target.
A bath was clearly a new experience for her. She is a bright little girl though and even though she had to have three shampoos to get the filth off of her, she stood still as anything after about a minute and allowed me to continue.
Once she was bathed, in front the heater she went. She had to be dry to have her flea/mange treatment (which was desperately needed!) and so on the Advocate went when she was nice and dry and then was the 12 hour wait before she could be let anywhere near the resident dogs (they are all treated anyway but I don't want any little visitors spreading anywhere over the house), so it was crate rest for that period of time which she was fine with because all she wanted to do was sleep anyway! A Milbemax wormer was added to her food for any intestinal worms and then all she could do was rest.
Hundreds of fleas died that night..she was absolutely covered in them...running alive!
By this time we had named her Princess Bootyful, shortened to Booty. This is because now she will be treated like a Princess and she is beautiful.
Booty was obviously a dumped breeding bitch. She had recently been feeding puppies and that was very obvious to us. Her teats were hanging down to the floor and scraping on the ground as she walked. It was uncomfortable for her to stand, sit or lay down as the whole of her underneath was a swollen mess of mammory tissue, some of them completely bursting with milk that she was producing for the puppies that she will never see again. Had they been sold? Killed? Who knows? I pray that they are ok, but there is no way of tracking them down now.
The fact she was producing milk with nowhere for it go meant that she had developed Mastitus in her two back teats so they were very swollen and sore. This could have been remedied with a course of antibiotics, but she had more serious problems than that.
I noticed that she had a very odd shaped womb. So, this was mentioned in her vet check. When her womb was palpated some poison came out of her vulva. This could only mean one thing - Pyometra!
A Pyometra is an infection of the womb that is very common in entire animals (not just dogs) and one of the many reasons that we always advise people to get their dogs spayed to eliminate the chances of this happening.
Spaying is a very routine operation, but if this condition occurs (and it is seen very frequently) then it changes from being a routine operation to a potentially life threatening operation.
Post op care can also be dangerous because there is a higher risk of Peritonitus (infection of the abdomen) and if that takes a hold, chances of recovery are very slim.
Booty had to go in for an emergency spay. Added to the operation are fluids that have to be given the night before (if the Pyometra is caught early enough as Booty's was) to support the dogs system and give her a better chance of survival.
Luckily Booty was still well within herself - eating well, drinking well, no high temperature and no sickness, so she was rescued just at the right time. Another two or three days and it would have been a very different story.
After Booty's spay she recovered very quickly. She rallied round very quickly and the course of antibiotics she was put onto sorted out her Mastitus.
Booty has now started a new life and is loving it, but what she would really love is to find her new forever family.
We are looking for a quiet home for Booty. She gets on very well with other dogs, but is easily bullied. So, an amicable friend for her is a must. She is not a fighter but finds it hard to interact with other dogs. She see's playful bows as quite threatening and loses her nerve and will hide intitially, but once she knows that the dog is safe she has started to attempt play.
We would like a very dedicated family. No young children (Booty is completely non-aggressive with people, but needs confidence building and noisy children won't do her any favours) so children over the age of 12 years old only please!
An adult home with lots of patience would be perfect.
Booty's house training needs working on. She is very frightened of being told off, so patience is so necessary with this dog. She tries to do the right thing but is lacking understanding of what is expected of her.
Her recall of lead is wonderful. She will not stray far and loves her off lead excercise. She is truely happy when running free, but always has one eye on you.
Booty would like someone at home for the majority of the day. She is not destructive or noisy when left, but this is to continue the work with her housetraining.
Booty has been spayed and microchipped and she has had her 1st vaccinations. Her worming and flea treatment have been bought up to date.
Booty will need a fully enclosed garden with no escape holes in it with fencing height of at least 6 foot all the way aroud.
If you are interested in adopting this amazing, beautiful and extremely forgiving little dog, please contact us for further information.
A home check will be carried out and a minimum adoption fee of £150 applies.
Furry Friends Animal Rescue (Surrey)
Tel: 02084071080/07973569371
Email: Adrs@aol.com
Website: www.furryfriendsrescue.co.uk