# Prancer, the foster pup



## praline3001 (Dec 2, 2016)

Here is my foster pup I am fixing up for the local Humane Society. 
I named him Prancer and he is 8 years old and has several issues as he was a severe neglect/ abuse case. The people who surrendered him to the shelter told them he was a Maltese. 

List of issues we are working on
1. up until 4 days ago he couldn't see due to insane facial matting. He has eye infections from the matts being so close to his eye. It is clearing up with eye ointment
2. A pretty serious UTI that is improving quickly. The matts were around his genital and anal areas so he was basically peeing and pooping in his matts which caused a UTI
3. His teeth are horrible. I posted them on the other thread for a welcome. He can't be placed for adoption until he has major dental work done. One of my fellow volunteers nicknamed them "zombie teeth". He can't have the dental until he completes his antibiotics for the UTI and eyes. 
4. Though a sweetheart he started out acting very shy at the shelter. He would not interact with people and there was concern he would not be adoptable, especially with his age and health issues. Luckily the shyness is disappearing FAST! 

As you can see I have my work cut out. I normally foster cats/kittens and have never fostered a maltese before. I joined to get help concerning his coat and getting it to grow back white but got lots of other great advice as well in my "welcome" post. I am owned by 2 very special golden retrievers so will not be able to keep Prancer but I am the only advocate he has on earth and he will only go to a good home and be spoiled the rest of his life. As my dogs' poops are bigger than this little thing the family is learning to adjust quickly to having a little dog running between our legs as we walk! 
I wanted to share photos of him so people can see how much he has progressed.


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## praline3001 (Dec 2, 2016)

This is what Prancer looked like on intake. I am also enclosing a photo of his zombie teeth.


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## praline3001 (Dec 2, 2016)

This was day 1 of him at my house. You can see the fear and how closed off he is just by his expression.


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## praline3001 (Dec 2, 2016)

This was Prancer this morning. Such a huge difference in his personality in just 4 days!!! 
He is improving so much each day and I couldn't be prouder of the little guy.


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## Matilda's mommy (Jun 1, 2005)

Thank you for fostering little Prance, shame on his owners, they certainly didn't care for him:blush: the pictures of him are just so sad, I shiver at what that precious baby has been through, it breaks my heart about his teeth. I'm so glad your giving him love. You have a beautiful heart. He looks like a different fluff, it amazes me what kindness and love can do in 4 days. I pray he get a someone who will love and cherish every moment with him.


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## Nena2KK (Nov 16, 2016)

What a difference you are making in Prancer's life. It amazes me how resilient and forgiving a pup can be...with love!


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## summergirl1973 (Oct 24, 2016)

Bless you for keeping him safe and showing him love and care for what is likely the first time in his life. With time, he will learn to trust and grow in confidence. So happy for him!


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## praline3001 (Dec 2, 2016)

Thanks everyone. He LOVES his walks! He literally prances down the street! 
I am sure his personality will win everyone over. We still have a ways to go before he can be adopted and yet he has already come so far. 

Sadly he will most likely be one of those dogs with the tongue hanging out. 
He has a parrot mouth, which is one reason his teeth or horrible. The main reason of course is he had a crappy owner. 

I did some reading about stains on Maltese coats. Ya'll all have beautiful Maltese by the way! He has stains EVERYWHERE. The person who owned him was a heavy smoker to boot. His new "sprouts" are nice and white though so I am happy about that. Today I am going to bathe him in a human clarifying shampoo that I have here at the house with a argan oil deep conditioner that I have. I read many times a good clarifying shampoo will remove most dirt stains from white fur. 

I know there is a lot on here about tear stains and honestly we are not at that level of worry just yet. His paws are horribly stain brown from living in his own filth. I have been using gentle cleansers only but I am going to get down and dirty with the clarifier, especially on his paws.

If you look at the photo of him on day 1 at my house (laying down looking scared) you will see, his stains make him look dirty and nasty. That is why I am trying to remove them! Nobody wants a dirty, nasty dog! He is very clean and has started grooming himself as well but just looks dirty.


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## jane and addison (Nov 1, 2012)

Welcome to SM. Thank you for rescuing and fostering him. Be careful you may fall in love with the breed. Welcome and best wishes from Belle and Petey.


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## praline3001 (Dec 2, 2016)

jane and addison said:


> Welcome to SM. Thank you for rescuing and fostering him. Be careful you may fall in love with the breed. Welcome and best wishes from Belle and Petey.


I love all animals and have rescued/fostered for years but for bottle baby kittens. 

I have 2 amazingly special golden retrievers who help me foster little kittens so will not be adopting another pup. 

He is my first foster pup after many years of kittens. After his shave he was so pitiful and scared I grabbed him and told the shelter ladies he was going on a vacation :HistericalSmiley:

I take a decent photo and many of my kittens find terrific homes via the internet due to my photography. I am hoping after Prancer is in better shape I can do the same for him. Our Humane Society is awesome at screening and adoptions so I know he will go to a good home.


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## praline3001 (Dec 2, 2016)

Here are my B boys, both rescues. 
We adopted Baxter when he was 9 after my beloved lab passed away at 14. Baxter turns 14 this year.
Bentley was adopted from a rescue where the family paid for a $800 show dog only to find out it had a serious heart defect. They then dumped it at the rescue. He is 9 this year. 

They take up a lot of my time with grooming! One of their hairballs are the size of a Maltese! :HistericalSmiley: Throw in that they are water loving mud puddle addicts to boot


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## praline3001 (Dec 2, 2016)

We just gave him a bath in the clarifying shampoo. It lightened up some of the stains. A friend of my daughter came by to meet him as well. He loves meeting new people! As you can see, his body is much whiter! I just need to get his paws looking white! I am not worried about his face staining until after his eye infection is gone. 
He is curled up in an electric blanket and keeping toasty warm. 
for an abused/neglected pup he sure takes to spoiling quickly!! :HistericalSmiley:


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## sherry (Jan 4, 2013)

I think it is time for you to relax. He is a real cutie and has been through a lot, and you have saved him! When he has his teeth pulled and his hair grows out some no-one will know how horribly he was treated. Just give him love, you're doing everything right!:grouphug:


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## praline3001 (Dec 2, 2016)

He is a little darling with a fun personality. He liked his bath and was playing in the water even! I have an electric blanket I use when I have to bathe a tiny kitten and he has fallen in love with it! He will come to one of us when we call him, give us a lick and then run right back to the electric blanket! 

Oh and he LIES!!! LIES LIES LIES!!! 
We are working on tightening up his potty skills. He has had a few accidents but 90% of the time makes it to outside. I took him out (it was rainy and cold) and stood out there with him. He lifted his leg, PRETENDED to pee and then ran back inside!!! :HistericalSmiley::HistericalSmiley:


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## Snowbody (Jan 3, 2009)

Just please be careful with the electric blanket. We had the case with one of our member's dogs here who went to the vet for a dental. They used an electric blanket to warm him after the anesthesia and it ended up burning him badly. He ended up having to have debriding done and grafting. If you can maybe get a hot water bottle and wrap it with a thin towel it might be better. Most vets now use a water warming system and all of us check with our vets before dentals about that after the horrible experience. Prancer is looking better every day.


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## mss (Mar 1, 2006)

I have three Snuggle Safe heating disks. Not all are for my pets.


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## praline3001 (Dec 2, 2016)

Snowbody said:


> Just please be careful with the electric blanket. We had the case with one of our member's dogs here who went to the vet for a dental. They used an electric blanket to warm him after the anesthesia and it ended up burning him badly. He ended up having to have debriding done and grafting. If you can maybe get a hot water bottle and wrap it with a thin towel it might be better. Most vets now use a water warming system and all of us check with our vets before dentals about that after the horrible experience. Prancer is looking better every day.


You are right, they can be extremely dangerous with little animals. I use this one with my bottle baby kittens, when they need to be warmed up. Many don't know but a nursing kitten who's body temp is under 101 has trouble digesting its food. When I am using it for the babies I am always under the blanket with them and I make sure the blanket is touching my bare skin at all times. You can't be too careful! 

With Prancer being an adult I wasn't overly worried. I had it on low/med heat on the couch and as you can see, he was laying on top of it. If he was too warm he could easily move. I can see how a dog coming out of surgery would be too groggy and I will keep that in mind when we start his dental surgery. 

i dislike water bottles as I have had several leak .... cats.. claws... whatcha gonna do :HistericalSmiley:


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## praline3001 (Dec 2, 2016)

Interesting enough today was the first time we have seen him use his tongue. We know his teeth bother him, I mean they have to bother him they are horrid! He eats fine and doesn't behave as if he is in pain (though animals can fool us!) but he actually licked some of us, nuzzled on my neck a few times. HE licked my hand for a good 10 minutes while I was watching TV tonight. 

He is also bonding with our cat quickly. I think he feels more comfortable with the cat than my 2 big dogs. Prancer is still smaller than our cat but closer in size compared to my monster dogs! He has been following around our black cat and our black cat is less than amused over this. :HistericalSmiley:

We did get a nibble for an adoption today as well. A woman contacted us as she was looking for a tiny dog for her 10 year old son for Christmas. I pointed her toward 3 little 6 month old Chihuahua mixes in the shelter. I honestly don't think Prancer could keep up with a little boy. He likes kids, I even tested him with babies and he did wonderfully. its just he is 8 with medical issues. I am sure a little boy would rather a pup who will run and play with him rather than sleeping on the couch. It always stinks when you have to turn down a great family as its not a great situation for the particular animal.


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## praline3001 (Dec 2, 2016)

Here is a video from tonight. As you can see he is really starting to develop the cutest little personality!!!! 
He has really attached himself to me and this is worrisome. He freaks out when he can't find me. Remember he is a foster and I will need him to be able to move on to a forever home when he is better. I have a few friends who will be coming over during the next week to take him for walks and to the park and play with him in order for him to not be so attached to one person. 
https://www.facebook.com/brook.kornegay/videos/10211546227835752/


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## mss (Mar 1, 2006)

Maybe in his future home he should have a canine friend of his own size so that his future human "parents" can leave the house without his stressing out too much. Could you arrange for some small dog playdates for him while he gets ready to be adoptable?


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## praline3001 (Dec 2, 2016)

mss said:


> Maybe in his future home he should have a canine friend of his own size so that his future human "parents" can leave the house without his stressing out too much. Could you arrange for some small dog playdates for him while he gets ready to be adoptable?


I could and probably should. We went Saturday to this big Santa/pet photo fundraiser our shelter had. There were LOTS of animals and he did well with them. I don't know many people with little dogs that are socialized. 

This happens all the time with cats I foster and I have been told by fellow foster families the same is for dogs. I am probably the first human to be really nice to him and spend time with him so of course he wants to glue himself to me. I just need him to be fine with other people without me standing there.


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## The A Team (Dec 1, 2005)

Thanks for taking Prancer in..and giving him another chance at "the good life"!

You've made all the difference in the world to this little guy :wub:


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## maggieh (Dec 16, 2007)

Thank you for fostering him! It's great to see how much he as improved in just a few days; imagine how wonderful it will be when his mouth is no longer bothering him! He will find a loving home in no time!


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## praline3001 (Dec 2, 2016)

maggieh said:


> Thank you for fostering him! It's great to see how much he as improved in just a few days; imagine how wonderful it will be when his mouth is no longer bothering him! He will find a loving home in no time!


Yup! We are waiting for his other infections to heal before we start on his teeth. The swelling in his eyes is going down but they are still watery and crusty and I am wiping them with a warm wet washcloth several times a day. 

Sadly his UTI is still hanging around as well =/ The vet said if she doesn't see improvement in the next 2 days we will put him on something stronger.


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## praline3001 (Dec 2, 2016)

Prancer is getting his teeth done tomorrow!!! :chili:

Even better there is an older couple who are interested in adopting him! 
They want a sweet lap dog that isn't overly hyper and just likes to snuggle. It sounds like Prancer is the perfect dog for them! 

They know he is having his surgery tomorrow and they are going to stop by the shelter and see him while he is there for his teeth. If all goes well they will be taking him home the weekend for a sleepover. If that works out he will have a new home!


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## mss (Mar 1, 2006)

I hope he does well - for the surgery as well as the visit!


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## praline3001 (Dec 2, 2016)

mss said:


> I hope he does well - for the surgery as well as the visit!


I just dropped him off. He was NOT happy about this and cried. :smcry:
We shall see about his coming back home to me or if this older couple is going to take him. 

He is just such a sweet little pup. He deserves a good home.


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## sherry (Jan 4, 2013)

Awww, don't you think it would be best for him to come home to you after surgery instead of a strange place? I mean you're the only home he knows right now.


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## mss (Mar 1, 2006)

I'd agree, if you could do it & the couple wouldn't feel put off too badly. He's going to feel pretty poorly for a bit. But perhaps magic will happen when they meet! :wub: 

We're keeping those vibes coming! {{{{}}}}


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## praline3001 (Dec 2, 2016)

The vet way able to keep 12 of his teeth, which is a miracle! 
3 hour cleaning :blink:

He is doing great and will be going home with the elderly couple in the morning.


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## mss (Mar 1, 2006)

Good update!  I've had totally toofless dogs & a six-toothed dog. Hope he has a good recovery & a love match! :wub:


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## Snowbody (Jan 3, 2009)

Just checked in to find out Prancer got his dental. So happy. One recent foster of ours at AMAR needed all her teeth pulled so this was lucky. Hoping she feels okay and that the couple work out. Keep us posted please.


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## sherry (Jan 4, 2013)

Checking in this morning. So happy she was able to keep 12 teeth! I hope the elderly couple is a match and she lives a long happy life.


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## summergirl1973 (Oct 24, 2016)

Hi, I was wondering how the possible adoption is going. Was he a good match for the elderly couple?


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## praline3001 (Dec 2, 2016)

summergirl1973 said:


> Hi, I was wondering how the possible adoption is going. Was he a good match for the elderly couple?


I haven't heard anything and the shelter is closed on Sunday so I won't know if they are going to adopt him or not until Monday.


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