“Casey” Seabrook

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“Beno” Scheuneman

“Sydney” Irvin

Wednesday, May 29, 2024

Dear Small Pawsers,

Listen to the YouTube music to go with this newsletter.

“Broken Toys”

Over the Memorial Day Weekend, we took in an emergency case from a shelter near Ft. Worth.

We were told by our vet that she is around 9 months old.

They know this because her growth plates haven’t closed yet.

She was on the shelter euthanasia “RESCUE ONLY, RESCUE NEEDED NOW” list.

They told me that she had “distemper teeth.”

This is a tooth enamel disorder caused by a dog having had distemper, as a young puppy.

80% of those puppies will assume room temperature.

There is a small percentage that survive.

That’s where our story takes us today.

We were notified of this Facebook post for dog’s whose “time is up” at a shelter near Ft. Worth, Texas.

The shelter assured me that this baby girl, a DEFINITE Bichon, did NOT have distemper now, but that she probably had it when she was a small puppy.

They said she is very friendly and that she had a “Tick” probably from having had distemper.

Guys, I just could not let her be euthanized. Blame me. I did it. wrong or right, I did it.

I just wanted to get her to one of our vets to be examined.

She IS precious. She loves EVERYBODY.

This is Petunia at City Vet Preston Hollow in Dallas.

Many thanks to Everett Goble, the adult son of SPR volunteers, Thomas and Melissa Goble, who pinch hit for his parents, on Memorial Day Weekend, when the clock was ticking.

He picked her up from the shelter and took her to our vet. This was a drop dead emergency. Everett took these pictures of our new baby girl.

Petunia raises up to be picked up. She has no idea that anything is wrong.

But Petunia is a broken toy. She has some neurological damage from having had distemper, a completely preventable disease.

This is what our veterinarian said about Petunia.

“From: <no-reply@app.ezyvet.com>

To: Robin Pressnall <robin@smallpawsrescue.org>

Subject: Rescue Pup at City Vet

Hi Robin,

I just wanted to touch base. Your new rescue dog is doing great with us– eating well and a happy little girl!

I took x-rays of her left front leg, which seems to be the most pronounced part of her “spasms” and also is intermittently non-weightbearing. I do not see an old injury or fracture so I think it is likely that she had distemper as a puppy and was one of the lucky ones that survived but will likely have neurologic deficits for the rest of her life. Interestingly, her growth plates aren’t closed so I suspect she is actually around 9 months of age.

We updated her vaccines today and she did great– no side effects. The shelter hadn’t fecal or heartworm tested her so we did that and she is negative for both. I am going to start her on heartworm/flea prevention while here. I am not worried about any side effects from the heartworm/flea prevention as her neurologic deficits are not seizure in origin.

She has not developed a cough but we will continue monitoring since she came from the Fort Worth shelter. The plan is to spay her and remove some of her puppy teeth next Friday.

I will call you if anything concerning occurs otherwise I’ll call after the spay on Friday,

Below is a video of Petunia. She has a tremor. She doesn’t know it. She is such a happy girl.

She will have this tremor for her lifetime. They tell us she is healthy today. She is scheduled for her spay surgery on Friday, as well as having some baby teeth removed.

All of her vetting including exam, bloodwork, heartworm testing, fecal testing, vaccinations, spay and removing baby teeth will run around $1800.00 including a 10% rescue discount.

But we also need a foster home, and a permanent home.

She is so precious.

More about dogs who survive distemper.

“Some dogs fully recover from the virus with few to no long-term effects or signs, while others display certain characteristics that will last throughout the rest of their lives. In most instances, these neurological effects do not have a significant impact on the dog’s quality of life.” 

Is there anyone out there who can help?

Please let me know at robin@smallpawsrescue.org

All of us are broken in some way. There was only one perfect One and we aren’t Him.

Without someone helping us, where would we be?

I’m praying for Petunia. That there is someone out there who can give and receive love from this precious little girl.

All My Love, Robin

 Florida Charity Registration # CH37698