Cleo, Shepherd Mix

Meet Cleo.

Although Cleo’s past is unknown, we know it wasn’t a good one.

Cleo was found on the streets and turned into animal control by the people who found her. She sat on the euthanasia list at the county shelter for nearly a month, which is almost unheard of!

Emaciated and with a large tumor on her side, she wasn’t able to be adopted and no rescue ever came for her.

Well today that all changed and she’s safe in the loving arms of M.A.I.N. who will get her the vet care she needs to get healthy again!

Cleo’s Updates:

Cleo has been adopted! Congrats to Cleo and her fur-ever family!

Cleo’s Petfinder bio: Hi everyone! My name is Cleo, a super sweet Shepherd mix looking for a family to call my very own. It’s taken me a lot to be the healthy, happy dog you see in my pictures. I was rescued back in March after a whole month at the pound; I was extremely thin and had a large tumor on my side. Because of my illness, I would have been euthanized, but lucky for me- M.A.I.N. stepped up to save me! The tumor was removed (it was benign) and I gained plenty of healthy weight. Now all I’m missing is my perfect happy ending…could YOU be my fur-ever family?!
Let me tell you a little about me. The first thing you should know is that I’m very sweet. I love, love, love being where my humans are. Belly rubs, pets, cuddles- you name it and I’m game! That’s not to say I’m clingy though; I have an independent side too and love to go out and explore. But don’t worry- I’ll always come back to you when called! I recently took a trip to the dog park and did great with the other dogs there, so if you have a doggy friend at home I’d love to meet them. If not, that’s okay too- I’m happy to be an only dog, soaking up all the attention. Think of all the fun things we could do together! I ride great in the car and am very mellow, so it will be easy to take me anywhere you want to go. You’re probably thinking, wow this dog sounds low maintenance…and you’re right! As long as I can call you my fur-ever home, I’m up for anything! If you’re looking for a super sweet, calm and eager-to-please dog…I’M your girl! Email M.A.I.N. to set up a meet and greet! I am approximately three years old and my adoption fee is $150.

Medical Update on Cleo’s biopsy results, April 11th: Peripheral nerve sheath tumor, low grade. Prognosis is favorable for survival; high potential for recurrence.There is a high rate of recurrence locally even after apparent complete excision. The metastatic rate is low for low grade (<10%). The tumors in this category are characterized by aggressive local infiltration and recurrence but rare metastasis.
In English: we got the tumor and it is unlikely to metastasize, but may recur.

Update on Cleo, April 3rd: Cleo is doing great after surgery and eating like a champ! Unfortunately Dr Katie could not identify what the mass was so it had to be sent out for biopsy. The results should be in sometime next week. The mammary tumors were benign. She weighed in at 54.6 lbs! That’s exactly a 12lb gain since she came to us (now its just maintenance)! She is just beautiful!

Update on Cleo, March 21st: Cleo had her follow up appointment with Dr. Miller yesterday! (WOW does she enjoy her car rides!) Cleo now weighs just over 50 lbs – an 8 lb gain since her first visit to BAH! Dr. Miller said Cleo had exceeded her expectations and the pneumonia was much improved! So much so that we schedule the surgery to have the large tumor removed from her side and the mammary tumors removed on April 1st! She has completed the Amoxicillin and Gentocin but will remain on Doxy until surgery. After her appointment we went next door to see Sue and Cleo had a pedicure! She is such a good girl and getting closer everyday to looking for her forever family!

Medical Update on Cleo, March 6th: Cleo’s labs are consistent with Pneumonia: high white blood cells. Valley fever, tick fever and heartworm are negative. Overall looks fairly decent.

Update from Cleo’s foster family, March 5th: Cleo has had a much better day today. She is more active, interested in what is going on around her, and her eyes are more animated. She still has this worried look in her eyes most of the time, but they are definitely brighter. I even got to see her “propeller tail” this evening! Her breathing is a little easier and her green nose boogies are less. She has started to spit out her antibiotics, so we are now hiding them in soft food (smarty pants). And she has developed some stubborness regarding going into the gated master bath and surprised us when we found that she had jumped the gate and was lounging on the bed patiently waiting for company, lol! She has pretty much taken over the master bedroom when she has to be “kenneled.” Dr. Miller said we could start introductions to the others after the weekend so we are looking forward to that tomorrow and are hoping that will go well – fingers crossed. If all goes well, I think the socialization will do her a world of good! She definitely prefers to be around her humans! We are looking forward to the day when she will look us in the eye and wag her tail freely!

From Cleo’s first day in foster, March 1st: So Cleo had a restful night. She has eaten and been out to the back yard for a bit. We have seen more tail wagging and on occasion her tail goes in a helicopter motion – in circles! She is currently in my husband’s spot in the bed while I get some computer work done. We have noticed however, due to her emaciation, that she has some pressure points on her hips that the fur has worn off. The fluffy bed helps but I think she would benefit from an orthopedic bed or egg-crate so will be looking into that today.

Cleo had a great time at the park the other day and we got some amazing photos out of it! Thanks to photographer, Molly!

Check out these photos from Cleo’s journey with M.A.I.N: