11/29/2023
As promised here is our little prissy update.
We felt like we needed to take some time over the Thanksgiving holiday and process what we learned and think about how we might proceed forward. Needless to say we still have not made any conclusive decisions and are open to any ideas or suggestions from you all. Prissy was born with a condition known as ectopic ureter syndrome. When we took her to the specialist for our consultation he was both shocked and somewhat impressed that we were both the breeder and current owner. He knew I had a puzzled look on my face and he told me he would explain why after our discussion.
So basically she has a issue with urine from one of her kidneys skirting around her bladder and connecting straight to her urethra. In her situation he feels like the ureter that comes from the kidney burrows into her bladder and create somewhat of its own muscle contraction in conjunction with the bladder which is why she does not constantly dribble. She does have bladder control and is able to control her urination just like other dogs but will have the trickle effect from time to time. It does seem that it is more when she is sleeping or first awakens. Treatment for this condition is only surgical. It is a operation that requires an overnight stay and a very extended and limited movement recovery. The success rate is about 85%. It is also not cheap. Only a few specialized locations perform the surgery. After absorbing all of the information he told me he then explained why he had such a look on his face at the beginning of our conversation. As mentioned before he said that this was a rare condition and there is nothing that can be done to test the parents prior to breeding to prevent this from happening so it was first and foremost not anyone’s fault that this happened.
Secondly he explained that they truly do not know how rare this condition is because in all truth he said the majority of people he sees that have pets with this condition did not realize they were adopting a pet that had ectopic ureter syndrome until once they had them home. ( I find this so tragic and heartbreaking) He said that in his experience these dogs are most often euthanized shortly after the discovery of the condition is suspected at about two weeks of age. I am not going to lie and tell you that that option was not presented to us as a possibility when we initially took her for an exam with our regular clinic when she was 2 1/2 weeks old. However we made the decision that we were responsible for bringing her into this world and we should be responsible for caring for her. Surgery is not currently planned for Prissy at this point.
Despite our efforts to not become attached to her we have, how could you not !!
She is truly an outstanding pup and I know she has an incredible future somewhere whether it is here or elsewhere.
Currently, I diaper her when she’s inside for long periods and she gets regular bird baths to keep her as clean as possible. For the time being I am doing everything as before with treating her the same as all the others receiving all the same amount of love receiving the same amount of training (despite giving her some leeway on the house training for obvious reasons) but at some point she deserves to be placed with her proper family.
We are investigating some other options for her surgery such as university vet schools but that will take some time. We aren’t rushing anything at the moment. However, if there does happen to be anyone out there who feels drawn to her and would like to be considered as her forever family please feel free to message us for a conversation. She will definitely require a home with another furry playmate as she is such a highly socialized little lady with a personality and confidence bigger than any we have seen. Thank you all for following her story. We have faith that whatever her plan is that it will work out beautifully.
Nancy
