Carmen was one of four Pomeranians who came into our care after being surrendered to a local shelter.  The dogs had been used exclusively for breeding purposes their entire lives, only to be discarded as seniors when they could no longer "produce".  At age eleven, Carmen was the oldest of the group and she had been used for breeding well into her senior years.

Carmen had received minimal medical care over the years and she had lost all of her teeth except for one, which fell out during her initial veterinary exam when she first came into our care.  The tooth was so badly infected that it left a gaping hole when it fell out, which had to be sutured closed under anesthetic.

Year after year of  producing litter upon litter of puppies had taken a serious toll on Carmen's little body.  When she was spayed, her uterus was found to be extremely enlarged, thickened and scarred.  Carmen had very poor bladder control and after ruling out infection, bladder stones and kidney disease through blood tests, urine tests and ultrasound, it was concluded that Carmen's bladder was lacking muscle tone due to a lifetime of over-breeding and neglect.  She was started on a medication to improve her bladder tone, which helped a lot, but we soon realized that Carmen would never have normal bladder control and her new family would need to understand and accept this.

Thankfully, Carmen found the most amazing forever home in Courtenay, where she will be loved and cherished for the rest of her life.  Carmen's new mom has lots of experience with senior dogs and dogs who have bladder control issues and she takes it all in stride.  Carmen has become an important member of the family and her new mom and dad take her everywhere they go.  She will soon be starting courses to become a therapy dog!

 

Special thanks to Sonovu Ultrasound Inc. for donating their services to help Carmen.