Patty

Patty is a basenji mix of about 7 years. She came to JERAS in December 2010. She has been in and out of Texas homes and shelters and was a stray at one time. Basenjis are very independent and cat-like and many people find that unacceptable. I got my first one- a little black & white girl name Binti in 1976 and have lived with 8 basenjis  and 2 mixes.

Well, Patty could be the poster dog for shelter mismanagement and veterinary malpractice.

Her known history begins in 2008 when she was microchipped by a shelter. She was vaccinated then, too. She was then owned for a year by a young man. She ran away on numerous occasions and ended up at the same shelter two more times, but was retreived by the man or his female  friend.

This man eventually gave her away to someone who again turned her in to the same shelter. When the female friend found out, she went and adopted Patty. At that time, Patty was rabies vaccinated ( April 2010)

She was unable to keep Patty, because Patty kept running away. She put her on a basenji rescue website and eventually placed her in a new home, again in the Austin area. That person had Patty a month, during which time she had behavioral problems and was running away. He turned her into the same shelter right before Thanksgiving.  (We are now on Patty’s  at least 4th or 5th trip to that shelter).

That is when I saw her listed on the basenji site- thank goodness the listing had not been removed. I contacted the former gal owner and she said Patty was once again at the shelter. We adopted her long distance from there. I assumed  the shelter knew that THEY had  rabies vaccinated her in April. But, no, they gave her another rabies vaccination Nov. 29 – the day before transport.

SO, here we have a dog with anxiety, behavioral problems and hyperactivity. She fights and runs away. She keeps ending up at a shelter which does not track dogs, despite the microchip THEY implanted themselves. Every time she is turned into the shelter, they vaccinate again.

Over vaccination causes health problems and even death. It can cause thyroid disease. Thyroid disease causes behavioral problems.

NOT ONE single shelter worker or vet involved seems to understand any of this. They are not following the new AVMA Vaccination Protocol of 2006.

The shelter keeps no computer records and can only trace a dog back to the most recent impoundment.  Therefore, they keep vaccinating over & over.

It is a wonder Patty is alive. I immediately recognized the problem and she is now calm and content and PERFECTLY MANNERED since beginning  thyroid supplement.

Had any vet recognized the symptoms as possibly low thyroid, Patty would still have a home in Texas. I saw her frenetic behavior upon arrival and deducted what the problem was in about 20 minutes. The vet who saw her multiple times in the spring of 2010 also diagnosed her with a heart murmur. Low thyroid can cause heart murmurs, too. After 4 months on thyroid meds, our vet was unable to find a heart murmur anymore.

We have no right to do this to innocent animals.

http://www.mardot.org/new-vaccination-recommendations.html

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Patty her first day here

Patty after 2 days of thyroxine- hyper? Not!

Dec. 12. Patty is feeling very well and loves to scamper around the yard. She is so fast and agile that the others are no match for her. When in the house, she is so well-behaved I often forget she is here. She sure is sweet and loving and we are so glad to have her here with us.

Patty snuggling with Missy

Patty sunning on a winter morning

Addendum:

Patty’s temperament had improved greatly on thyroid meds, but she still had occasional outbursts of aggression. We treated her for suspected Lyme disease with doxycycline and Jernigan remedies, and now she is a different dog. She no longer has outbursts.
http://dogrescues.net/drn/pages/lyme.htm