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My basic info
Breed
Italian Greyhound
Color
Red/Golden/Orange/Chestnut
Age
Young
Size
Small 25 lbs (11 kg) or less (when grown)
Weight
–
Sex
Female
Pet ID
–
My details
Good with dogs
Purebred
Needs experienced adopter
Shots current
Spayed / Neutered
My story
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Here's what the humans have to say about me:
Alina is a strikingly gorgeous red, 3 year old, 13 pound little girl that has beat the odds against her. Surrendered to Rescue at the tender age of 11 weeks, this precious puppy was diagnosed with an auto-immune disorder called Steroid Responsive Meningitis by the time she was 6 months old. SRM almost took her life 3 times over the next 18 months. When Alina was 1 and a half we had actually changed her status to ‘Hospice Foster’ fully expecting her to be at The Bridge within a few months. But Alina wasn’t having any of that! She has been in remission for nearly a year now. During that time we have successfully weaned her off of immuno-suppressants and she is now down to a very tiny daily maintenance dose of steroids.
During the past year she has also started learning all the wonderful attributes of being a healthy girl that feels good. She plays with toys, instigates play with her foster siblings, and loves basking in a warm human lap! And most recently she is attending controlled social outings with dogs of known health status so she can build on her social skills outside of her home environment. Being protected from all the ‘bad germs’ out in the world when she was so sick also prevented her from engaging in very important social situations as a maturing iggy. This makes her a little awkward around strangers but she is a complete love bug at home!
Unfortunately, Alina also picked up some pretty ‘unfavorable’ habits while being on high dose steroids for so long-and those are now the main focus of getting her ready for adoption. Of course…we thought she was dying and let her get away with some things as a youngin’ that we probably shouldn’t have =/. If you can visually imagine an IG puppy amped up on lots of steroids you pretty much have the picture right-at least that’s where she was 6 months ago. She is learning that she doesn’t need to be in hyper-drive all the time. We are working on decreasing barking, no jumping, and eating food in a slower manner. Alina has been HUNGRY all her life because she has been on steroids all her life. Now that her dosage is drastically weaned down, she is having to ‘unlearn’ constantly scavenging for food all the time. It is a work in process and she is making huge strides. It is so awesome to see her sit patiently for a treat and to actually chew her food instead of vacuuming it up without a single crunch!
At this time we have no idea what the long-term future holds for Alina-after all, we didn’t even think she would be here right now. We do know that she is a happy healthy girl that is learning about all the wonderful things she missed out on as a sick puppy and teenager, and there is so much joy in watching her blossom. She is full of life, expression, and wonderment. She will melt your heart with her big beautiful brown eyes and the sheer joy you see in her as she zooms around the living room with a squeaky toy hanging out of her mouth.
We honestly have no reason to prolong this kiddo’s time in Rescue and are officially changing her status to ADOPTABLE so she can also know the joy of having her very own family
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