Dolly’s Story

About a year ago, I was asked to foster (my #16) a senior Beagle named Dolly. I traveled to the shelter, where Dolly and a younger, pregnant Beagle were taken, and was able to bring them both into our organization. Dolly had a huge mammary tumor the size of a grapefruit; she was blind; she had heartworms; and she had skin, dental, and ear problems. I agreed to foster her and follow through with all her treatments.

The first thing to be done was to remove the tumor that made it difficult for her to get around. Before we could get her to the vet, she suffered a uterine infection and needed emergency spay surgery. Her tumor(s) were removed at that time and sent out for biopsy. It was cancer, but the doctor successfully removed it.

When we went to the eye specialist, she needed her right eye removed from untreated glaucoma. Her left eye needed cataract surgery, so we had that all done, plus her entire mammary chain, because another lump was found.

It was simply amazing to watch her when we picked her up from surgery. She could see!! She even barked at the people in a car next to us on the way home. Dolly did great!

We were treating her left eye for glaucoma, since her pressure was too high. Using three different drops, one to three times a day, we have treated her for a year. Just last week, though, we were told that Dolly is losing the battle with glaucoma and her left eye will also need to be removed. She cannot see anything at all now, and she is once again bumping into everything that she could see for a year.

We are going to prepare our home with runners. We are buying toys that make sounds for her to “fetch.” She loves being outside, so we have made safe areas for her with mats for her little stations of rest. We are also going to purchase a halo for her to learn without bumping her nose so much.

Dolly is going to remain with us, and we have adopted her. A friend of our Humane Society has opened a bank account in Dolly’s name, and has been helping cover all her surgeries. This helps us so much, since we have another dog. She comes to Dolly’s appointments and surgeries, and she even purchased a tonopen for me to check pressure. (I’m a vet tech, so I know how.)

We absolutely love this dog, who was supposed to be a temporary foster, and there is just no way we will ever let her go. We’ve been through so much together and the bond unbreakable.