My name is Annie!

Meet Annie, a sweet and very thin little rescue being fostered in Southwestern Illinois. She is estimated to be 10 years old and is 4 skinny pounds. Due to COVID concerns, adoptions must be within a 100 mile radius of the foster home location.

4/2/21 update - Annie is doing well and is just starting a new prescription to see if it reduces the amount of syncopal episodes she is having. While she no longer fully passes out, several times a day at regular intervals she still does have trouble standing and will sway and try to regain her composure, but they still only last a few seconds. It is recommended that Annie not be spayed or have a dental due to her multiple heart conditions. Again, Annie needs to be an only dog in a very quiet household where she can enjoy life as a couch potato with someone who will spoil her.

1/27/21 update: Annie has been doing great in her foster home. She was put on medicine by the cardiologist to help with her syncopal episodes, and she went an entire month without having any. Within the past couple days, the episodes have returned, so we are looking into possibly increasing her dose, as maybe she has built up a tolerance to the dose that she is currently on. Other than that, her hair has fully grown back in, she has gained all weight needed to be a healthy size, and she is a very happy dog. Since feeling better, Annie has become very sassy and decided that she is very dog selective. She tolerates most of other fosters at the house, and one of the resident dogs. However, she has chosen one resident dog that she has decided to try and attack all the time. For this reason, Annie needs to be the only dog in the home, as we could not guarantee who she would get along with, and she really is a loner and wants all the attention to herself anyway. Annie also cannot do any stairs, so she would need a ranch home, and need to be carried out to the yard. She does not require a fenced yard, but she cannot go for walks due to her heart condition she can only walk around for about 5 minutes at a time before she gets tired and needs to go inside. Annie needs a quiet, calm, home and would do great with someone who is retired and looking for a little lap dog to dote on all day. Please contact her foster mom with any questions regarding adoption.

Update 12/1/20: Annie was doing so well until Thanksgiving night she had a serious setback that we did not expect. She started fainting repeatedly, approximately every 10 minutes at one point. I rushed her to the ER and she was diagnosed with a severe heart arrhythmia that caused her fainting (syncopal episodes) and I was told she needed to see a cardiologist for further testing. The cardiologist was booked, so we made the first available appointment for Dec. 22nd, but the cardiologist called us on Monday, 11/30 and said given the fact that she was continuing to faint several times a day, we needed to rush her down to his clinic 2 hours away and get her admitted through the ER there.

So off we went and I sat in the car for about 6 hours while the doctors tested and examined her. It is determined she has sick sinus syndrome (SSS), along with degenerative valve disease. She has been started on medication to hopefully reduce or stop the syncopal episodes, but the only true cure for SSS is a pacemaker. Given her age and multiple heart problems, we are waiting to see how well the medicine works before putting her through an extensive and risky surgery. The ER visit and diagnostic testing with the cardiologist were extremely expensive so if you can find it in your heart to donate to Annie's vet bills, please consider a donation to help UYR with this sweet girls care.

Update 11/6/20: Hi everyone, Annie here! Foster Mom (FM) said I could talk this time since I'm starting to feel better! The amazing Dogtor was able to sneak me in a whole week earlier than my scheduled appointment. First, I have gained about a pound since being with FM, which is amazing! I eat like a horse and she said my ribs have filled out a lot. I am also heartworm negative! I also have a huge UTI, which was not really a surprise to FM. A couple more serious issues are that my red blood count and hemoglobin are extremely low. Not low enough to need a transfusion, because they are making more at this point, but we need to keep watch. Also, my liver is inflamed and that's a big concern. However, I have massive infection throughout my body so I am on high dose antibiotics to help all of the infections I have. I have infection in my mouth from my rotten teeth, of course my UTI, and serious skin infections. Dogtor said I need to come back after 3 weeks on the antibiotics and get repeat labs. If my liver values are not improved, we may need to do an ultrasound to see why it's inflamed. But the antibiotics will clear up my UTI, and will make my mouth feel better for a while. Dogtor also wants to hold off doing my dental and spay until I'm a little healthier and heavier to make sure I will be okay during the surgery, so I will be staying with FM for a while and that is just fine with me she feeds me a lot! I'll update again after my next labs in three weeks. Thanks for all your love and support! Love, Annie

Initial Bio 10/29/20: Annie is a 10 year old (guestimate), vaccinated, very emaciated yorkie/silky mix who was pulled by UYR from a St. Louis animal control. She was found abandoned by animal control in a field. It is clear she has been neglected for some time, as she came in with matted hair and had to be shaved, has some hair loss on her ears, paws, and tail, and is arthritic. She also has dental disease.

Despite her neglect, Annie is a very sweet, loving dog and gets along well with the small, resident dog of the house. She follows her foster mom everywhere and just wants to be loved.

Annie's first vet appointment is scheduled in almost two weeks, and hopefully she can put on some weight between now and then. She will definitely need bloodwork to see if she will be able to tolerate anesthesia for her dental and spay. Please stay tuned to learn more about sweet Annie!