*Sigh*. I won't get into how I know this lady, but lets just say I found out she was keeping a 10 year old Collie x Bernese Mountain Dog mix in a 5ft x 5ft cage 24/7 most days, or if not in there then outside in this 90+ degree heat (without any shelter he could fit into) for periods of a few days at a time. He's been kept like that for the past 3+ years. IMO that's cruel for any dog, but especially for one with a typical Bernese coat. I told her I'd take him and I went and picked him up today.
His coat was SO matted. I don't know when the last time he was groomed. He had old feces matted to his hind end. He acted as if his ears hurt so I figured they were infected. Surprisingly he was up to date on the core vaccines.
We had him an hour before we took him to his vet appt. His ears are really badly infected, so they were cleaned and we are applying medication 2x a day. His eyes are slightly clouded... and at the time of the vet appt (he still had all his hair at this point) we could feel one fatty tumor.
Right from the vet he went to the groomer, who was nice enough to squeeze us in. They couldn't do anything to save his coat because it was so matted, so he was completely shaved down everywhere besides his head... he looks kinda funny now. It took almost 4 hours to get him groomed. Now that he is shaved, you can see that he has TONS of tumors everywhere (sides, stomach, back). I'm hoping they are just fatty tumors that dogs get as they age (our basset hound has a few). The vet just wants to watch them for now. You can tell though, that he already feels SO much better shaved.
He's such a great dog... so far he seems to be house trained, he knows a few commands, and will stick around with us in the yard. He gets along great with our other dogs (I know you should quarantine, but we don't have the set up for that and our vet felt he was healthy aside from your typical older dog issues) and is so, so, so sweet. My parents want to eventually adopt him out, but I'm working on trying to convince them to keep him for at least the next year until I can get a place at school that allows dogs and can take him with me. I'm secretly hoping that nobody wants a 10 year old dog with all these tumors and grooming needs Regardless of whether we keep him or adopt him out, I'm just glad that I was able to get him out of that situation. I just hope he knows that he has the good life now
His coat was SO matted. I don't know when the last time he was groomed. He had old feces matted to his hind end. He acted as if his ears hurt so I figured they were infected. Surprisingly he was up to date on the core vaccines.
We had him an hour before we took him to his vet appt. His ears are really badly infected, so they were cleaned and we are applying medication 2x a day. His eyes are slightly clouded... and at the time of the vet appt (he still had all his hair at this point) we could feel one fatty tumor.
Right from the vet he went to the groomer, who was nice enough to squeeze us in. They couldn't do anything to save his coat because it was so matted, so he was completely shaved down everywhere besides his head... he looks kinda funny now. It took almost 4 hours to get him groomed. Now that he is shaved, you can see that he has TONS of tumors everywhere (sides, stomach, back). I'm hoping they are just fatty tumors that dogs get as they age (our basset hound has a few). The vet just wants to watch them for now. You can tell though, that he already feels SO much better shaved.
He's such a great dog... so far he seems to be house trained, he knows a few commands, and will stick around with us in the yard. He gets along great with our other dogs (I know you should quarantine, but we don't have the set up for that and our vet felt he was healthy aside from your typical older dog issues) and is so, so, so sweet. My parents want to eventually adopt him out, but I'm working on trying to convince them to keep him for at least the next year until I can get a place at school that allows dogs and can take him with me. I'm secretly hoping that nobody wants a 10 year old dog with all these tumors and grooming needs Regardless of whether we keep him or adopt him out, I'm just glad that I was able to get him out of that situation. I just hope he knows that he has the good life now
Thank you!!!!!
