Dancer
Adoption Status: Pending
Gender: Female
Breed: Shih Tzu
Age: Est DOB: 11/2023
Weight: 8.6 lbs
Dog Friendly: Yes
Cat Friendly: Unknown
Kid Friendly: Unknown
House Trained: Doing great!
History: Dancer came to Coco’s Heart in Mid November of 2024 from a commercial breeding background.
Her rear legs were both fairly severely affected by luxating patellas. Many small dogs can live with this condition with little to no effects, while others have more severe symptoms, including weakness, pain, and difficulty getting around in their environment. These cases are usually taken to surgery to correct the abnormality and allow the leg to return to normal function.
Dancer was not able to stand at all when she first arrived, partly due to the luxating patellas. X rays showed that her bones were curved fairly significantly and that surgical repair of the patellas would need to be done by a specialist who could address the severe curvature of the bones as well as the misplaced patella.
Her right side was less severe than the left, so this was repaired first. She has recovered beautifully from this and has even started using BOTH rear legs since having the right side repaired.
Repair of the second side carried a higher risk, so this was not pursued and after further discussion, it was determined pursing amputation of the other side would be the most effective for her short AND long term.
A Note from the Foster: Dancer is a sweet and active girl with a lot of goofiness packed in her little eight pound body. She has come so far in the four months with us. She has gained weight, grown a beautiful coat and wiggles her tail often. Some of her favorite things are playing with her toys, looking out the windows, helping us cook, cuddling in a pile of fuzzy blankets on her bed, showing her snaggletooth when we share healthy treats, body scratches or playing with our dog. She definitely enjoys spending time with him and copies everything that he does. He has been helpful in teaching her how to be a puppy.
Dancer is 90% potty trained with a consistent schedule and never goes in her crate or pen.
She sleeps great in her crate next to our bed at night and only gets up when we do in the morning. She is a loving girl and once bonded will follow you everywhere and give you lots of kisses. She is slowly gaining confidence in people and with very slow introductions you will be rewarded in time with a wonderful relationship. She is highly food motivated so healthy human treats are a good way to bond while sharing together. We are currently working on her barking at people while they are at our home and are hopeful that in time it will get better with some guidance.
Adoption Fee: $750 + tax
Adoption Status: Is this dog available? Submitting an application is the best first step to learning if a dog is still available. There is a chance this dog could have a pending adoption when your application is submitted, however our team will offer approved applicants to be put on a waiting list for that dog. Additionally, we can make recommendations on other dogs that may be a match. Pending adoptions do not mean the adoption is finalized. Why did we implement this change? We implemented this update because, unfortunately, dogs were pending for applicants for several weeks and then the applicant would change their mind. This happens more often with puppies, as applications are submitted impulsivly more often for them. Our process is great because it takes a little time, so impulsive decisions fade. However it was unfortunate for the dogs, and the foster homes, as then the process needed to be re-started. By securing a wait-list we are able to move forward more quickly if a pending adoption falls through. This is a new process for us, so your feedback along the way is helpful! Thank you for supporting rescue and adoption!
