HELLO, DOLLY!

This frail oh-so-sweet young senior Cocker Spaniel girl was an owner relinquishment at 9 years and 4 months of age. Dolly had been living in a dog house and is so underweight at 19 pounds that when we pet her, all we feel is bones!   

Dolly’s former owners bought her as a puppy (she was born in June of 2014) and the last time they had her vaccinated was when she had her puppy vaccines in 2014.  So she’s been as vulnerable as an unvaccinated puppy and is very lucky that she didn't catch parvo or distemper. 

It appears she had multiple litters of puppies before she was spayed at three years of age.

Dolly’s body condition is shocking for a nine year old but her teeth do match up with that age. We have started her vetting, senior diagnostics have been sent out to the lab, and she is currently being treated for giardia.  

Her ears are so swollen from years of inattention and painful ear infections that our vet cannot get a clear view down into the ear canals. We had an ear culture sent out so that the correct antibiotics could be prescribed (she is on Enrofloxacin to start). She is also on a short course of prednisone in an attempt to reduce the inflammation in her ears so that our vet can see if her ear canals are intact. 

Dolly may need to see a dermatologist at some point. Her paws are swollen and inflamed (from allergy-related licking). We learned that she LOVES to chew on something hard like a bully stick or a deer antler, it seems to soothe her.  

** UPDATE: Dolly has just seen the dermatologist, who has advised us that she’ll need double ear ablation surgery. This is a major surgery with intensive post-op care.

** WHAT’S AHEAD: The tentative schedule for Dolly’s surgeries will be: Surgery on one ear in February 2024, followed by six weeks of recovery. Then, surgery on the other ear sometime in April 2024, again followed by six weeks of recovery. This lengthy process will also likely involve several trips to see the surgeon after each surgery. After all of this Dolly will be deaf, of course, but we know that she’ll continue to be the sweet, happy girl that we’ve come to know and love over the past few months! ❤️❤️❤️

We’re calling Dolly a young senior, which potential adopters may consider "too old" to adopt, but we are hopeful that a soft-hearted adopter with a preference for seniors might step up. We believe that once we can fix her up - help to get her body into a healthier condition, do what it takes to get her ears more comfortable, help her to gain some weight with nutritious food and supplements which will help her fur to grow out a bit - well, we believe that someone special will fall in love with her, just as we have, and will want to adopt her.

Dolly’s temperament is SO very sweet! She is quiet and unassuming, and it seems like her spirit has lost all hope. She doesn't yet realize that her life just took a turn in a new direction and that never again will she be denied medical care, good nutrition, a safe and loving environment, and a comfortable place to sleep. We’re grateful that Dolly’s former owners recognized that she deserved much better, and were willing to reach out to Camp Cocker so that we can be sure that she gets exactly that! We love you, Dolly! ❤️

*Please note that any age provided is only an estimate, based on veterinary examination.

DOLLY IS CURRENTLY IN HOSPICE CARE & has been adopted!

UPDATE 2/3/24:  As more medical issues have recently come up for sweet Dolly, we’ve decided the best thing to do for her now is to provide a safe and loving hospice home for her - where she’s familiar, comfortable, happy, and loved!

We love you, Dolly! 💜

DOLLY IS CURRENTLY IN HOSPICE CARE & has been adopted!