Some Sweet Relief

Yesterday was a better day for Fiona in most respects.  She has been a bit more playful with the other dogs...and she noticed one of the cats today! She was very curious...from a distance, that is...here she is watching Tiki the Bengal cat walk away from her...

Fiona and Vito have been flirting quite a bit since she arrived on Monday night...I was finally able to get a few shots of them playing around.  I think when she starts to feel better, these two are going to be inseparable ♥





Vito LOVES to play with other dogs and he has been dying to have someone to play with ever since our foster, Conroy, left in March (off to his furever home in Seattle).  All the fosters we've had since then aren't interested in playing with him   He's had to resort to running circles around the coffee table to entertain himself...haha!

It's so adorable to see them start to play...Toodles has been joining in a bit too...and in the 2 months I've had him, he has never shown any kind of interest in playing with the other dogs.  I think they are both showing off with a new lady in the house!  Tee hee...
All of the dogs are accepting Fiona very well.  They don't seem to be bothered at all by how she looks or smells...aren't dogs just AWESOME?!  

 Here are a few shots of Fiona out on a walk with her new bros...the enjoys her time outside.  She has a clumsy gait and trips over her front feet from time to time though.  She appears to be pigeon-toed in the front.. I'm hoping as she gets stronger and healthier, her gait will improve some.

Look at that skinny girl!
Here's her before...the 'after' coming soon!  

Fiona has been very itchy though and is still concerned and confused about what is going on.  Last night, Sean and I drove up to Santa Monica to get a medicated seborrhea shampoo for her.  As soon as we got home...it the tub she went!


Bath time was NOT the highlight of her day...but the experience was made tolerable by getting fed CHICKEN while she was soaking.  Fiona isn't an enthusiastic eater yet, unless it's chicken.

 Is that what they call pigeon-toed?  Something is definitely weird about her front legs.  Although she isn't doing it in this picture, usually her feet are out like this and her right front elbow sticks out too.  She really couldn't have a more perfect name...who doesn't love Shrek and Princess Fiona??  And this pup truly is a diamond in the rough...all she needs is some time and TLC and she'll be shiny and pretty...better than she has ever been, I'm guessing.



Here is the lovely girl right after her bath...still a little discombobulated from the scrub and soak experience....

Sean and I were both amazed at how much GUNK came off after just the one bath.  All the stuff that came off was totally dead and she wasn't left with any bleeding spots or vulnerable fresh skin.
Next one will be on Sunday!

About 10 minutes later, she was completely dry but still shivering.  She has been shivering ever since we got her.  I am assuming the tremors are from a combination of anxiety, being chilly, and discomfort/pain.  We bundled her up in this blanket and she promptly tucked her head in and crashed out!


Shortly after her bath, I woke her up to give her a dose of Traumeel, which is a homeopathic analgesic and anti-inflammatory.  I give this to my older dachshund to manage his arthritis and it has done WONDERS for him.  I asked Dr. Jones if he thought it would help make Fiona more comfortable and he said it certainly could help quiet her down...and boy did it!  After her Traumeel, it was time for bed.  I tucked her into her Princess' Lair and she snuggled up and went straight to sleep.  No shaking, scratching, licking or chewing.  In fact, she apparently was resting VERY comfortably because she was sawin' logs ALL night long.  It was completely adorable                     

Sweet Dreams Baby Girl ♥


                                            

Settling in to Home Livin'

We're glad to see you back!

Fiona is learning her name very quickly.  Sometimes you get fosters who clearly were never really talked to by people...you can tell because they never look at you when you talk and they tend to be kinda in their own world, they don't observe your activities, no head tilt when you look at them and talk, etc.  This is not the case with Fiona...she knows she is Fiona...and she responds to both her new name and 'Good Girl'.  She also tilts her head when I talk to her and she observes my every move...telling me that she is interested in trying to figure out what I am all about and what she can expect around here.

She still has a worried/sad look on her little face and her tail is low (but waggy) most of the time.  Fiona clearly doesn't feel well.  She spends a lot of time snoozing in her Princess' lair.  I give her lots of chicken while she's hanging out in there :)...I always want her to feel like she is a good girl, not like she is being put into  time out for punishment...plus, she is really scrawny...she needs to get fattened up.  I've been feeding her chicken and rice which she has been eating quite well...although she does leave the rice for last, lol!  I've been adding ground flax seed, yogurt and nutritional supplements with her meals.  New doggies always get a bland diet when the first come to live with us just so they have something nice and easy to digest while adapting to their new life, which can be very stressful to a scared pup...last thing they need is a tummy ache too.  After about a week or so, I'll start to mix in the fish and sweet potato diet the rest of the dogs are on.

I can't even begin to imagine what she feels like to be so itchy, inflammed, scabby and sore everywhere.  I wish I could do more to ease her pain :(  I am hoping we can get some medicated shampoo to use for her later today and get her started on baths twice a week to help her skin slough all the gunk making her so miserable.

I am always interested in exchanging information with other pet owners and dog fosters.  I believe observant caretakers are sometimes an underestimated component to pet care.  A good veterinarian listens as much as he advises. Caretakers really know their pets and the information they provide must always be taken into consideration! Okay, I'll step off my soapbox  :0)
MY point being...I would like to ask YOU all for input from time to time regarding caring for Fiona. I am committed to doing anything and everything (within reason and only what is safe!) to help her heal fast and feel as comfortable as possible in the process.
Today I'd like to ask:
Do any of you know of an effective, benign, homeopathic topical solution I could use to help calm and soothe Fiona's skin while she is healing?

Welcome to Fiona's Blog!

Hello everyone!  We (Fiona and I) hope you enjoy reading about her progress each day...at least, I will do my best to post a little something new about Fiona daily! 

Meet Princess Fiona!  She is a 2 year old Chi mix whom was left outside the Baldwin Park Animal Shelter, in a box :(  

She was left there on May 10th and on May 16th she was rescued by La Dolce Vita Rescue Group and pulled from the shelter by Paw Protectors. She was then taken straight to Dr. Jones in Santa Monica for an exam and to initiate treatment for demodectic mange.

This is little Fiona, her 1st night out of the shelter and in her new foster home where she will be recuperating over the next few months, and quite possibly until she finds her forever home.

I know I say this about ALL my fosters, but this one really is SO sweet and SO grateful.  She is my 1st foster who slept in her crate all night without making a peep.  She gets along swell with the other dogs...she and the ChiChi boys were even playfully chasing each other a bit last night!

For now, I've been keeping her crated in this giant doggie playpen we have.  I'm doing this to help her get LOTS of rest so her immune system can work hard to get her healing and feeling better.  Also...there are 5 other critters total in this house, that can be pretty overwhelming for a dog who is ill and undergoing so many changes in her life.  


The key to Fiona's recovery is supporting her immune system so it can get mite population on her skin back in check...SO, the less stress, of any kind, the better for the Princess.  She seems all too happy to just rest comfortably in her pen with her pink teddy bear and cushy bed.  She caught a chill this morning from the rain...so I've got her covered up and the space heater going to keep her cozy.


One last picture for today...here is what I found when I got out of the shower just before going to bed last night:

How precious is that?

Stay tuned...it only gets better and better for Princess Fiona!