Brie's Story

Brie came limping into a woman's yard one day last winter, emaciated and filthy, with cauliflowerd ears. The woman took Brie in and vetted her to the tune of several hundred dollars. Then she called FBRN. On Brie's first night in FBRN's foster care, she spent the evening in her foster mom's lap. The instant she was taken up she curled into a ball, gave an enormous sigh, and fell soundly asleep. She was exhausted, and we mean that literally: She was used up, empty, all gone.

Brie had obviously been used extensively as a breeder; the condition of her nipples told us that. However, there was worse news. Here's the second report from Brie's foster mom: "Brie went to my vet yesterday and she has some definite issues. They believe that her ears are bad enough that she may need to be sedated and have them flushed. They don't think any of the drops can even get into her canal. She also has neurosclerosis. This apparently is mainly seen in old dogs. Her eyes are cloudy and I thought maybe she had the beginnings of cataracts. Not so, and this neurosclerosis is not as severe as cataracts. She also says that she thinks (after seeing her eyes) that she is 10. I immediately started crying thinking about spending 10 years in a puppy mill. She is gaining about a pound every three or four days. She is sweet as pie (even my husband loves her). She played with my frenchies today for the first time. Too cute.
Because she is so skinny, she is no shape for spaying. She may be coming into season right now. My little fertility checker (15 mos old, Fame) is all kinds of excited. Anyway, that is my little Brie. I adore her and can't wait until she feels better so she can enjoy her life."

The very next day we received this report:
"I need some guidance, oh wise ones......Brie went in to have her ears flushed while under anesthesia this morning and it was WAY worse than I thought. In her right ear, she has calcification and extreme inflammation. This goes all the way down her ear canal. Her left ear is a bit better but not much. He basically said that there is no way to "cure" this without taking out her entire canal. Of course that means she will be deaf. She may have some limited hearing in the other ear. Her teeth are also horrendous. While under this morning they extracted a tooth that was so decayed it basically fell out. She will need a complete dental and probably a few more teeth extracted. Of course, let us not forget that she is emaciated. Should she have this surgery to take out her canal (which is costly)? She has had to be in such pain for years and years." Careful and consistent application of medicine has improved the canals to the point where we don't think she'll have to have the ear canal surgery, thank goodness!
The week following the ear cleaning, this is what we heard: "Things are so much better in Brie's world these last few days. I am seeing a lot more energy and not as much sleeping!!! When I get home, or even if I have just been in the bathroom, she will hop on her back legs in excitement. It is so cute! She suffers through her ear cleanings and then gives me a sweet little kiss. There is actual meat on her bones as well. My kids even noticed that she was looking better. This girl is so dang sweet. She will make such a wonderful family friend."

Most recently, 2 weeks ago, Brie underwent spay surgery. The surgery was successful, but extremely difficult: "Brie had her spay yesterday and I have to say, I was a little nervous.
The vet called me after the surgery to let me know that it was a bit more difficult than she had expected. Her abdomen was FULL of scar tissue. Undoubtedly due to the do it yourself c sections that the millers do. There was so much that it made it difficult to tell which organ was which. She also said that she had cysts all over her ovaries and fallopian tubes. She described her ovaries as all but shriveled up. She had a difficult night but was hungry this morning and her eyes were clear. Oh this sweet, sweet girl."

Why do we despise and loathe puppymillers so deeply? Consider Brie. Bred and bred and bred until her ovaries shriveled up and her insides were too scarified to bear any more puppies and then dumped on the wintery Kansas prairie to starve to death. That's the kind of person a puppymiller is. Ungrateful, uncaring, irresponsible and interested only in the money the puppies will bring. The next time you pass a petstore in a mall, think of Brie and the years of suffering and neglect she endured in order to provide consumers with that adorable 3,000 dollar impulse purchase.

Brie is on our foster page. If you'd like to sponsor her, you can do that by clicking here.

We can scarcely wait to hear all the wonderful, triumphant reports we'll receive from Brie's forever family someday. It may seem like a small thing, to save one old dog's life, but it really does lift the spirits and give joy to the members of FBRN and to
The Frog Princess