My name is Gigi!

Gigi is a great girl! She likes to get as close to you as possible and pushes her head into your chest, then gives you a ton of kisses! She also loves to lay down outside and enjoy a sunny, breezy day. Gigi will stay by your side all day, if you let her. She loves to snuggle together on the couch. She does need medication for her allergies from time to time, but it is inexpensive. Also, depending on the prescription and where you take it, it may even be free. Gigi has full use of her leg back. She still favors it from time to time, but she is getting much stronger with her muscular tone. She is extremely loyal and protective. A stranger attempted to climb our fence, and Gigi ran out right over to him, barking aggressive. She even came back over to me, circled me, looked me up and down, nudged me toward the direction of my sliding glass door. Then, she ran right back out and continued to growl until the strange man fled the scene. Gigi is amazing and so, so loving! She would do best as the biggest dog in the house. She likes little dogs. She loves cats. However, dogs her size or bigger make her feel threatened, since she is already at a physical disadvantage. Gigi is (and has been) ready for her "FUREVER" home ASAP!
Do you have a home for this little angel? Please contact Crummel's Angels if interested in meeting Gigi!

**Please read Gigi's entire story! She deserves to have her story heard.**

Originally, "Georgia Girl" was at another shelter until we pulled her. Of course, we now call her Gigi. I was told she was 1-2 years old, but she is actually more around 6-7 years old. Her leg had been broken for quite some time. What I was told upon arrival was that they had forgotten to mention that she had "just a little Demodex." It turned out to look like SEVERE mange. Her nails were curled under and very long. Her nipples are long, thick, and saggy. It appears she was bred over and over again until she became ill and was dumped... possibly even hit by a car. There is still some milk left, so she was taken away from her babies before it was time. I was also told that she did not have fleas. As I was leaving, I was told she had just been "sprayed down" with Frontline. It did nothing. 45 minutes later, at my vet, fleas were crawling all over her.
My vet took a look at her and stated that it appears to be severe allergies that have gone a long without treatment (missing hair all over her body, scabs everywhere, severe itchiness). Imagine itching so severely that you whine, but can never scratch it because your leg is broken, flimsy, and useless. Gigi was prescribed an antibiotic, as well as a prescription for yeast infection (as she reeked of it). She also got 2 flea treatments (one oral to kill the fleas within 30 minutes to last an hour & one topical to last 30 days.) At home, we gave her a bath with Dawn dish soap to be as gentle as possible on her skin. I have never seen the bathtub turn brown like that! This black & white Pit Mix had VERY coarse hair which turned into the SOFTEST fur after I cleaned her up. Her ears were very tender, raw, and scabbed (some open wounds).
I knew right away that this girl was PRECIOUS. When she came to us, she already knew how to sit, stay, lay down, etc. She barks in the car, and she seems to be very protective and loyal. Upon meeting her, she stared me right down to the core, while I was trying to earn her trust, then rolled on her back and cried the happiest cry when I rubbed her belly!

Gigi was given an X-ray to determine what was going on with her back leg. The doctor stated that Gigi is a "very good girl." However, she was in a "severe amount of pain." Gigi is up-to-date on her rabies shot and tested negative for heartworm. She received more medication in order to treat her ears. Her skin issue is due to flea allergy dermatitis. She has several allergies (some undetermined), but the worst allergies are due to fleas. Since she no longer has fleas, this has cleared up. However, the change in seasons seems to affect her allergies as well. Gigi was given an allergy shot, a steroid, and an anti-inflammatory for her hip/pain, as well as Tramadol for pain. As for her bad leg, the doctor stated that "years and years" ago, Gigi broke her left femur. A metal pin and wire were placed in her leg. However, "the pin should have come out years ago," as it was about 3 inches too long. Also, the doctor stated that "the pin should have come out years ago." Gigi's hip had been suffering for YEARS. As I "guesstimated," she was in SEVERE pain. How she has such a loving temperament, I do not know. The doctor was shocked by her incredible personality as well. Gigi, of course, has arthritis. She was not able to have surgery until her allergies were a bit more under control. She was put on a regimen of medication to help her ASAP, including 2 medications for her ears. We had to wait to schedule her for surgery to fix the damage and cut the pin down to size, which the doctor is hopefully would "dramatically cut back her pain," as well as severely "increase mobility." Gigi was also be getting fixed during that surgery to cut back on the amount of times she is going to need anesthetic.

Basically, the pin is the entire length of her leg. Amazingly, it bent over time. Therefore, removing it was said to be a little difficult, but very possible. The doctors stated they would dissect the growth on the top of her hip (which was explained as "her body's reaction to the pin tearing at the muscle and surrounding tissue for years"), then begin to pull the pin out. If it could not be completely pulled out, they would cut it down as much as possible. However, it was more than likely that (with a bit of struggle), they would be able to simply pull it out.

When it was time for a quick check-up to find out if Gigi was cleared for surgery in order to schedule a date, and then I mentioned that I thought Gigi may be pregnant. It turned out that she was a couple of weeks pregnant (not showing at all) when we pulled her from the original shelter. Unfortunately, due to her medical needs, she was put on some medication that was not made for pregnant animals, and this was well before knowing she was in fact pregnant. Therefore, the doctor stated that she may not have healthy babies or even have all live babies. I could not make the decision to end her pregnancy, so she carried full term.

When Gigi became close to her delivery time, her temperature was being monitored at least twice per day. Unfortunately, some of Gigi's skin (what is exposed with no fur growth) had become red and bumpy. It did not seem to bother her often, but every now and then, I would catch her chewing at it in certain spots. I waited until after the pups were born to find a medication that was safe for her and her babies while nursing.

Here is the information directly from my veterinarian:
"Gigi's x-ray shows much better detail today. There are three normal looking puppies - all the same size and gestational age. There are 2 or 3 additional puppies that appear to be dead/mummified. These pups will likely be delivered along with the others but will not be viable. Gigi may try to revive them - she may even eat them once she realizes they are dead. They are significantly younger than the other three suggesting the died several weeks ago. This is going to be emotional."

After asking some other questions for more clarification, this was her second response:
"There should be three, large, roughly equal in size puppies delivered. I do NOT know if they are alive (ultrasound of their heart beat would tell us this). The mummified puppies will look very peculiar - perhaps not even much like puppies as they have died and her body is try to reabsorb them. They will likely not have fur but may have thin skin. She may completely ignore them or try her hardest to revive them. These puppies cannot be saved as they have been dead for half of the pregnancy. I estimate they died several weeks ago, and there is NO way to determine if it due the medication, poor breeding, Gigi's poor health at the time she got pregnant, or simply bad genetics.
If one of the larger puppies is struggling, try your hardest for 15 minutes to revive him/her. If not successful in that period of time, nature has won and the puppy is not viable. There is still a very real possibility that, while alive, the puppies will not be healthy enough to live. If it is safe to remove a dead puppy from Gigi, please do - she will not miss the pup if she has others to tend to. Be careful - she may become very protective. In the next 7 days, I expect her to deliver 3 big pups and two (possibly three) deceased pups that will still be in a placenta. If she delivers three pups and three "other" pups, you are done. If she delivers three pups and only two "others," have an x-ray taken the following business day. If she does not deliver 3 larger pups and she quits labor (more than two hours after last puppy) - she needs to be seen because we know there is one more possibly live pup inside.
Please remember that Gigi could not have been a healthy mother to these puppies in the condition she was in. If there was any way to know she was pregnant at the time of adoption, we may have chosen to spay her quickly (before the pups were viable) and then treated her skin condition because she was so sick. These decisions are impossible even when you have all of the information. Do not beat yourself up. She will be just fine and hopefully has a few beautiful, healthy puppies."

Gigi gave birth almost 1 year ago to 3 pups; 1 female pup (we named Diamond) was a stillborn, & the other 2 beautiful girls (Brinn & Gabbie) survived birth. They were born with some of the same health problems as their mother. Both pups were born with umbilical hernias. They also both suffered from worms for a couple of months. Both pups, as well as Gigi, suffered from issues with consistent diarrhea. Pepcid AC was enough to help take care of that issue. Unfortunately, Brinn passed away when she was almost 4 months old. However, Gabbie is still alive and healthy. She had a problem with severely chewing on her flanks. With the help of some medication, her issue went away. Every now and then, she needs some Benadryl (like mother, like daughter). However, Gabbie's health problems have all gone away, and she was then adopted into a wonderful, loving home!

Gigi was adopted by a family who kept her on a trial basis while I had back surgery, but they did not own a dog previously and had 4 cats who they were afraid would stay in hiding. So, when another interested family came forward, they took her in for almost a month until that family had a (from what it sounds like... "surprise") baby on Tuesday and brought the baby home from the hospital today (the following day). They called and asked to have Gigi taken back, as they were not sure how to handle Gigi and the newborn, as Gigi was excited around the baby.
Gigi needs a new home ASAP! Anyone interested in adopting her, please contact me SOON! Her belongings are no longer at my establishment, as her previous adopters had her for almost one whole month... so she does not have a long-term place to stay, as I am still recovering from back surgery at my parents' house. Therefore, I cannot care for her. She will come with all of her belongings: collar, leash, bed, food, food & water bowls, ear medication (if needed), etc.

SERIOUS INQUIRIES WHO UNDERSTAND HER FULL BIO, ONLY!!!

If you would like to DONATE to Gigi's medical fund (or to help support our other angels), visit: www.gofundme.com/CrummelsAngels
*Note: Online donations can be made at any time. They also help to pay off the money already spent on Gigi's medical needs (approximately $1,500-2,000 after her surgery).