Looking at Taffy now you wouldn’t know that, upon her arrival, she was hidden under a tangle of dirty hair.

“She was badly neglected and terrified of everything and everyone at first,” commented General Manager Sue Conroy. “Although fine with being handled, she wouldn’t seek out human contact and would hide at the back of her pen. We felt that, with time, she’d be drawn out of her shell.”

And Taffy’s neglect didn’t stop at her coat.

“Her teeth were rotten,” said vet Dr Caroline Butler. “Without treatment, there’s the risk bacteria from her mouth could enter the bloodstream and attack her heart, kidneys and lungs.”

After being given a makeover, courtesy of staff groomers, Taffy was transferred to the hospital and anaesthetised for her dental and desexing surgery.

“Taffy didn’t cope with the anaesthetic. We were going to lose her on the table unless we woke her up quickly.”

In recovery, Taffy received fluids whilst blood tests were conducted to determine what had caused the reaction.

“Blood work showed her white blood cell count was high – indicative of systemic health issues, caused by poor dental hygiene. Without surgery to extract the rotten teeth and give her a clean and scale, the prognosis wasn’t very good,” explained Dr Butler.

Experienced vet Dr Bryan Oon, assisted by vet nurse Cathy Edwards, undertook the dental surgery, mindful of the risk of putting Taffy under anaesthetic again.

“This surgery went smoothly, with no problems,” said Dr Butler. “But it was once she was in recovery that her heart rate plummeted, so we administered drugs to raise it back to normal levels.”

Taffy’s recovered well – despite her health scares – and her personality has blossomed while in our care. Although no longer timid, she needs to develop more confidence.

“She’s a sweetheart with a lovely temperament,” said Dr Butler. “We want her to enjoy the rest of her days in a loving home. We need to discuss her anaesthetic risk, along with some other age-related health concerns, with her new owner before she’s adopted.”

Taffy is desexed, vaccinated, wormed and microchipped and is available to adopt from our North Melbourne shelter.

If you can offer this very special dog the very special home she deserves, please call our veterinary clinic on 03 9329 2755.