Back in October, Marsha and her siblings (then known as the Brady Bunch) were brought to the Lost Dog and Cat Rescue Foundation from a rural West Virginia shelter. For two weeks, I took care of the litter at home, and then they were snatched right up when I put them up for adoption. But we noticed that Marsha was having some issues keeping food and water down, so we took her to our veterinary partner, Blue Ridge Veterinary Associates, and after extensive testing determined that Marsha had canine megaesophagus. I had never heard of the condition before, and was nervous what this meant for Marsha's long term care, but thankfully we learned that it's a completely manageable condition that requires some extra attention to her care. Marsha's esophagus is like a wet balloon; when she eats food and drinks large amounts of water, the food stays in her esophagus and doesn't head down to her belly to be digested. So when she being fed in a traditional manner, what we thought was vomit was actually regurgitation... the food was never getting to her stomach. But now that we know the issue, we know how to fix it. Miss Marsha just needs to be fed vertically! We feed her wet food with a spoon so she is on her back legs, and then afterwards we keep her vertical for about 15 minutes to help the food digest. It's so simple and easy to manage, and gets some extra special cuddling time for me and my little girl.
Other than her special feeding time, Marsha is just like any other dog. She absolutely adores playing with toys, loves being around people, and is a total snuggle bug. She's already crate-trained, housebroken, and knows sit and stay. She's been living in foster care for so long, she's completely used to the regular lifestyle of a working family, and does fine with other dogs both big and small.
We can't wait for Marsha to find her forever family, but for now, my husband and I are certainly enjoying all the extra affection and love we're getting from Marsha (a.k.a. Marshmallow)!
~LM~
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