Age: 6 yrs. | Rhodesian Ridgeback mix

Sissy is a very loving and sweet girl. She is very large, tall, and weighs about 130 lbs. She is spayed and up-to-date on her vaccinations. She has a very distinct ridge. She is very friendly, smart, and well-behaved. She does well with other dogs, but we have been told she does not like cats. Sissy desperately misses her sister, but she is doing well considering all she has gone through.

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In mid-August, Rescue was asked to take in two six-year old sisters from a shelter. Sissy and Sally had been surrendered to the shelter as their owners were aged and unable to care for them.

A couple of days later, a rescue volunteer drove to the shelter to get them. Upon arriving there, we were told that the two sisters had been adopted out together by this really nice lady just an hour before we got there. The shelter people told us how wonderful these girls were and how cute they were driving off with their new owner. Sissy and Sally were so attached to each other that when they would go in and out of the kennel, they would try and walk side-by-side, totally unwilling to separate for the few seconds it would take to walk through the door. It seemed like a happy ending and that Sissy and Sally would be together in their new home.

Unfortunately, not all endings are happy ones. This nice lady evidently put Sissy and Sally into her small backyard and the two sisters escaped within an hour of getting there.

Sissy was found, injured. The Sheriff's Department found her, tied her up, and Animal Control took her back to the pound. At this point, Sally had yet to be found. When Rescue went back up to get Sissy, we asked what was being done by the shelter people to find Sally. We were told that they did not know what to do. We offered a few suggestions and their representative seemed responsive.

Sissy has been in her foster home since Saturday, August 23. She has a torn dew claw. At about 130 pounds each, Sissy and Sally had been on the run for a couple of days and Sissy was exhausted and dehydrated. She probably hadn't eaten while on the run, and she was refusing to eat at the shelter. She was covered in fleas and filth. She was so tired she just laid on the floor of the car on the way home, too weak to even climb onto the seat. Her legs were collapsing underneath her, and it was all she could do to walk into the house and lay herself on the blanket where she would sleep for the next 8 hours without making a peep.

Meanwhile, the shelter people were taking our advice and at least putting out some flyers looking for Sally. On Monday morning, they found themselves distributing them at an area vet hospital, who recognized Sally's face and informed the shelter that they had Sally. She had been hit by a car and was dead.

Sissy is doing as well as can be expected now in her foster home. She is stronger and has spent most of her time sleeping. She is on a strict diet as she is so overweight. She has a new toy that's all hers and she loves it. She desperately misses her Sally. What we wouldn't do to be able to get Sally back so these sisters could be together like they deserve. Sissy really needs someone to cling to now that Sally is gone. We haven’t talked about Sally in front of her and won’t tell her about her sister’s fate. She probably saw it happen anyway.

Sissy's genetics are a mystery—she could well be a purebred Ridgeback under all that hair and weignt, but she could also have some Lab or Shepherd in her. She does have a nice ridge and the Ridgeback in her personality is coming out more each day.

Even though Sissy’s been through hell and back, she is an absolute doll. She is a real love. She isn’t afraid of anything! She’s curious, well-mannered, smart, and very loyal. She really loves other dogs. She loves everyone she meets. Sissy must be in a family with another dog or humans who are home a lot. We tried to save Sissy and Sally, but now all we can do is give Sissy the life she is worthy of. She did not deserve any of this, and Sally did not deserve to die the way she did. Sissy has a wonderful, resilient spirit, and she needs to be nurtured and loved by a very special family.

UPDATE 10-20-03

Sissy was taken in early September for a routine exam at the vet. Five hours and several hundreds of dollars later, we found that Sissy was not in terrific shape. To start, Sissy weighed 125 lbs! She had been on a diet since coming to her foster home, and had probably already lost about 5 lbs. since we had her. During the routine exam with the vet, Sissy became very uncomfortable when the Dr. felt around her abdomen. This normally very laid-back girl was in definite pain, a cause for concern. We opted to do an ultrasound on her abdomen, and found an adrenal mass approximately the size of a tangerine. The mass is likely due to the onset of Cushing's Disease, a condition that results in chronic overproduction of hormones by the adrenal or pituitary gland. Sissy was given a ACTH Stimulation Test to diagnose Cushing's, but the results were inconclusive. Her blood test came back in the high end of normal, so a second, Low Dose Dexamethasone Suppression Test will have to be done for a definite diagnosis. Sissy also had a heartworm test which came back positive. The least of her concerns was a urinary tract infection which was easily treatable.

Rescue was in a real dilemma with Sissy's current and pending health issues. First, who would adopt her? Cushing's Disease is manageable with medication, but of course this is a monthly expense. Second, Rescue has very limited funds that come only from adoption fees and occasional donations. Adoption fees rarely make up for the vet expenses most dogs accumulate while in Rescue. On her first visit to the vet alone, Sissy's bill came to over $600. How could we possibly afford to treat everything that was going on with her?

We decided Sissy deserved to be well, and we would do all we needed to do to get her as healthy as possible. Her incredible disposition made the decision fairly easy for us! So, once Sissy finished the antibiotics for her urinary tract infection, we decided to treat the heartworm disease immediately. We knew the treatment was nasty, and she would have to be kept quiet in her foster home for 4 weeks. Sissy spent the night in the vet hospital and was given two shots over the course of 24 hours. When we arrived to pick her up, she was walking very slowly, in obvious pain. Seeing Sissy like this was heartbreaking, but we knew she'd get better soon enough. She ate only small amounts of food by hand for the first several days home, and due to the swelling in her back she had trouble finding comfortable positions to lay in.

Sissy is now nearly done with her recovery period and has bounced back to her happy-go-lucky old self. She plays with her toys again and her appetite is definitely back (though she is still on that diet)! Once she's in the clear from the after-effects of the heartworm treatment, Sissy will go back to the vet for another check-up and the Low Dose Dexamethasone Suppression Test to determine if she has Cushing's Disease. Sissy has found a wonderful woman willing to adopt her, and she'll soon go to her new home.

Sissy's story does have a happy ending. We appreciate your interest in her and now ask for your help. To date, Sissy's vet bills have totaled over $1,000.00. Rescue simply does NOT have that money. In order to treat Sissy, her foster family has absorbed much of that cost. Our hope is that you will be moved to help, in even the smallest way. Sissy is well worth the expense.

Tax-deductible donations can be made in two ways:
Check. Made out to Rhodesian Ridgeback Rescue and sent to PO Box 27933, Concord, CA 94527.
PayPal. Simply click here to make a donation using your credit card via PayPal.

THANK YOU.