Sunday, February 18

Phoebe

Phoebe has an interesting story, if only she could tell it. Even the part we know from her surrendering family is quite intriguing.


Once upon a time, a little deaf Frenchie was born somewhere in Europe. She was microchipped with a chip of German manufacture, but US chip readers and European chip readers are experiencing a technological cold war and do not communicate with each other. Silly chip makers.

At some point, our little Phoebe made the long journey from Europe to Wisconsin, USA. Some time following her arrival here, Phoebe got loose or was stolen and dumped or was abandoned or fled without a penny in her pocket, but she somehow found herself in deadly peril: she was discovered walking around without a coat or covering in one of the most frigid, least forgiving zones of the nation in dead of winter. It's a near miracle that Phoebe was found by animal control and brought in to the local shelter before becoming a little Frogsicle.

Recognizing an adorable and needy creature when she saw one, a shelter worker adopted Phoebe and took her home. During the few weeks Phoebe was in this family's care, it was discovered that she was deaf, had dreadful allergies, awful diarrhea and had strangely motheaten-looking skin on her back. We got pages of veterinary notes just from the few weeks she was in the shelter and her new home. Alas! Phoebe was not the only soul suffering from cruel allergies: the family's dad was dreadfully allergic to Phoebe, and his sneezing, teary, swollen and itchy state dictated that Phoebe find another place to live. Tearfully and sadly, the family surrendered Phoebe to us for rehoming.

At this point, dear Phoebe is being treated for mange, Giardia, and for yeasty ears. She is on a special diet to try to help us clear up her diarrhea and to get a start
on identifying her allergies. We'll also test her thyroid at the University of Michigan, and we'll be putting her on a high calorie diet with supplements to put some weight back on. At seventeen pounds, she's about 3 pounds underweight for her size.

At the moment, young Phoebe is having a high time in her foster digs. Her mom says the redness on her back and the scabs are disappearing, she likes to sleep in the people bed at night, and she really appreciates the nightlights her mom has installed so a little deaf Froggie can see what people are hearing.


Her foster mom says that in terms of temperament, Phoebe is a complete lovebug, and is getting along well with the other critters at her foster home. Phoebe, says her foster mom, is going to make a lucky family a wonderful companion. If you are interested in Phoebe, check out this Deaf Dogs Website.

Someday we hope Phoebe will sit down and tell her secrets to
The Frog Princess

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