In Memoriam

Fiona – September 17th, 2020

September 17, 2020

3/13/12: Meet Fiona, a two year old owner surrender to a shelter near Birmingham. Details of her surrender are incomplete. We do know that her previous person owned Fiona and a male litter mate; they also owned three German Shepherds. The male litter mate was killed by the three German Shepherds in Fiona’s presence. Fiona is morbidly obese, I assume her litter-mate was as well therefore making them both sitting ducks. Possibly, the attack on the male dog allowed Fiona the opportunity to retreat to a safe location. Of course, the owner did what any responsible owner does after this situation….they dumped all four dogs at the shelter, citing health issues as the reason for surrender (teeming with sarcasm). I’m sure being dumped in a shelter helped heal any emotional stress she was feeling.

Fiona is MORBIDLY OBESE. We were told she had been diagnosed with hip problems, not sure how the girl can walk at all with the amount of fat she is carrying in her abdomen and hind end. We doubt that she does have hip issues as her gait is fine and was even able to trot for a short distance without limping. We’ll know more after she has taken off about 30-40 pounds. She does prefer reclining over walking as is to be expected. Fiona is also very fearful and depressed. I don’t think she has been caressed in kindness very often. When we finally got her into the car for the trip back to Atlanta she was visibly shaking, but her little nub tail was wagging rapidly. Every time we tried to pet her she dropped to the ground. She does want to love and be loved; she did find the strength to approach the seat on the trip back and lick my ear…as soon as she knew she was safe, she lightened up considerably.

Aside from obesity, she also has eye issues, possibly entropion that may improve after weight loss. She is heartworm negative. Fiona is relaxing at Riverside Animal Hospital, undergoing testing to make sure the obesity is not the result of another medical issue. She will have to stay with GEBR long term on a weight loss program before we can even attempt spay or any other surgical procedures she may require. We will need a long term foster home that will focus on weight management. Preferably one with no stairs and someone who won’t have difficulty lifting an 80 pound bulldog.

Update 3/22/12: Turns out Fiona is does not weigh as much as we thought, she is around 63 pounds, but her frame is too small to carry 63 pounds! Her two weeks at Riverside Animal Hospital will be up on 3/27; we hope to move her to a foster home then for some diet and exercise. After she drops a few pounds she will be spayed and have her knee evaluated.

Update 3/26/12: Poor baby has a respiratory infection with drainage from her nose and eyes. Her ears are infected too. On the plus side, she is much more comfortable with her surroundings, playful and very very loving. Her thyroid tests came back normal and Dr. Ross is going to investigate if there is something we can safely give her to help with weight reduction. She’s going to need some help.

Update 4/11/12: Fiona went to her foster home. She has come a long way in the past few weeks but is still a little shy and fearful. She finds comfort in her crate and prefers to be in there. Her foster brother Gus went in with her yesterday to keep her company. And her foster sister Gabby goes looking for her when Mom says “let’s go get Fiona”. Gus and Gabby and taking care of her; surely she will feel safe in no time. She weighed 60.9 yesterday when she left Riverside Animal Hospital. Dr. Ross decided against a “diet” pill for now; we are hopeful that she will drop some pounds from playing with Gus and Gabby.

Update 6/1/12: Fiona is down to 58.5 pounds!

Update 6/14/12: Fiona is down to 57 pounds! Her foster Mom tells us that she likes to go up and down the stairs now. Something she could not do back in March. Way to go Fiona!

Update 8/15/12: Fiona got to meet Dr Cross last week at GVS! And she will be seeing a lot more of him over the next few months. Fiona will see him for double knee surgery, Dr Andrew for double entorpion surgery and Dr Duval for spay. The good news is, Fiona is down to 50 pounds! She went from 63-50 while in her foster home; thank you Becky and Geoff for helping her get to a healthy weight. Fiona has a few tough months ahead of her, please keep her in your thoughts.

Update 9/7/12: Fiona had her first of two knee surgeries. She also had some eye lashes plucked and the hair follicles frozen so they do not grow back. They were poking into her eye balls causing pain and irritation. She goes back in 8 weeks to have her second knee surgery and spay. Fiona is down to 48 pounds! An ideal weight for her frame.

Update 10/25/12: Fiona had her second knee surgery and spay. Dr Andrew checked her eye and unfortunately she has an ulcer. We are treating it and she will have it rechecked in a few weeks when she gets her stitches out.

Update 1/9/12: Fiona has been cleared for adoption! She had her final check up with Dr Andrew for her eyes and Dr Cross for her knees. She does not need any more eye or knee surgeries! She has some allergy issues that are causing extra tear production and paw licking, but we are going to start her on zyrtec today and hopefully that will do the trick. It has been a long journey for Fiona; drastic weight lost, then eye and knee surgery and then spay and knee surgery. Thank you Becky and Geoff for taking take of her through it all!

Update 2/11/13: Fiona has been adopted! She met her new parents on Sunday and moved to NC with them. She even has a little human sister to call her own. Congrats Fiona, Janna and William!

September 17, 2020: Fiona crossed over the rainbow bridge today. Please keep her family in your thoughts.

Rest In Peace Fiona

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