Once in Love with Aimee...

Aimee is experiencing the kind of renascence we love to see in an 8 year-old gal! From a shy and retiring puppy mill survivor who wouldn't eat if there were any people in the room, she has become a breakout star in her own universe! Here is a note from her foster mom from early this month, describing Aimee's first healthy appetite:
"I wanted to share my joy with the group! Aimee did something last night that she has not done since arriving at my home, especially after she began her Cushing's medication...Aimee RAN and ATE her breakfast and her dinner!!!!! I was playing a game of "Chase Mommy down the hallway" with my puppy and boston terrier when all of a sudden I saw a flash of brindle! Aimee was running after me! This sweet froglet has been so lethargic, and so sickly, that to see her move her wobbly legs just to join me in a game of chase, put tears of joy in my eyes. Maybe now we will begin to see her "real" temperament come out."

Shortly after Aimee came back to us, we discovered that Aimee has been suffering from a hormone disorder called Cushing's Disease. Cushing's disease is very frequently mistaken for the ordinary effects of aging in dogs: hair loss, weight gain, lethargy, and incontinence. Sometimes, people opt to put down their dogs, assuming their companion has simply gotten very old and a little gaga. But when the disease is diagnosed properly, many, many dogs are successfully treated for Cushing's disease, and Aimee appears to be one of the majority who respond well to meds.

After almost 3 weeks of treatment, her little pot belly is diminished and she has regained quite a bit of muscle and a good deal of hair! She has been playing like a puppy with the resident dogs in her foster home, as you see above with her foster sibling, Sassy, and wonder of wonders: she has taken to schmoozing her new foster dad! This is the girl who would run and hide if a man came into the room, and who never did learn to trust her first dad much further than she could throw him, poor man.

Here is the most recent update on our beautiful Aimee's condition. Aimee's Cushing's medicine is $70 a bottle, but when it works this well, we say it's cheap at twice the price!

"Aimee went in on Monday and had a blood test done to check to see if everything is functioning correctly (liver, kidneys, white and red count, etc.) Everything looked GREAT! It appears that for the time being her Cushings medicine is at the appropriate level and that the small dose of prednisone is keeping her eating and acting well. :-))

She will be going in on Sept. 2 for another ACTH stimulation test so we will be hoping for good results then as well. My vet and I think that she is starting to lose a bit of "pot belly" and the large fat pocket under her neck is starting to go down. She still continues to potty frequently so she will be looking forward to her designer panties!

Aimee continues to blossom daily, she is beginning to show some spunkiness, LOVES people, and enjoys the company of other dogs. She is VERY easy going, in fact, when I take to the vet she hops up on the bench in the waiting area and pops off to sleep. The waiting room is filled with the sounds of snorting and snoring! My favorite combination!"

Here is Aimee with her foster sibling Sydney, protected from the sun in their cute outfits!

If you are interested in sponsoring the born-again Aimee as she comes into her own, you can do so here. We know and trust that somewhere out there, there is a family with a place for Aimee to live happily ever after in her golden years. If you think your home might be that place, keep an eye out for Aimee to appear on our available list. At the rate she's going, she'll be feeling fine as fish hair and ready to be placed before the Harvest Moon peeps over the golden plains of Kansas, where Aimee is being fostered.

It's not tornado season is it? frets
The Frog Princess