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My basic info
Breed
Great Dane
Color
Merle
Age
Puppy
Size
X-Large 101 lbs (46 kg) or more (when grown)
Weight
–
Sex
Female
Pet ID
–
My details
Good with dogs
Good with cats
Purebred
Shots current
Spayed / Neutered
Housetrained
My story
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Here's what the humans have to say about me:
***Little Bit is a Rescue In Need (http://magdrl.org/rescuesinneed.htm) and not currently available for adoption***
LITTLE BIT is a 5 month old merle female with natural ears. We received Little Bit as an owner turn in. She weighed 29 pounds at 4 1/2 months old, completely emaciated. Every bone in her body was protruding. You could count the ribs and vertebrae in her back from across the room. She was just heartbreaking to look at and terrified of everything. Upon examination, Little Bit was found to be infested with fleas and roundworms. She also tested positive for Giardia and had all the signs of HOD. Her joints were extremely swollen, she was unable to stand at all, and had a fever of 104.5. It was obvious that she had been completely neglected when it came to her disease-- not to mention preventable parasitic infestations. She was treated with non steroidal anti-inflammatory for the symptoms of HOD and put on antibiotic to prevent infection/pneumonia. A series of Panacur treatments were given to take care of the Giardia/worms, and Advantix applied for the fleas. A full series of X-rays were done to assess the severity of the HOD. Over the next few days she slept and ate and that consisted of her whole day. After a few days, just when her foster mom thought she was considerably better and gaining weight and much more lively, she woke up one morning with 106 temperature, unable to stand, and soaking wet with urine (she does not go potty in her crate). She was rushed her back to the hospital where she spent the night on IV fluids. After a day or two she was back on the road to recovery. Her foster mom was extremely excited when one afternoon in the backyard she even chased a leaf (well tried really hard to). Little Bit came to MAGDRL in November 2008.
Update 11/21/08 - Little Bit woke up on the third day after her hospital stay with 105.5 and this time she was unable to open her mouth. The HOD had now taken over her jaw joint muscles as well. If we even touched her neck, she would scream in pain. This also made it almost impossible for her to eat or to get pills into her. Her Vet put her on Prednisone 2x a day (along with her other meds) and after about 48 hours she seems to have some relief (she ate her whole dinner tonight and followed me around for a couple of minutes before laying down on the dog bed with another dog in her foster home). We hope that this progress will only continue for her and not follow this vicious pattern and two days from now she will be in agony again, incontinent and burning up with fever. Her road to recovery is going to be a long one. She is not giving up, and each day she fights hard to stay alive, and no matter what kind of day she is having, fever or no fever, her foster mom is greeted every morning by her thankful look and tail thumping the blanket even if is only once or twice.
Update 1/14/09 - Little Bit has had several set backs which were triggered by her growth spurts, causing her to run a high fever, she gets very lethargic and her body is rocked with pain. This was also very hard on her foster mom who never knew when these episodes were going to present themselves. The hardest part is finding the right dosage of Prednisone to manage her HOD. A decision was made to move Little Bit to a Veterinarian who had previously cared for 2 other puppies with HOD. Little Bit has spent the last 2 weeks in the Vet's care and is doing wonderfully and thriving. Once stabilized she'll return to her previous foster home but she'll need to remain on Prednisone for an extended period of time. This little girl is a fighter and has won the hearts of everyone that has met her; please keep her in your prayers and we'll give you an update when she's back in her foster home.
Update 1/18/09 - We got the call today that we were waiting for... Little Bit was stable enough to go back to her foster mom. So off we went to get her and she looked wonderful, all wiggles and tail wags. Her HOD isn't cured by any means but she is stable and not in pain. Little Bit will have some setbacks as she grows but hopefully it will be kept under control. The best part of my trip was not only that I was getting Little Bit back but that I got to meet George. He was a merle pup that came into MAGDRL in January of 2008. This poor pup had rickets, HOD, and was nearly starved to death to name a few of his problems. If you remember how bad he looked, then you'll be as surprised as I was when I met him today - he's gorgeous and he's grown so big. He's been Little Bit's companion for the last few weeks. When you see them together you'll swear that George is her big brother. When you see how wonderful George looks it gives us hope for Little Bit that she'll be as successful and only have a few setbacks in her life.
Little Bit eventually could be adopted to a family with kids 10 or older.
