jessies_mom
Posted : 2/23/2007 10:09:13 AM
Maybe God in His wisdom knew that Stella would have a chance with you. If we hadn't decided to adopt Jessie she would have been PTS because right after we put her on hold, the shelter learned that she had kennel cough, and they euthed dogs at that time for kennel cough; they no longer do, thankfully. Jessie has been a high maintenance dog because of bad allergies; she's had 3 emergency vet visits for severe alergic reactions and infection. We went through expensive allergy testing with a specialist and she has allergy shots (immunotherapy) every 2 weeks. Plus, she has food allergies and is going through another elimination diet now because we suspect she has new food allergies. If we hadn't taken her when we did she'd be dead, and if someone else had adoted her it's quite possible they wouldn't want to deal with her allergy problems and she'd probably be dead. I actually believe God was looking out for her; we were thinking of getting a pedigreed GSD but went to the shelter just to see what they had, not really expecting to find a dog, but we fell in love with her.
We also took in a very shy abandoned cat (Weasel) several years ago who became very sweet and loving; he later developed bone cancer in his left rear leg and we had to decide whether to spend $1300 to have it amputated or have him PTS. The specialists at the clinic we took him to said he had an 80% chance of complete recovery if his leg was amputated so that's what we did; he's still doing great. Do you think God was looking out for him too when Weasel came into our yard; I do.
I understand why you're frustrated and dissapointed; it sounds like you've really tried very hard to help this dog by consulting several trainers. Could this be helped with medicine; have had you had Stella tested for a possible medical condition that could contribute to her behavior such as a hormone inbalance? You may want to consult with a holistic vet before you give up completely; they may be able to help you control her behavior through treatments like calming supplements and accupuncture. Here's a link to help you locate a holistic vet in your area; [link
http://www.vetlocator.com/holisticandalternative.php]http://www.vetlocator.com/holisticandalternative.php[/link] . Here's a locator for holistic vets that train at the Chi Institute; they're supposed to be very good and are highly recommended by Callie; [link
http://www.tcvm.com/]http://www.tcvm.com/[/link] As heartbroken as you sound at the idea of having her PTS, I think a good holistic vet would be worth a try. I'll be sending healing thoughts and prayers, and many, many hugs; hopefully, someone else will have some ideas to help Stella.