It is with great regret that the rescue had to have Nellie euthanized due to increasing aggression. Sadly, as hard as her foster homes both tried, Nellie became a serious threat to the resident animals - both cats and dogs. Her attacks were often unprovoked with no obvious triggers and she attacked to do damage and succeeded. This weekend she attacked one of the resident dogs and he ended up in the Emergency clinic as a result. She also had displayed aggression while on walks on leash and at the dog park.

We had already moved Nellie once to a different foster home due to some aggression issues and it was felt that yo-yoing her around to different homes was not in her best interests, unlikely to help resolve the aggression issues and would put other animals at risk. After consultation with two trusted canine behaviour/rescue experts, it was decided that humane euthanasia was our only option.

Nellie came to us with no history as she had been a stray in a shelter in Southwestern Ontario. We felt that given the lack of any improvement in her aggression, the random and unprovoked nature and severity of the attacks that she could not be safely adopted out nor maintained indefinitely in foster care. Keeping her permanently separated off from everyone, always and forever a risk to others is no life. Sometimes the kindest thing we can do is let them go in dignity and peace.

It's been a month since Nellie was moved from her other foster home. That was due to the resident female pug not being happy with another female in the house. Since the move, Nellie has settled in quite nicely. She seemed quite anxious and unsure of other dogs, which is understandable. She had been a stray, then in a shelter and then in a home with a dog that wasn't happy with Nellie being there. She had good reason to be anxious.

Nellie came into rescue, weighing 28.4 lbs. and now weighs 24.6 lbs. That's a loss of 4 lbs. in less than two months!

She has had all her blood-work done and was spayed. Her blood-work had a problem with the white blood cells, which the pathologist feels is because she received her Rabies vaccination a week before the blood-work was done. To ensure that it isn't an issue, she must have blood-work repeated, three months after the vaccination was done.

My vet felt that Nellie is older than the shelter's guess of 4 years We are figuring that she is more likely around 6 years old.

While waiting for another two months to pass, we will continue to work on getting her weight down and raise her confidence in meeting new dogs. She can still be anxious around other dogs, especially at the park. She has learned to trust my dogs and feels comfortable around them.

Nellie is a playful girl and loves to have a ball or toy thrown for her to run after. She likes a good game of tug, as well. Nellie is very cuddly and loves to follow her people around. She can sleep in a penned off area or crate, but would like to sleep in the big bed too.

She is a smart girl and knows sit, down and come. She is good about taking treats nicely.

Nellie would probably be best as an only dog and isn't particularly fond of my young cat, trying to play with her. She would make a wonderful pet for someone who wants a loving companion.

There's good news and bad news. The good news is that Nellie is down to 26.4 lbs, well on her way to her target weight for spaying. She had her rabies shot today with no apparent reaction and her fecal sample came back negative for parasites. The bad news is that she has to go to a different foster home tomorrow because Tina won't stop fighting with her. It has been escalating to the point where Tina has to be crated whenever she can see Nellie. Even if Nellie is crated, Tina stands outside her crate and taunts her until fighting ensues with Tina charging Nellie's crate. The converse is not true. Given that the same thing happened to my previous foster girl, the common denominator is Tina so having other girls in this house obviously won't work. I'll miss Nellie. She's a good girl and a sweet, happy and affectionate companion. She's been a willing trooper about all the walks (even with the ripped-off dew claw) and the small portions. She has been very patient with me about trying to express her anal glands and lancing her interdigital cyst (which I previously miscalled a histiocytoma). She is completely housebroken and even asks to go out when needed. She'll make a wonderful pet for some lucky family after she's spayed in about 3-4 weeks.

Nellie did well at the vet's (until he tried to cut her nails). He said, weight aside, she is in excellent condition. She's at 28 lb. now and he would like her to lose about 5 lb (minimum 3) before spaying. She is building up her stamina as we increase the frequency and distance of walkies. She has learned that there are set mealtimes and is quite polite around food. The vet says her muzzle is prematurely grey and he puts her at "no more than 4" based on the condition of her teeth which he said are amazingly good, especially for a pug. She has a "mild cataract" on her left eye and only a tiny bit of wax in her ears. Surprisingly, her knees are fine with no sign of luxation. Our next visit will be on October 13 for a rabies shot. Nellie is a happy "little" girl who would love it if the resident pugs would play more; she is learning the hard way that "no" means "no". Her potty habits are impeccable.

Meet Nellie (we named her this because it rhymes with "belly") who was found as a stray in southwestern Ontario. The shelter estimates her at 4 years old. Even though she is morbidly obese which makes her pant and wheeze, she has the energy and playfulness of a puppy. We are going (to try) to restrict her activity until we can get some weight off so as not to overtax her heart and legs. Apart from the weight, she appears to be healthy except for what appears to be a histiocytoma between her toes.

Once she settles in, we will be taking her to the vet to get her thoroughly checked out. She has great wrinkles and a cute curly tail that is black on one side and white on the other.