Beautiful tiny FLOWER ~

Poor little Flower. I brought her home and she was SO happy to be out of the cold. When I was bathing her I noticed that she has lumps on her abdomen, so I brought her to my vet the next day. It turns out that she has breast cancer and a hernia. She needs surgery as soon as possible. I was sad to have to leave her in the clinic because she was so happy to be in a home after her long stay in Asan shelter. She such a sweet cuddly little dog. Sigh....I'll bet these health problems are the reason why she was abandoned. Well, we are not going to abandon Flower. If you would like help with Flower's vet costs (our goal is to raise 400,000) for surgery please donate at 1002-240-455293 (Wooribank). Thank you so much!

Just a quick update...Flower is recovering well from her surgery. Her cancer was completely removed. Unfortunately, it turns out that she had TWO hernias, and they couldn't be completely repaired. Still, the vet did the best he could, and she is much better off than she was before. I really want to extend a big thank you to everyone who contributed to the cost of Flower's surgery. She seems to still have a slight incontinence problem, which may be due to her hernias pressing on her bladder. We'll have to wait and see if this improves with time. It makes me so angry to think that all of this has probably been caused by her being used as a breeding dog in a puppy mill. Anyway...On Tuesday, she'll be moving to Daejeon Paws where she can fully recover from her surgery. At least she no longer has cancer, her hernias are much smaller than they were, and she will be in a much safer and more comfortable environment at Daejeon Paws. I'm still hopeful that she can find some special person who will offer her a home. She is a lovely perky little dog, full of energy and fun, and if someone could find a way to work around her special needs (maybe dog diapers?) she could still have a happy life and be a great little companion.

@ dorothy and toto, yes the lump removed was cancer. Hiatal hernias ofter develop during pregnancy, though we obviously can't know what caused them in Flower's case. Regardless of the cause of her hernias, she has an almost constant need to pee. She has been treated with antibiotics, and she does not have a bladder or kidney infection causing this. Those would be the most common and likely causes of a constant urge to urinate. As you probably know, in a hernia, the internal organs push through the muscle wall that should contain them and are displaced. In repair surgery, the ruptured muscle wall is sewn back together and the displaced organs are pushed back into their correct place. Flower has hernias on both sides of her abdomen, down very low, right by her bladder. The muscles were badly torn and could only be partially repaired. There simply wasn't enough muscle to stretch far enough. However, the tears have been made smaller, and instead of having two golfball sized pouches sticking out on her lower abdomen, they are now almond-to-walnut sized. Everything that could be done to repair her hernias has been done. Since she just had her surgery last week, there's still a little swelling. She's still going around peeing frequently, so it seems that keeping her at DP is a good temporary situation until we can see how her health will be in the long term. I had intended to foster her, but I have 3 dogs of my own, and they all started to pee all over the house during the short time Flower stayed with me. I always try to have one foster dog in addition to my own dogs, but I honestly don't have enough time to care for a foster dog with special needs. I only discovered that Flower had serious long-term health issues after I brought her home. I am doing what I can to help her, and if her health continues to improve I'll bring her home as a foster if I'm not already fostering another dog. If you or anyone you know would be interested in fostering or adopting her, please let me know. She really is an amazingly chipper little dog.

Actually, Flower's health issues are typical of puppy mill rescue dogs. Dorothy, you're right that it would be better to find her a foster home where she could be the only pet. However, I'm hoping that she'll recover to the point that I can bring her home as I intended. In the meantime, if no one else steps in to foster her, I know she is safe, has a good vet, and I can visit and check on her regularly because I live in the same neighborhood. It isn't ideal, but for now, it's a few steps in the right direction. Right now, there are so many unknowns about Flower's prognosis that it's hard to know what to say to someone who might be interested in adopting her. That's why I wanted to take some time out and let her recover some more where I can carefully check her progress and get a clearer idea of what to expect in the long term. If there is someone who would be willing to foster Flower with a clear understanding of the challenges involved in trying to find a permanent home for her, please contact me, and I would be happy to arrange for you to meet her. She's a lovely dog, and she deserves a chance to be happy after all she has been through.

Flower is doing very well these days. She still has some peeing issues, but she seems to be adjusting to her new situation very well. On Sunday, she charmed the volunteers at the shelter with her open and friendly ways. If you have time to visit, please come by and give her a cuddle!

Flower was adopted today! After all she has been through, this just makes me happy all over. :)