Karen McClure ~ Pensacola Maria

Happy 2009 Maria!

The first year of her life might have been tough
but 2009 is finally here and this little
dog is one tough girl!

Here is our story of Fraulein Maria

This page is the story about a little miniature Dachshund that came into our life. She was rescued from Mary
Esther, Florida, when she was found in the woods, only to be brought to a shelter and rescued from the room
where they move the dogs that will be put to sleep. When we got her, she had a severe case of genetic non-
contagious mange and was believed to be about 3-5 months old.

As you scroll down this site and read her story, you'll see photos of her transformation and her new life full
of love and all good things. Please read about our Maria.

While these pictures might make you sad, please know that this is the beginning of a love story! This dog is
precious! So sweet and gentle but already showing signs of spunk! Please come back and see more pictures of
her as she grows and becomes even more beautiful. Thank you, Kat, for sending out that email! And thank you
Terri for everything you did to bring us this little baby dog. She came to live with us on Ken's birthday, August
21, 2008. She is truly our Little Gift!
Introducing... Maria

It is obvious she hasn't eaten in a long time and only weighs 4.7 pounds. She will be getting daily medicine
and medicated baths to clear up her skin. She sure loves her new Dad and our daughter Elizabeth!

This photo (on the right above) is the first picture we ever saw of her in the email. I know, pitiful ...you
just have to trust us! This was how our little Papillon, Angel, looked when she came out of the woods
and she lived to be twenty!

She's got a long way to go, but she's a trooper!! The best way to describe her is she looks
like a tiny baby dinosaur that wants you to hold her.

One of her favorite places is her soft "bucket" with her blanket. She also sleeps
in a clothes basket with other favorite blankets right next to Annie.

Even with our home renovation going on, she walks right past the workers and she already knows "let's go
outside" and "Okay, ready to go in the house?"

She's eating canned dogfood (tiny bits at a time), fresh sliced turkey from her Aunt Kat, and she loves
drinking water!

Her first night here she woke us up at 11 p.m., but then slept through the night! Scroll down to see the latest
progress.

Come back and visit as I eat and grow! We go back to see Dr. Hall
at East Hill Animal Hospital in one week! Thank you Dr. Hall!

As I'm typing this update, I wish my arms were about 9 inches longer...I have a 10-lb Papillon sprawled
on my lap toward my knees and a 4.7-lb mini dachshund snuggled between her rear and my belly!
Getting kind of warm but I'm just loving seeing the two pups more comfortable with each other and
so close together. The first day Annie kept a safe distance.

Here's a photo from last night of Annie, our Papillon, laying on a pile of pillows while Maria slept soundly
with her soft blanket and orange bear baby. I don't know how Annie thought she could hide with ears like
that...!

Maria is really doing well today. She has many places where she has a soft place to stop (you know, one by
the water bowl, one in my office, one in the bathroom, one on our daughter's lap). She is still in survivable mode!

Although she's eating well, she would inhale it in one breath if I let her, so I space her food out in small
portions throughout the day. She's drinking plenty of water and we're taking her out often. She goes right to
the bathroom every time. Her urine is almost clear now which means she is getting lots of clean fluids to help
her heal. That will help her skin, too.

Here is a picture of our daughter, Elizabeth, while Maria rubs her face all over Elizabeth's jeans. No doubt all
that dry skin itches! Surprise, surprise - there's a phone coming out of my teenager's ear!

We had another really good night with Maria and today she was doing funny things like chewing on my fingers
and chasing a little ball (one of our favorite "Merlin" balls from Hawaii). She is definitely developing a
personality and it is all puppy!

You can see in this picture how her loose skin just hangs all over, but it's amazing how much she's already
filling out. Today was the first day she actually left food in her bowl. Check out her little brown mane in the
next picture. She has a little line of fur that is growing down the middle of her back.

When we pick her up it's like she hardly weighs anything...picture a scant 5-lb bag of sugar.

Here are some fun pictures from our day...she was really being silly while we were playing on the
chair! She was barking, growling, flipping around and Annie thought it was very unlady-like.

It's hard to tell but it looks like her fur is starting to come in a little somewhat. I think her daily
brushing with a soft baby brush is helping to remove the dead flaky skin so there's more focus on the fur!
There is still quite a bit of the dry stuff on her face (the light stuff around her mouth). My sister says it's
almost like she was in the woods so long moss started growing on her. It really does feel similar to that.
So sometimes we call her Mossy Maria.

Here are some shots of Maria when we went outside after her first tropical storm, Fay. I think the rain
reminds her of bad memories of time alone in the woods...so she stayed right near our feet today. She's
doing great! Thanks for stopping by to check up on how she's doing. I'll post more photos in the next
few days.

Oh boy! Maria got her bath yesterday and I swear, it was like putting a cat in a toilet. She may be tiny
but when she saw that water, her four legs went straight out sideways and she was not about to get moist.
Thank goodness I had that water all nice and warm and the towel was nearby. I know I was able to
keep the suds on her the required 5 minutes but it wasn't near the 10 minute maximum. Boy, she was not
happy with me!

Today she is happy, happy, happy! I made my lunch and came to my office to update her page and I heard a
clicking noise. When I came around the corner she was hanging onto the edge of the t.v. tray with her middle
fingernail and she had cream cheese all over her nose. And there was nothing on half of my bagel. When I
asked her what she was doing she looked behind her and back at me like, "I'm sorry, were you talking to me?"

Happy, happy, happy!

We are in the middle of a renovation and Maria does not want to miss a single thing going on! I wondered if
she'd be afraid of thunder or loud noises but she seems to handle the nail gun and sawing noises just fine.
The first time that compressor fired up she looked at me, but because I didn't look afraid she went right back
to sleep.

Maria

Here's a picture of Maria on her favorite vantage point (safely on the back of the couch looking over the
blocked doorway).

Most of the rescues we have loved for the past twenty years never really played with toys. Or if they did,
they'd never bring them to us or "fetch" a ball. Maria just loves to play with toys! She chews, runs after
stuffed toys, finds sticks in the yard, and just loves to play. Here's a picture of Maria with her friend Ricky
the soft raccoon.

I'm feeling really good everybody! Thanks for watching me grow and get better! I get to see Dr. Hall
again tomorrow. I hope she remembers me! I don't look the same as I did last week (mom says that's
because I've been very brave and strong). I just might bring Ricky along with me.

Today was Maria's second vet appointment with Dr. Hall and the good doctor said she is doing well.
She has really grown, too! She went from 4.7 pounds to a whopping 5.11 pounds!! She got a shot today
and she has another appointment in three weeks.

I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you to some very special friends ~ one I've never even met
in person! Thank you Nora and Mary Jane for the surprise gift package for Maria. Boy! Were we ever surprised!

The package included two pretty scrunchies for the pups, along with two jeweled bone charms (pink of course)
and two adorable stuffed animals. Annie took the pig and Maria took the cow. Of course, Maria ended up with
both toys within minutes because she's just like that. :-) Here she is wearing her scrunchy.

Here she is with her cow! Thank you for the "headbonks" from Molly in Pensacola and Penny and Mac
all the way from Laurel, New York!

Maria has continued to get better and better! It's been a few days since we updated this page because we've
been dealing with some weather (Gustav especially). Now that the storm has passed, we can take some new
pictures. We're noticing more "brown" when we see Maria's fur continuing to come in and the rough skin
disappear. Here are some pictures of Annie and Maria together (with Ricky of course) on the recliner. You'll
notice Annie starts out by watching from the corner of her eye--because Maria has a tendency to POUNCE when
she least expects it!

Then they settle down and do very well. Annie used to have the priviledge of getting on our king size bed
so she could be "up and away" from puppy teeth, as well as being high on our loveseat. Not anymore! Miss
Mossy Head can jump up on anything now. She steals toys, she gnaws on ears, she pounces on Papillon
heads and is quite the character!

For the first time we've had Annie, she actually played on the bed the other day. Annie started doing
"zoomies" jumping on pillows, flipping toys in the air, wagging her tail, and having a good time.
Maria LOVED it and we've seen them playing together more--when they thought we weren't looking.
This is quite something for Annie because she is very timid and usually FREAKS when another dog initiates
play.

Maria's fur is really coming in. I'm hoping these pictures show all the brown! It's mostly coming in on her
head, so we call her our little Cocoa Puff!

Maria

Here's kisses for Papa Dog! This is Maria with Annie, our Papillon. She is four years old.

She had her third medicated bath today. She did a little better than last time. It went much faster
because she actually put all four feet in the sink this time. Boy, she does NOT like water! She doesn't
know it's the same wet stuff that comes out of a garden hose, though, because she thinks that is funny!
Here she is doing one of her favorite things--playing with a stick in the courtyard. Look at all that FURRRRR!

I love it when she really gets into it. She loves playing fetch and brings the ball back to us! The sticks
are HERS though, so she never brings those back.

You can tell in this picture that her nose is smoothing out. It was so rough with dry skin and yucky
stuff but gentle scrubbing with a facecloth slowly took the last bit off today. Isn't she a pretty girl?

One last funny STICK picture. She was still damp from her bath, so she had to find the only place
in the yard with dry sand and a little warm rock to rest her head on while she chewed. Those baths
can really tire a puppy out!

I think morning time is probably our most favorite time! Maria still sleeps very well but she has been
waking me up about 2 a.m. to go play outside. Because she's still in the training mode to go potty
outside, it's not worth telling her to go back to sleep. When she wakes up in the morning about 6 a.m.
she is all warm and cuddly, then it's like a SWITCH is flipped and she remembers there are humans
close by that will tickle her and make her feel loved. Here are some cute morning pictures.

Can you see when the switch gets flipped and she starts to get spun up? In the fourth picture she started
to grab a tiny piece of the sheet and looked at me like, "Mom, can I eat this?" I told her, "No" so she
started growling at me and flipping all around. Makes you want to be a pet photographer, doesn't it? :-)

Forty-one days ago...hard to believe that we've had Maria that long! I took a picture of her today from above
because there was one picture I never posted when I started this blog because it just made me feel so SAD
to see it! It just broke my heart.

I thought if I showed everyone this picture, people would wonder what we were thinking by taking this poor
little dog!! If someone sees these two pictures today and shares this story--maybe one more person will
believe that there is hope for rescue dogs like Maria. The care is not overwhelming...A special bath once a
week, a tiny drop of medicine every morning, food and water, and just a lot of love and reassurance. It's
as if these little ones know you are there to make them feel better and the love you get back is just the
most unbelievable thing...

I wanted you to see how much she has recovered and how far she has come, so I'm posting this photo
here today. This first one is what she looked like this afternoon (with her new pretty red collar!)

OKAY! Enough of THAT mushy stuff!!! Here's a funny picture of Maria tugging on a single piece
of grass. You might have thought it was made of steel! She was NOT going inside the house until
she got that thing out of the ground. Her favorite thing to do now (since we haven't had much rain)
is grab the very tip of a piece of St. Augustine grass and rip it out of the ground by the roots. She
had one today that was about 2 feet long!

I'm starting to see her little "expression" lines on her forehead and they look so cute!

Right now her coat is so smooth and a beautiful color of caramel in the sun. I don't think she's
going to have long hair. Her little feet are chubby and adorable but her little legs are thinner and
not so stubby. She is only 12 inches long from the top of her tail to the front of her chest, so she's
still pretty small. She is only 8 inches tall from her toes to her shoulder blades.

I was very happy to see that Maria lets me put her on her back in my arms and she will stay like
that until I put her down. She sure loves her belly rubbed, but she's quite content with just laying
there close to her mama. She has chewed the cape off of her pig, chewed the ear off of her orange
bear, and just figured out what a tennis ball is for!

I have never seen a dog crack open an acorn and eat the "good stuff" so fast! She can also peel the
bark off an oak tree and eat the tender bark beneath the top layer in a flash! I have no doubt that's
how she survived in the woods for so long. I draw the line at bringing worms into the house though!

Here are some cute pictures I took of Maria playing with her bone on our bed. She and Annie are
really beginning to play a lot together. Tonight they both came screeching around the corner into the
kitchen while I was cooking dinner and they both skidded to a stop and stole each other's bones and
took off running in opposite directions! They both thought they had outsmarted the other.

Maria and her "fur bone" that she squeaks all night long........Annie laying on the bed with Maria.

I kept having to get after Maria for eating little black berries that grow on the
monkey grass in our yard and just today I realized they were roly polies! I felt bad!
Some of you know that if I find a roly poly in my house, I'll carry it outside or put it
in a houseplant so it won't get run over by the vacuum.

Sometimes I can't find Maria in the backyard at night because she is so quiet and
blends in with the ground! (The other part of this secret is--she never comes when
I call her which makes the first part of this secret particularly scary at night when I
can't find her and can't hear her.) Maybe she'll come if I offer her a berry?

Instead of saying "hurry up" or "finish up" in a sing-song voice like most people
do when they want to get their dogs to hurry up and do their business before
going back in the house--we have to say "No hose" to her because she wants to drink
water out of the garden hose every time she goes out and hasn't learned yet that she
gets the water AFTER she goes potty outside.

We have to put a doggy gate up to our bedroom during the day now because
one day three weeks ago she left a small present for daddy on his side of the bed.

It's not easy to get a picture of Annie & Maria playing, but I managed to get this shot while they were
playing in the hall--they were running into walls, ears were flying, and legs were off the ground! I asked
them, "Isn't it great to be a dog?"

Many of you know that along with doing photography and art, I am also a voiceover artist and do much of
my recordings in my home. I have taken a break over the past six months but have begun a project for
the Naval War College. I wasn't sure how it would work with a new PUPPY in the house but I think Maria
has finally figured out what to do now! Yay!

The first time she saw me in the middle of my office standing still in front of a microphone--it didn't
go very well. Mom is standing still, obviously waiting for me to come play with her!

(Add the sound of a puppy running into the mic stand and voice artist gently begging puppy to stop)

(Add fun sound of puppy chewing on friend Ricky the Raccoon for full 30 seconds--SQUEAK! SQUEAK!
SQUEAK!)

(Add lots and lots of squeaking raccoons and playful puppy romping along with firmer word for
puppy to stop)

(Add background noise of puppy waking up a quiet dog with growling, gnashing teeth, playful
nipping and toys hitting the ceiling)

I had to add more adorable photos of morning time! This is her one-eared friend, Orange Bear.

Watching Maria grow and heal after her tough start in life, has been so rewarding for all of us! She
is so happy to see our daughter, Elizabeth, when she comes home from work and school. She is the
most playful dog we've ever had and it is fun to watch her do everything. She makes EATING
funny. She is SO good on so many levels and can be SO trying on others.

I shared Maria' page with a couple of Dachshund rescue groups because I know it's neat to read about
your favorite breed recovering and healing in the midst of sad stories about mistreated animals.
Karen B. from Dixie Dachshund Rescue in Alabama and the Southeastern U.S. described Maria exactly!

Besides recommending the book "Dachshunds for Dummies," she said, "They are bolters, diggers, and
extremely prey driven." She was right on the money!!! But she also said, "...And lovable as all get out."

1) She absolutely BOLTS when I want her in the house and she wants to stay out.

2) She digs everything including the leather sofa in the livingroom, the tiny delicate cactus plants in
my garden and the back of our LEGS when she's happy to see us and wants to be picked up.

3) She loves to chase things. I swear she can almost climb a tree chasing a squirrel. Thank goodness
there are no low branches or she'd try to fly!

For about the past month or so, we wondered if she might be "part something else besides Dachshund..."
and we believe we are right! She's a jumper and extremely smart--so she could possibly be part Jack
Russell or something like that. Well, I think we found the PART that isn't Dachshund!

At least this makes it easier to find her in the DARK--because that white spot is always WAGGING! I
thought she got too close to the drywall mud and I wondered why I couldn't get the stuff off!

Annie and Maria both seem to like the new blue pillow we got for the couch. They stretch out together
just like old pals. When I see this picture, I want to go find the little Cocoa Puff because that tummy
is SOOOOOOO soft! I just want to go catch her and rub it! :-)

Maria finally finished her last drop of medicine. Whoohoo!!! She was so funny about that every morning!
I had to measure it to the little ".07" on this tiny syringe that took a MAGNIFYING glass to see...but
Maria looked forward to that little drop every morning. I'd let her lick every little sticky bit of it, then go
fill the syringe with clean water and watch her suck on it like a kitten. Hahaha! I'll miss that little
interaction with her. Sort of like when the baby stops drinking out of a bottle! I think I'll surprise her
next week and take out the syringe and give her some water.

I'd like to introduce our "young lady" Maria. Miss Maria is no longer a puppy and will be given some
puppy Pamprin if she doesn't settle her little furry butt down. Just kidding.

She came into her first heat this morning and mommy freaked out--thinking (and saying outloud as
I jumped out of bed)-- "Oh my God, please don't let anything happen to this poor dog after everything
she's been through!!!!" My husband was out of town so my heart was racing trying to remember how to
get to my refrigerator that held the magnet with the number to our emergency VET! You might have thought
my own water broke and I was alone deep in the woods.

After I calmed down a bit and was just about to call my mother, Maria snapped at Annie while the poor
dog was sleeping soundly next to me. That was my first clue.

Here's a cute photo of Maria eating grass to settle her tummy. I only took this one photo because she looked
like she could GO OFF at any moment.

Maria is so easily distracted when she is outside! Sometimes we have to hurry up and go out before I
go take our daughter to school and I swear, a bird can burp three houses away and she will stop and
try to figure out where the noise came from! She's hilarious!

Some of you know that after that huge dogfood scare, I started making my dogs' food. Annie never used
to eat store bought kibble very well, and when I started mixing her own food she gobbled it down.

I ask Maria almost every night what she thinks the "poor Dachshunds" are doing as she ever so gently
takes a bite of her dinner from the fork. Yes, she's spoiled rotten! Ken says I do everything but chew up
their food for them, but you know what, WHO CARES! They deserve it! They are precious, precious, precious!

Here's a darling photo of Maria lying on the grass. We were walking around and all of a sudden she
just stopped, laid down and went to sleep. It got me choked up because she was so cute! I just had
to share the picture with you all. The sun was so warm and I guess she was so relaxed & happy...

I will be calling the vet soon to make an appointment to have Maria spayed. They are so pitiful when
you go pick them up at the hospital, aren't they? Our friend "Raisin" just had her surgery, so we'll
have to call and see how she's feeling now. Look how pretty this happy girl is now! She loves the new
carpet, too. I know--what were you thinking, Karen? New Carpet--one week after a new puppy?

I know, I need to trim her nails again, too. Those things grow so fast!!! I'm so nervous about trimming,
it's almost worth paying the vet to do it for me!

I know this photo isn't very clear, but we have a very shady backyard with a fence between our
yard and the neighbor's yard. They have two really big dogs that come over to say hello every day
and Maria just TEARS THEM UP through the fence! She must think she was a pitbull in a prior life
or something. Her little guard hairs go up and she charges that fence like she's going to eat both
of them at once!

Meet Dillon & Princess! The are both very good dogs that love to run and play together.

Maria is really doing well! I'll bet she has nearly doubled in weight since we got her. Can you believe
it has been less than 3 months since we got her! August 21st...wow. What an amazing transformation!

There hasn't been many posts in the past month because we've been out of town and busy with getting
ready for Christmas and everything but I wanted to pass on the latest news about Maria.

We've had a little rough setback because after Maria came into her first heat, she started exhibiting signs
of her mange coming back. The type of skin disorder she has can come back if her immune system is
compromised or if she has experienced something stressful like surgery or coming into heat.

She's doing alright but not great--she is back on her daily medicine and baths every few days. Although
her vet examined her and started her medicine only 3 days after the first signs of a little "spot" of thin
fur--I was surprised to see how much hair she has lost already. She's sleeping a lot and is already getting
her little "dinosaur" skin with the bumps and wrinkles. All she wants to do is sleep and make it go away.

So! We're watching her, taking care to keep her warm and dry, and trying to make her comfortable. Dr. Hall
says we're going to have to wait to have her spayed until she gets better from this setback. She also said
that more than likely the skin will break out again because of the trauma of the surgery. So! We will post
more pictures when we can. I don't want to poke the camera in her face when she's not feeling good.

Until then, here are a couple of photos we took when we went camping in Destin a couple of weekends
ago. Annie and Maria just loved laying up on the back of the sofa watching out the window while we
were taking a break from walks. This was Maria's first camping trip and she did great on the car ride to
camp and back home again. I'm so glad I work from my home! ...so I can be here with them during the
day. They sure are great company for me, too.

Here is the latest news on Maria. She seems to be doing better today than yesterday. After seeing
the thinning hair on her head and back, I got her to the vet within 2 days and even though she
started her medicine five days ago, her condition continued to deteriorate. I guess I thought if she
started on her medicine and baths, she would move forward and begin to heal but her skin continued
to scale and bleed and wrinkle like it was when we first got her home. I brought her back to see Dr.
Hall and she did another skin scrape and found many, many dead mites (that's what this skin condition
is caused by--mites at the hair follicles) and the ones that were alive were dying. So we started on
another round of her medicine and added a different antibiotic with a probiotic to counter the effects
of the antibiotic to go with it.

Everything seemed to be going just fine until I put a flea/tick collar on her about noon from the vet.
Then I noticed she started to get depressed-looking and she wasn't acting her normal cheerful self.
I watched her the rest of the day. She wouldn't even walk to our bedroom. I knew she was a sick little
girl, and realized she usually acts a little down when she gets her medicine.

So, I figured she would get her rest and begin to feel better. But, during the night I became really
concerned about her lack of spirit and the fact that although she is usually warm, her skin was almost
cool to the touch! I kept waking up during the night trying to get her to move around or go outside, but
she just wouldn't open her eyes. About 3:00 a.m. I began to wonder if the flea collar might be causing
her to act this way. I took (almost ripped!) the collar off and almost within an hour, she was beginning
to warm up and act more lively.

Today she ate, went outside several times and was trotting up and down the stairs and hesitantly
jumping on the couch or chair. I can see a HUGE improvement in her condition from yesterday. So much
that I didn't feel so bad taking a couple of photos to show you how she looks today. It's NOT as bad as
she was before...but definitely a step backwards from camping on December 6th.

Her skin breaks out in these huge welts and bumps, then begins to crack and wrinkle. You
can see the wrinkles around her neck and lower jawline in this picture. "Daddy" was gently
rubbing her right ear. I'm so glad the top of her head (my favorite place to KISS) is still
covered with soft brown fuzzy fur.

Here Ken is holding her back right foot because she wants to scratch with her nails and if she
scratches more than about 2-3 times, her neck will start bleeding again. See how her little
legs are all wrinkly? And her chest is sagging? Poor baby.

Her nose is beginning to wrinkle, but it hasn't lost the hair yet. When we first met her
she didn't have any fur, so we're not sure how far this bout will go. Hopefully she's on the
path to getting better now and her bumps will begin to go down. We'll keep you posted. In this
picture she is enjoying the warmth of her Daddy's sweatshirt and big hands.

Here are some pictures of Maria on her first Christmas!!! Although she was not feeling
very well this week...we woke up Christmas Eve and she made a definite turn for the BETTER!

She woke up happy and full of life this Christmas morning! Her skin appears to be a bit better
since her bath yesterday and she started playing with one of her toy friends, Ricky. These are all
good signs! Merry Christmas to all of you from Maria...

Here are some other pictures from Christmas morning... with her friends Annie and Elizabeth. Santa
Daddy is holding one of their presents. Annie is a pro at tearing off the wrapping, but Maria was taking
notes for next year.

I don't have any new photos today but wanted to say Maria is doing SO MUCH BETTER!!! She is eating
and running around, playing with toys, and giving enthusiastic kisses. These are all wonderful signs
and although she has lost a lot of fur on her front, belly, and a lot more off her back, we think she
will continue to get better from here. Gosh, almost hate to have her spayed, but we have to! Hopefully
we can keep her from having another outbreak after the surgery.

Thank you all for your emails and calls. She is doing much better! I'll keep you posted. Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everybody from Maria! Here are more photos taken the past couple of days. Once her
fur stopped falling out, the bald areas started drying out and turning darker. Although she lost a little more
fur after this first photo, her skin isn't NEARLY as dry and cracked as when we first got her. She has continued
to be happy and eating well. In fact, I don't know if this medicine is making her hungry or what--but this
little girl is eating, eating, EATING and always hungry! You can't drop anything around her or she'll gobble
it up!

Here is a funny picture I got when I was trying to get a good shot of her chest. You can see where
the skin gets darker after the fur falls out. See the top of her head? Still soft and kissable! In fact,
I think I'll go kiss it right now.

These photos were taken on August 21 and October 2, 2008. She has made a beautiful
transformation--these photos were taken only six weeks apart!

Thank you for following Maria's progress. We are so lucky to have her and it means a lot to see so many
people watching her recover and shine.