Polly, Dog n.3 - Full story

Our first female dog - gonna be interesting...

Along came Polly !
Polly is a

• 1 and a half year old
• currently freakishly skinny and light (she only weighs 25 kilos even though her size is more like Dakota's)
• Chesapeake Bay Retriever Mix

We picked her (yay, our first bitch - oh how I love saying that) up at the humane society on January 11th, the same day we brought Dakota back to be put up for adoption and will have her for about 2 months (longest time so far).

Polly was brought to the humane society from an animal shelter in Quinte (near Kingston) with a case of severe hip dysplasia. Hip Dysplasia in dogs basically results in very painful arthritis and she was in so much pain that she wouldn't even stand (or walk) on her left hind leg. In Toronto they operated on her and she now needs a lot of attention and will need to go to rehab.

Two cuties :D

How did we get her:

When we went for Dakotas first (and only) checkup at the humane society a week after getting him, the vet told us about another, needier dog that would need attention by foster parents as good as us (apparently every dog we bring back looks 1000 times better than he did before, so I guess we are doing something right). He told us about the fact that she had surgery and just wont use her leg (even though she should be able to) so she'll need foster parents to try to push her off balance while walking her, try to walk her up and downhill, etc... On top of that she'll need to go to a rehab facility 2-3 times a week. After Sam and I talked about it, we decided we'd take her in and help her - after all that's why we became foster parents. To fix the broken dogs. I arranged a dog switch, brought Dakota back and didn't even have enough time to start crying as they brought me Polly.

In her bed :)

The daily life:

Polly probably has the most energy of all (she is a Retriever after all), but she is pretty good at entertaining herself. She attacks her toys and plays with them all by herself, without demanding much attention.
At the beginning she especially needed a lot of attention as: Walks outside: 6; Peed outside: 0; Peed inside: 2.... But we did get her "issue" under control within two days. Sam didn't let me give up on her (knew I said yes to this guy for a reason...) Walking her (even though she only walks on 3 legs) is such a challenge !! She weighs 25 kilos, only currently uses 3 legs and still manages to pull so hard that I sometimes have to lean back to get a proper hold of her. She loves to "attack" and bark at random strangers and boy, don't even get me started on how she reacts with other dogs...

Her first rehab appointment was on January 20th where she was assessed and was introduced to the water-treadmill-thing they have. The water-rehab didn't work as planned so they gave us instructions on what to do with her at home, to get her to start using her leg. It worked really well and she gained about a cm of muscle mass in one week.

She tried to pull down my shirt...

The dog:

As mentioned Polly is a Chesapeake Bay Retriever Mix, and she really does look like that perfect hunting dog she's supposed to be (she also has that bark). They are supposed to love water (which I think today - rainy day - I really realized), she loves loves loves snow, and Chesapeake Bay Retrievers are one of the best hunting dog breeds. Chesapeake bays have a bright brown colored fur and so does Polly, just her paws and tip of her tail looks like she stepped into a can of paint. It's why we chose her last name. And then Polly's face reminds us a bit of Timon (from The lion king), these two reasons are why we decided to name her Polly Paint-Timon. 

New (temporary) family member

The end:
We brought Polly back on Friday February 24th, 2012 so we had her for about 6.5 weeks. She was a very energetic dog, but it's good that she's back because now she can try to find a home. She had gained about 3 kilos since we had gotten her and she just filled out a bit in general, which made her look so much more healthy than she did before.
Anyone interested in adopting this gorgeous hound, you can find her on the adoption page of the humane society (link opens in a new window).

And now for some closure:

Polly, I know you were sad when Sam and I walked away, and it was painful to close the door while you stood there, staring at us with your ears perked up and that whiny look that you get, but I know (and I think you do too) that it's for the best. You'll now be put up for adoption and someone will come and take you because girl, you're gorgeous and I know it wont take long to find you a loving home with people that love to go for runs and long walks with you. You'll have a great life my baby-bear I just know it.
Bye Polly Paint-Timon ! You'll always be my "baby-bear" even though you annoyed the hell out of me at times I'll always remember you. 

"MY TOY" !!!

Gorgeous Chesapeake Bay Retriever
Shepherd Mix

CRAZY EYES !!