We pulled Abby from the shelter August 25, 2009. Completely bald on her head at just over 3 months old, Abby had been dropped off at the shelter, left to die. TLC, my mom's dog rescue, decided to pull and rehabilitate her. A little known fact about Chihuahuas is that the skin at the top of their head does not fully meet - exposing a bare part of their skull! Well, when Abby lost the hair on her head, that sensitive spot was exposed, and she would SCREAM soooo loud if that part got touched. She had to be kept separate from any of the other dogs and puppies that TLC had pulled because of her extreme sensitivity.
She came to adoptions once, and she did not like it at all. She cried, whimpered, and people were curious and/or disgusted as to why she had lost hair on her head...so we posted her picture every week at adoptions, hoping that someone would fall in love with her.
Well, after fostering her for just over a month, and after she had been sleeping in my bed for about a week, I took over her fostering and care. I had pretty much loved her from the beginning, but as a foster mom I have to keep my heart at a distance from these dogs...but with her kennel cough, and missing hair, and dire need for love and attention, I figured I'd officially take over.
t just 3 pounds (and as most Chis are hypoglycemic), she would get cold easily. We also grabbed a small doggie purse from our old collection, and I managed to find a collar/harness/leash set that matched her personality (red with white doggie bones...). I picked out a cute purple bed for her, complete with donating my own purple blanket...As a girl, her colors are officially pink, red, and purple...
But in the early morning hours of a pleasant Sunday, Abby took too large of a step down a doggie step. She had been climbing larger, taller doggie steps into the couch for about a week, so the trip down a small step definitely surprised us all. We thought it was just a sprain, but xrays proved it to be a break. They casted the leg, and we have a leg-pinning surgery scheduled for Monday, October 26th.
She will require eight weeks of rehabilitation for the leg - that means little to no movement, and learning how to walk all over again. She still gets a treatment daily for the hair loss, a special shampoo on her head twice a week, ointment in her ear daily for an ear infection, and antibiotics every day for the kennel cough...It will be quite a journey for this little girl, who just turned five months old...
Stay tuned.
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