Mamie

Mamie came into a shelter with a horrible ulcer in her mouth, unwilling to open her mouth and shaking uncontrollably. When shelter staff thought it was healing somewhat they asked if ODH would take her. She arrived just reeking of urine and, as with so many schnauzers, we found a large bladder stone that our vet immediately removed. During surgery they discovered that ALL her front teeth had been essentially knocked in; the ulcer on one side was from the canine teeth smashing so hard into the gum that tissue had died. Someone undoubtedly had been so upset at her “having accidents” from the urine she couldn’t control that he/she hit Mamie in the mouth or ran her into something very hard. We see this kind of thing too often: Dog has a very painful bladder and can’t help urinating all the time, owner thinks the dog is doing it on purpose, gets angry or takes the dog to the shelter rather than consulting a vet. Very very sad. Poor Mamie came with lots of baggage. She is afraid of shiny floors (anything except carpet) and often has to walk backward down the hall. She wouldn’t take even treats from our hands for months, and would shrink away when we reached to pet her. She’s become much more confident about taking food now. She panics when out in wide open spaces so walks are stressful, though she loves car rides and sitting next to you in the chair and snuggling VERY close at night. Her mouth is painful from ulcerative stomatitis (also common in schnauzers) so she’ll need low-dose antibiotics and probiotics longterm and will have her teeth cleaned regularly. So far she is too afraid of touch on her face to allow brushing. Mamie suffered longterm damage to her bladder and is prone to urinary tract infections, is on prescription diet to keep further stone formation at bay, and has very regular monitoring for bladder problems. Lots of struggles both emotional and physical, but she is loving and tries very hard to do what we ask her. This sweet girl deserves a far more comfortable and kind last part of her life than the previous one, and we are doing our best to give her that.

Update:  After getting past all the pain and fear she carried when she came to her ODH home, and battling chronic bladder infections no doubt arising from the bladder stones, Mamie was diagnosed with ulcerative stomatitis in her mouth. Despite all the efforts from her family, her vet and the specialty dentist – all who tried so hard to control this – she again was overcome with pain and fear, every bite hurt and the world was scary again. We said goodbye to spare her more suffering but she will be terribly missed. She was such a good girl.