Size
(when grown) Small 25 lbs (11 kg) or less
Details
Good with kids,
Good with dogs,
Good with cats,
House-trained,
Story
We have a transport leaving between the 1st and 3rd of November 2026 from where we are located in Southern California to NorCal, OR, and surrounding states as needed for our adopting families where we bring our dogs all the way to their homes 💗 For peace of mind we never ask for anything up front. The adoption fee along with your share of travel costs will be due the day we arrive in person ultimately finalizing the adoption then and there with you. We would love to add Birdie to our trip for the right family 😊
Meet Birdie 🩷
Some dogs come into our lives carrying a story we wish we could rewrite for them. Birdie is one of those dogs.
Birdie is a beautiful 5-year-old American Cocker Spaniel, currently weighing 12.3 pounds, with the gentlest spirit and a sweetness about her that makes her name feel almost too perfect. She is quite literally sweet as pie. 🥹🩷
And after everything this little girl has been through, I am so grateful that we have finally reached the point where our veterinarian is comfortable allowing her to find a family of her very own.
Birdie’s person passed away, and with that loss, the life she had always known disappeared too. We don’t know how long her owner had been ill before passing, but we do know that Birdie’s veterinary care had unfortunately been delayed during that time. What happened afterward is harder for us to understand. The remaining family did not want to keep her and told us that if we couldn’t take her, she would be taken to the shelter.
I don’t particularly like telling stories like this because I never want someone’s worst chapter to become the thing that defines them. But Birdie lost her person, her home, and everything familiar to her at once. She deserved to have the people left behind protect her mourning little heart until she found somewhere safe to land.
Thankfully, she landed here. 🩷
Birdie came to us severely underweight, with teeth in terrible condition and a little body that had clearly been struggling for some time. We couldn’t immediately determine how much of her weight loss was related to the discomfort of eating with unhealthy teeth, how much was connected to her overall physical condition, or how much may have been influenced by the stress and grief surrounding everything she had experienced.
What we did know was that Birdie needed help, and we were going to make sure she received it.
Our veterinarian began with a complete head-to-toe examination, bloodwork, and X-rays before proceeding with the dental care she so desperately needed. Her X-rays looked wonderful, and although her initial bloodwork showed mild anemia, our veterinarian was comfortable proceeding with anesthesia.
And what an eventful appointment that turned out to be! ❤️
Birdie had originally been scheduled for a spay and dental, but once she was sedated, our veterinarian discovered a previous spay scar, indicating that she had already been spayed at some point in her life. Thankfully, there was no need to put her through an unnecessary surgery, and she will go home with a sterility certificate from our veterinarian confirming her prior spay.
Her dental, however, was extensive.
Birdie needed 11 teeth extracted.
Eleven.
As awful as that sounds, I am so thankful those painful, unhealthy teeth are no longer in her mouth. Every remaining tooth was thoroughly cleaned and polished, finally giving her the opportunity to eat without the discomfort she had been living with.
Both of her ears were also examined and treated, a small mass on her back leg was removed without concern from our veterinarian moving forward, and fecal testing identified an intestinal parasite requiring treatment.
And through every appointment, every treatment, and every uncomfortable moment, Birdie remained the same incredibly sweet, trusting, affectionate little girl.
Following her original procedures, Birdie experienced some complications that required additional veterinary attention. She became dehydrated, and subsequent bloodwork revealed elevated kidney values.
Our veterinarian continued monitoring her closely through repeat bloodwork, urine testing, treatment, and nutritional support. Her urine testing was reassuring, and her kidney values initially showed improvement.
And now I finally get to share where our beautiful girl stands today. ❤️
Birdie’s most recent bloodwork, completed October 21st, shows that her kidney values remain stable, although still slightly elevated. While we certainly hope to see continued improvement, these levels may remain where they are for the foreseeable future.
Birdie is currently receiving daily medication to support her kidneys and is on a veterinary kidney-care diet (K/D). Both are important parts of her current treatment plan, and her adopter will need to be prepared to continue them unless her new veterinarian recommends otherwise.
Her future family will need to establish care with their own veterinarian and have her kidney values monitored as recommended. Depending on her future results, her veterinarian may choose to continue her current treatment, make adjustments, or recommend a different approach altogether. Those decisions will be left entirely to the veterinarian overseeing her care moving forward.
We cannot promise that Birdie’s kidney values will eventually return to normal, nor can we predict how long she may need medication or a prescription diet. We simply ask that her future family be financially and personally prepared to provide whatever ongoing veterinary care she may need.
Our veterinarian is comfortable with Birdie’s current stability and feels she is ready to find her forever home with a family who understands and accepts these responsibilities. Her veterinary records, including her most recent bloodwork, will accompany her so her new veterinarian can review her history and guide her care moving forward. 🩷
Seeing Birdie reach this point has been such a blessing. She now weighs 12.3 pounds, and watching her gain weight and grow stronger from the severely underweight little dog who first arrived here has been incredibly rewarding.
But what I love most about Birdie has nothing to do with what a laboratory report says.
It is who she is.
Somewhere before all of this, Birdie knew love.
You can see it in her.
A dog this incredibly sweet, trusting, affectionate, and comfortable loving people learned somewhere along the way that people could be good to her. I truly believe her person loved her before circumstances changed, and I hope wherever they are, they can somehow know that their little girl is safe with us now. 🩷
And Birdie really is an extraordinary little girl.
Birdie is deaf, but please don’t mistake her deafness for an inability to communicate or experience everything life has to offer.
This girl is SMART.
She watches her person closely and has learned to navigate her world beautifully through her eyes, her nose, and her connection with the people around her.
If her eyes are on you when it’s time to go outside, she’ll happily follow you right out. Hand signals and simply being intentional about getting her attention are wonderful ways to communicate with her.
There is something so special about watching a dog who cannot hear a single word you say still understand so much of what you’re communicating.
Birdie doesn’t need to hear your voice to know you’re happy to see her. She doesn’t need to hear you tell her she’s loved to recognize affection.
She feels it.
She sees it.
And she responds with the sweetest little expressions and that happy Cocker Spaniel tail. 🥹🩷
She is house trained and goes outside throughout the day to use the restroom. She is also crate trained and will sleep peacefully in her crate, although if you’d rather put a little bed beside yours, Birdie would be perfectly happy with that arrangement too.
She’s wonderful in the car and rides phenomenally on road trips. She does beautifully for the groomer as well. She’s a little nervous about being left there without me, but the second I return to pick her up, I’m greeted by smiles and happy little tail wags.
And yes, Birdie does have a docked tail, but what she has left of it certainly knows how to express happiness. 😂🩷
Birdie is incredibly quiet. She isn’t a barker and has such a peaceful, serene temperament in the home.
Outside, though, that little Cocker Spaniel nose gets to work. 😂
She loves wandering around the yard, sniffing everything she possibly can and taking in her surroundings in the way that makes the most sense to her.
Being deaf doesn’t make Birdie’s world smaller. If anything, watching her reminds you just how much of this world there is to experience without sound.
She wants to explore, accompany her person, and be included in everyday life. Most of all, she simply wants to belong again.
Because Birdie cannot hear approaching vehicles, other animals, or someone calling her name, her future family will need to be especially mindful of her safety outdoors. A secure yard, supervised outdoor time, and using a leash when exploring beyond the safety of home will be important for her.
Birdie is wonderful with other sweet dogs and does beautifully with cats as well. She loves the people she meets and has remained remarkably openhearted despite everything that has changed in her life.
There is no hardness in this girl.
Just gentleness.
And a beautiful little heart that somehow managed to hold on to all the love it had to give, even when life became so incredibly unfair.
I would love to see Birdie find a family who appreciates a quieter, more peaceful companion. Someone who enjoys having a little shadow nearby, who will happily include her in everyday life, and who finds as much joy in the simple moments as she does.
Someone who understands that her deafness is simply one part of who she is and that communicating with her may look a little different, but loving her certainly won’t.
I don’t believe Birdie needs someone to feel sorry for her.
I believe she needs someone who sees how much she has to offer and is willing to love her through whatever the future may bring.
She needs consistency, kindness, companionship, and someone who will continue making her health and happiness a priority. ❤️
Birdie is already spayed, microchipped, and current on her vaccinations. Her extensive dental care and other necessary veterinary treatments have been completed, and she will go home with her veterinary records, sterility certificate, and information regarding her current medications and prescribed diet.
Birdie’s adoption fee is on our website at the bottom of her adoption listing at https://www.breadoflifek9refuge.org/post/birdie
Her adoption fee helps offset the extensive veterinary care, diagnostic testing, dental procedures, medications, specialized nutrition, grooming, and daily care that have gone into helping Birdie recover and reach this point.
Birdie came to us having already lost so much, and while we couldn’t give her back the person she loved or erase everything she had experienced, we could make sure she received the care, patience, and kindness she deserved.
And that is exactly what we have done. 🩷
Now, after everything this beautiful girl has endured, she is ready to take the next step toward finding a family of her own.
I don’t want Birdie spending the rest of her life being known as the little dog who needed so much help.
I want her to be known as someone’s beloved Cocker Spaniel.
Someone’s little shadow.
Someone’s favorite companion for quiet mornings, afternoon strolls, and evenings spent curled up together.
I want her to have a person who learns her little hand signals, understands her expressions, and smiles every time that tiny docked tail starts wagging.
Someone who looks at her and sees everything she IS, rather than everything she has been through.
Because Birdie is so much more than her medical history.
She is intelligent, affectionate, peaceful, trusting, and one of the sweetest little souls you could ever hope to meet.
We can’t give Birdie the person she lost back.
But somewhere out there is someone who can become her whole world again.
Birdie has spent so much time learning that she is safe again.
Now it’s time for her to learn that she is home. 🩷🐾
