Description:
Nellie was dumped at an animal shelter because her owner had no time for her. That's so hard to understand, because she is an adorable sweetheart who asks very little: a warm place to sleep, food, and love.

She has horrific infections in her teeth and mouth, contributing to a serious heart murmur. And as you can see from her pictures, she is terribly underweight at 8.5 pounds, due to lack of food. Nellie loves to eat, and we are working on carefully getting her to a healthy weight.

Next week, an ultrasound of her heart will be done to see if she can withstand surgery. With luck, her teeth and mouth will be fixed, and she will be on her way to good health.

Update March 08, 2007 - Nellie's dental surgery is behind her now and she's healing nicely. While she lost several teeth, it hasn't hindered her eating ability as her foster mom reports she loves her dry dog food AND she's up to 10 pounds! She'll be all healed and finished with her antibiotics by mid-March and ready for her forever home.

Update March 16, 2007 - Nellie's follow up appt with the oral surgeon was today and we learned that her heart murmur has already improved from a grade 4+ to a 2. This is wonderful news for Miss Nellie & proof that her terrible dental problems were literally killing her. She's feeling so much better now and she's almost reached her goal weight of 11 lbs!

Update from Nellie's Foster Mom March 23, 2007 - Nellie uses a pet door and is housetrained! Likes: Going for short walks. Dislikes: Being kenneled. Storms (she has storm anxiety).

Update Sept 4, 2007 - Nellie saw her oral surgeon today for a recheck. Everything went well, and no teeth were pulled.