Crinkles Chocolate Labrador Retriever Female 9 Years Old ID # 2666

June 4, 2022

Crinkles is living her best life! Everyone who meets her says she is the sweetest thing.  She’s been with us over two months and spent two of those weeks with another Brookline Volunteer, while we were on vacation.  She adapted quickly to their routine and was the queen holding court at their son’s graduation.

Crinkles was seen by a neurologist at Penn Vet in late May.   He diagnosed her with a lesion in her left cerebellum which impacts her motor skills.  This presents itself in a right head tilt, leaning to the right and high stepping with both of her left legs.  This is caused by either a past stroke, cancer or a potential infection.   That being said, Crinkles appears to be a happy dog – she just looks a bit drunk at times when she walks.  We are treating her with pain meds for her hip dysphasia and right ligament tear.

Crinkles eats, drinks, sleeps and walks well. We have had a couple of breakthroughs.  First, she refused to eat directly from her bowl from the beginning.  We had been hand feeding her kibble like the queen she is 😂.  I had an ah ha moment in late May and tried putting her kibble on a lick mat that another volunteer had sent us and voila!  It worked. I’ve attached a video as proof.

Oh, she also prefers to eat on her ‘bed’ and she prefers to sleep on the couch v her dog bed.

I call her Grandpa Joe.   Her other nickname is Thumper.  She lies in bed and wags her tail which thumps when she hits the cushion.   The other breakthrough is getting her to poop daily.  She will only poo on walks and when she needs to go, she stops walking. It’s almost as if she is stopping herself from going. So, we have to turn around and walk towards home.   I coach her and praise her and she will go.  Poor girl!  I hope one day this behavior will diminish.  It can’t be comfortable to only go once a day.

Crinkles is a very old 9-year-old and fits in well with Trixie who is almost 14. They sleep, eat and walk together.

As I started, life is good for this former farm girl 🥰

May 5, 2022

It’s been a minute since my last update – Crinkles here to let you know I’m doing well!

I’ve been down the shore and in Philly and I’ve met some new people including a male dog who is 4-years-old. We went on a road trip and hung out an outside restaurant. I am very curious about what’s going on around me but I also settle quickly. (That’s me the chocolate beauty in the back)

Foster Mom has figured out a way for me to hang with her on the second floor of the Philly home. She walks me around the block and I can handle the 3 front steps. It’s a bit confusing to me to be in a new space but again, I figure it out pretty quickly and settle well.  This is me sleeping under the table as she works.

Foster Mom tells me I’m going on vacation tomorrow.  I’m not sure what that means but she said I’m going to stay with another Brookline volunteer for 16 days who she says will take great care of me.

I’ll report back when she returns.

April 24, 2022

Crinkles has been with us for almost a month and has adjusted quite well to life in a home.

She’s met FD since my last update and is good with him. She is my Velcro and follows me everywhere and wants to leave when I leave the house and is super excited when I return.  Because of her hip and rear leg issues, she cannot do flights of stairs.  Both of my homes have 3 stories but Crinkles seems content to live on the first floor and patiently waits for me to return from my trips upstairs away from her.

Crinkles has attended three parties at my homes in the last couple of weeks.  She gets a tad nervous at first but adjusts quickly.  We had 4 people over yesterday and she was accepting lots of pets and does this super cute thing where she lifts her front paws as if she is shaking your paw but really, she is just asking for more pets.

Crinkles continues to have health challenges.  We have been to an orthopedic surgeon who said her hip dysphasia is mild and her torn ligament is on her right rear leg.  He was mostly concerned about her neurological issues that cause her to tilt her head a bit to the right and bear her weight on her right side (despite the torn ligament on that side).  He referred us to see a neurologist which is in late May.  She has also been to see a vet who diagnosed her with a double ear infection (all clear now) and allergies (she gets Zyrtec once a day now).  Crinkles doesn’t let any of this get her down. She is a happy and sweet dog. She wags her tail, eats well and really loves her slow and steady walks with Trixie.

Both dogs have the same energy level and are doing great together.  They both sleep most of the day while I work from home.  Crinkles is a great dog!

April 8, 2022

Crinkles has been with us for a week and a half and I have been living with her and my 13.5-year-old lab, Trixie at our beach house.  Life is good!

She is a super sweet, easy, chill 9-year-old former farm girl.  She loves all people and dogs and is very curious about them when we see them on our walks.  Trixie has taught her that all business happens on walks.  Crinkles walks great on her Easy Harness.  As they are both seniors, our pace is nice and slow and easy.

Crinkles is food and treat motivated. She completed her whipworm treatment like a champ (mixed with canned pumpkin).  She takes a pain med chewable and joint supplement each am happily and is also currently on a pill for nausea that she just eats up (I never had a lab that didn’t drop pills).Crinkles was diagnosed by the vet last Weds with vestibular disease, hip dysplasia and a torn CCL.  She is making progress every day with vestibular- she leans a bit or stumbles a bit when walking but she doesn’t seem distressed – she’s a happy girl!  We have an appt Monday for an ortho consult for her hip and leg issues.

Crinkles has learned to love her bed and naps all day next to me while I work. She has also found out that she loves our super comfy couch   While she is totally trustworthy when not supervised, I’ve been sleeping in our living room with both dogs at night.  Crinkles can’t do steps (and I don’t encourage her due to her lameness in rear legs) so I feel bad leaving her alone.

Crinkles shows no interest in the many toys available to her.   Yesterday, she finally picked up a ball and played for a minute   Trixie has always believed all toys and balls are hers so she took the ball from Crinkles.  Crinkles wasn’t phased at all and just laid back down for a nap.

Foster dad arrives later today so I’m interested in seeing how she is with him.  I don’t anticipate any issues as she is always interested in men and women we see on our walks.

She has adjusted amazingly to life off the farm and fits in well in our home.  We are happy to foster this happy girl!

April 1, 2022

I’ve had quite an exciting 24 hours!

I received an awesome welcome kit from Brookline.I’m not sure what to do with most of these things but I do love the treats I took a long car ride to a place FM calls the shore house.Once inside, I got very anxious. This was a whole new space for me.  The resident growled at me a tiny bit but it didn’t even phase me. FM gave me the blanket from the car and helped me adjust.I had a good night sleep and went for a walk on the beach this am.  Sand feels just like dirt so didn’t even notice.I have my new “kennel” spot in this place. I really like the resident dog and I’m following her lead on walks.Another good day!

March 31, 2022

I have claimed this rug and area in FMs house as my new “kennel”.  I hang here all day and was featured in the background of all her work Zoom calls. I was quite popular and lifted my head every time my name was said. We went on several walks throughout the day.  I love my walks but the sound of dogs barking made me stressed so I’d lead FM away from those sounds.  I walk great on my harness.  I lean a bit to the right so when I’m on that side, I sometimes collide with her.We went for a trip in the car. The car really stresses me out.  I’m calm and just lay there but I break out in a white dandruff and don’t want to move when we get to our destination. Today, I met a couple of nice people – a vet tech and a vet who checked out my “leaning” and an old wound on my rear leg.  I do have orthopedic issues (hip dysplasia and a torn CCL) so I’ll have to see an orthopedic doctor).  I was microchipped, heartworm tested (negative) and got the only vaccine I was missing.  They also said the blood work from the farmer’s vet looked good and I can schedule my spay surgery (no idea what that means) They said I was such a sweet girl.

March 30, 2022

My name is Crinkles but you can call me Crinkle.  I was sprung from the farm yesterday afternoon by a really nice lady named Jen.  My farmer was super chatty and gave her my medicine for my hip pain and some joint supplements together with some vet paperwork.  I was sweet and chill and didn’t mind getting in the car with her.  I was quiet the 30 min ride through the country to meet my Foster Mom for transport to the big city of Philadelphia! See, I am about 9 years old and I’ve lived my entire life outside in a kennel as a breeder momma so this was all new to me. When we met my Foster Mom, I started getting really nervous.  I had an accident but luckily it was in the parking lot. I got into my Foster Mom’s car where there was a nice comfy bed but I didn’t know what that was so I laid behind it. I didn’t like the harness or the car and was nervous for the hour ride to the city. Once we arrived, I took a little time to decompress.  Foster Mom was super patient and hung with me in the back yard until I settled.  We then worked our way inside the house where it was nice and warm!  I had some water, a bit of kibble and then a bath!   I was super nervous about the bath but Foster Mom took extra time to massage me and calm me down.  I was happy when it was done but boy did, I feel better!  Look how beautiful I am.

We both slept in the basement last night. I was happy for her company. I was even snoring at one point. She had 3 beds for me to sleep in but I chose this little rug.

We took a nice walk this am on the harness. I walk a bit crooked but well.  I have hip issues so we are going to see the vet later today.

We walked in the woods briefly which I liked as it was more like my home.

Now, I’m settled in after eating, drinking and having my meds.  Life is good!  Did I mention that I’ve had no accidents!   And I am food motivated and wag my tail like crazy.