Kayla ID #2497 and Cindy Lou ID #2498 Black and Yellow Labrador Retriever Females 11 and 7 Years Old

March 5, 2021

We are very pleased to announce that Cindy Lou and Kayla have been matched!  We are so happy. and sad… but mostly happy – especially since the girls will get to stay together!

Cindy Lou had another seizure this week so we got a script for phenobarbital for her.  We let the family know about this and to make sure they have a clear understanding of the girls’ medical issues.  Here’s their response:  The two of us had a good discussion yesterday about what we expect will be needed with both of them now and in the future, understanding full well that they may not be with us long (while also knowing that we’d just give them each the best life in the time she has left).

What more could you want from an adoptive family?!  😊

It will be hard to say good-bye to these two.  We will really miss this girl.

And this girl.

They are such happy dogs that you just can’t help being happy around them!   We know their new family will feel the same. ❤

February 27, 2021

Well, the time has come for Cindy Lou and Kayla to search for their forever homes.  We’re in no hurry to say goodbye but they’ve both come so far and are ready to continue their journeys.  They can be placed as a pair if we have an interested family or they can be adopted out alone.  Both of them are great with everyone they meet and great with dogs.

Hi, I’m Cindy Lou; I’m a 7-year-old, beautiful, yellow lab. My sister and I came to Brookline when our owner moved to an Assisted Living Facility.  I’m a big girl, tipping the scales at 121.8 pounds but I have lost a lot of weight since coming into Brookline. I started at 144.2, and I’m down to 121.8 pounds (22.4 pounds lost!)

I have energy to run & play or go for walks but I easily settle in the house.  I love everyone I meet, old and young.  I love belly rubs, chasing balls and wrestling/playing with other dogs.

I get along great with other dogs. I’m currently living with 4 dogs. I love to chase and play wrestle with my sister Kayla and puppy Oscar. I haven’t met any cats, but I get excited and chase the neighbors 12# dog in play, so I would probably chase cats too.

I don’t need a lot of exercise and LOVE hanging out and relaxing with my people.  I   down and relax.  I do need a ramp to get in and out of the car but I run it like a pro!

I haven’t had much formal training but I do know WAIT and NO.

I’m pretty strong and can pull like a champ if I want to go meet another person or dog. I do walk better on a front clip harness but still need work.

I growl when I’m playing and Foster Mom says I sound like a Jurassic Park creature.

I lick/chew on my paws at times. The Vet said its allergies and put me on meds to help control it.

I take meds for seizures and haven’t had a seizure since I got my meds adjusted.

I also have a history of Mast Cell Tumor on my side but the biopsy came back with good margins so the vet said no need to worry about that.

I’m ready now to Share the Love and move onto my Forever Home to continue my journey.

Hi, I’m Kayla; I’m an 11year old, beautiful, graying black lab. My sister and I came to Brookline when our owner moved to an Assisted Living Facility.  I’m a big girl, tipping the scales at 89 pounds but I have lost a lot of weight since coming into Brookline. I started at 107.2#, and I’m down to 89.6 pounds.  (17.6 pounds lost!)

I have energy to run & play or go for walks but I easily settle in the house.  I love everyone I meet, old and young.  I love to be with my people and will curl up on a dog bed or the sofa in whatever room you’re hanging out in.  I try to be as close to people as possible and love to lay with my head in your lap.

I get along great with other dogs. I’m currently living with 4 dogs. I love to chase and play wrestle with my sister Cindy Lou and puppy Oscar but I will let the puppy know when I have had enough. I haven’t met any cats, but I get excited and chase the neighbors 12# dog in play, so I would probably chase cats too.

I don’t need a lot of exercise and LOVE hanging out and relaxing with my people. I’m content to lay on the sofa and watch Netflix on a rainy day.  I LOVE the car and get excited whenever we go for a ride.   I’m good in the car, just lay down and relax.  I do need a little help to get in, a ramp or a Butt boost works fine.

I haven’t had much formal training but I do know WAIT and NO.

I’m pretty strong for a girl my age and can pull like a champ if I want to go meet another person or dog. I do walk better on a front clip harness but still need work.

I bark when I’m playing with Cindy Lou or try to get Oscar to play with me and I have a BIG bark.

I lick/chew on my paws or rub my chin at times. The Vet said its allergies and put me on meds to help control it.

I also have a history of Mast Cell Tumors and both knee Cruciate tears but that doesn’t stop me from being active.

I’m ready now to Share the Love and move onto my Forever Home to continue my journey.

February 24, 2021

The girls would like to brag about their latest weigh-in!

Kayla, who started at 107.2, is down to 89.6 pounds.  (17.6 pounds lost!)

Cindy Lou, who started at 144.2, is down to 121.8 pounds. (22.4 pounds lost!)

Way to go, Girls!

Kayla still has something going on with the skin on her chin.  She has a follow-up with the vet later this week to have a culture done.  The vet wants to see exactly what’s going on so he knows what antibiotic to prescribe.  Once that is straightened out, we’ll make the girls available.  We’d love to see the girls placed together, but they don’t “need” to stay together.  So, we’ll be flexible about that.

February 13, 2021

We put Kayla back in the bandage on her leg because it wasn’t healing.  She’s been wearing a boot on her leg to prevent her from chewing the bandage off which she likes much better than the cone she was wearing before.  Kayla has finished the antibiotic for her chin and goes back to the vet this week for a follow-up on her chin and allergies.  Her chin is no longer rubbed raw but she does continue to rub it at times.  She does still have bumps on her chin with a yeasty smell so we’ll see what the vet says about that.

Cindy Lou hasn’t had any more seizures since her meds were increased.  Cindy Lou still runs around the yard, goes up and down the steps with no problems, and has lots of play sessions with Oscar and Kayla throughout the day.  She loves to go out to run and lay in the snow.   Cindy has also decided that the coach is more comfortable than the dog bed and spends most of her time inside snoring away!

January 25, 2021

Kayla’s leg is just about completely healed.  We stopped bandaging it about a week ago and the small spot that remained has scabbed over.  Kayla is very happy to be cone free!  We were happy for her …until we saw that she had rubbed her chin raw on the rug.  Kayla has allergies that sometimes make her rub her chin and neck against whatever she can.  When she had the cone on, her chin rubbed on a smooth surface so it didn’t irritate her skin.  A few days after the cone come off, she had rubbed her chin raw.  Back to the vet we went.  Kayla was put on an antibiotic to clear up the infection and on Apoquel for the allergies.  She’s feeling much better now.  Less chin rubbing and her chin is starting to heal.

Cindy Lou has made great progress at rehab.  When she came to us, she had difficulty walking – and rarely did so if she could avoid it.  Now she runs around the yard, goes up and down the steps with no problems, and has lots of play sessions with Oscar throughout the day.  We decided to stop therapy since she’s doing so well.  Last week was her last session.  Now that she is moving and enjoying it, we think she’ll continue to improve.  Cindy Lou hasn’t had any more seizures since her meds were increased.  Yay!  Fingers crossed that this dose keeps her seizure free.

We don’t have new weights on the girls, but both have lost inches!  Kayla’s “girth” (measured around the fullest part of her chest) was 39 inches when we got her.  It’s now 35 inches.  Cindy Lou’s was 44 inches and is now 40 inches!

Since the girls are just about recovered from their surgeries and other issues, we’ve decided it’s time to make them available.  I say that with really mixed emotions because they are going to be so hard to give up!  But we know there are wonderful families for them out there who will feel as blessed to have them as we have.  We’ll work on their write-ups and get them posted sometime this week.  The girls will be posted separately, but if a family wants to adopt both of them, that would be allowed.  😊

January 13, 2021

Kayla and Cindy Lou continue to win the hearts of everyone they meet.  Everyone at the vet’s office makes such a fuss over them.  Even people who walk by while we’re waiting outside the vet’s office can’t help by smile and laugh when they see these happy girls.

Kayla’s leg is healing well.  She still has a bandage on which means she still has to wear a cone of some type.   She will be so happy when she can be cone-free!  So, will we – since she clears tables, slams doors, and even knocks over other dogs with this thing!

Her wound looks really good, though.  It’s so much smaller and looks really healthy.  Kayla is lucky that Mary is trained in wound care – and really enjoys it.  Kayla is so good for her bandage changes.  Mary is able to do it by herself now.  For anyone who saw the original wound, you’ll be amazed at how much smaller it is!  Just a little bit longer, Kayla!

Cindy Lou’s biopsy results showed that the mass removed from her right side was a mast cell tumor. ☹  The good news is the doctor got clean margins meaning he got it all and no further treatment is needed!  Cindy Lou caused some excitement at rehab earlier this month.  It was her first time back to rehab after the holidays.  She was walking on the underwater treadmill and had a seizure.  Now she has two techs with her whenever she is on the treadmill!  That was only the second seizure Cindy Lou has had since coming to us in October so we were not terribly concerned.  However, she had another seizure at home a week later.  This one lasted a little longer than the prior seizures – about 5 minutes.  We contacted the primary vet to let him know she’d had two seizures in a little over a week and that the second one was more severe.  He increased her Keppra from twice a day to three times a day.  We have to monitor her and contact him if she has another seizure.  If she does, she may have to go on phenobarbital, too.

Other than that, Cindy Lou is doing well.  She loves going to rehab and getting attention from all her friends there.  She loves playing with her little buddy, Oscar.

She tells us she is not going to babysit.  But I think she likes taking care of the little guy.  😊

Although sometimes I think she bribes Kayla to watch him for a while so she can take a break.  😉

The girls keep us busy with vet visits, rehab appointments, and bandage changes, but other than that, they are really easy to have around.  (Well – except when they eat a plate of brownies and we have to deal with forced vomiting and vet trips and Cindy Lou refusing to get in the car to come home!)  They are so sweet and loving.  They make us smile every day!

I almost forgot to share Kayla and Cindy Lou’s big news!  The girls had a weigh-in last week.  Kayla weighs 95.6 lbs. (down 11.6 lbs.!) and Cindy Lou weighs 129 lbs. (down 15.2 lbs.!).  Woo hoo!

December 20, 2020

Happy Birthday Cindy Lou Who!

Cindy Lou is 7 years old today.  She had a happy birthday because she is always such a happy girl.  😊 She enjoyed a birthday treat.  She made funny faces, but her tail wagged the whole time!

Cindy Lou went from being afraid of puppy Oscar to being his BFF.  She’s so good with him and they really enjoy each other.

We finally got Cindy Lou’s biopsy results.  The bad news is that one of the lumps was a mast cell tumor.  But the good news is that the doctor got clear margins and no further treatment is needed.  Cindy Lou is recovering well from surgery.  She will get her staples removed on Monday and then will have no restrictions.  She loves to play with her little buddy, Oscar.

And to snuggle with her sister, Kayla.

Kayla is still on restricted activity because of the wound on her leg.  We’re still doing daily bandage changes.  The wound looks good and is starting to heal.  We sent the vet photos of it and he is pleased with the progress.  We ordered a waterproof boot for Kayla to keep the bandage dry when she goes out in the snow.  That arrived today.  It will be much easier than the plastic bag on her leg!

Dee gave us a snuffle mat for Kayla to give her some mental stimulation since she can’t run and play yet.  It might have been a little too mentally stimulating for her.  She ate the food that was on the very top and then walked away.  We had to keep showing her there was more food ‘hidden’ in it.   She’ll get the hang of it… maybe!  😉

December 10, 2020

Kayla and Cindy Lou had surgery on 12/5.  Kayla had a growth removed from her face and the large mass removed from her front, left leg.  Cindy Lou had two growths removed from her eyelid, a mass removed from her right side, and a mass removed from her left side.

Kayla’s surgery was more complicated than expected.  The lump on her leg was not what the doctor expected.  He thought it would be a hard mass surrounded by fluid.  Once the fluid drained, there would be plenty of loose skin to close the wound.  However, the lump turned out to be a gelatinous mass.  Once that was removed, there would be a large wound that could not be closed.  The doctor called to tell us this and said he’d prefer to close the incision and refer us to a specialist to have the mass removed.  About 5 minutes later, he called to say the tissue on the mass is very fragile.  When he tried to close the incision, the tissue tore.  He had to remove the mass and leave the wound open.  He recommended we see a soft tissue surgeon about possibly having a skin graft done, depending on the biopsy results.

Unfortunately, the biopsy confirmed that it was a mast cell tumor and the margins were not clear.  Since there are still cancer cells present, a skin graft is not feasible.  We will have to allow the wound to heal on its own.  We’ll do daily bandage changes and monitor the wound.  The doctor estimates that it will take about 40 days for the wound to heal.

There were no surprises in Cindy Lou’s surgery.  We are still waiting for her biopsy results.  Hopefully her news will be better than Kayla’s!  She is really good and can’t wait to get her stitches and staples out so she’s allowed to play again.  Restricted activity is not fun for Labs!

December 8, 2020

Cindy Lou and Kayla are recovering well from their surgeries on Friday.  Cindy Lou looks like she was in a fight and got a black eye.  She says “you should see the other guy!”.  😉 Cindy Lou had three growths/lumps removed.  She has stitches in her eyelid, on her right side, and on her left side.  She’s being a very good girl and isn’t scratching at any of the spots.  She’s feeling much better and is ready to run and play again.  Unfortunately, she on exercise restriction until her stitches and staples are removed.  She’s not too happy about that.  But otherwise, she is her normal, happy, silly self!

Kayla is doing well, too.  She had a growth removed from her face and from her leg.  The growth on Kayla’s leg was large and there was no excess skin that could be used to close the wound.  So, she has a large, open wound on her leg.  She needs daily bandage changes so we have been back at the vet’s office twice since surgery.  Tonight, they let us come inside and watch the dressing change so that we can do them at home rather than having to go to the vet’s office every day.  We got to see the wound tonight.  Wow.  It’s even bigger than I expected.  Both the doctor and Mary (who is a PT and does wound care) said the wound looks really good.  I called VRC today to schedule a consult with Dr. Sadanaga, but he has no openings until mid-January. ☹  The woman I spoke with suggested we ask Dr. Holmsten to reach out to Dr. Sadanaga and share pictures of the wound with him.  Dr. Holmsten took pictures tonight and said he’ll contact Dr. Sadanaga as soon as he gets the biopsy results – hopefully tomorrow or Thursday.  In the meantime, we’ll be doing bandage changes at home and doing our best to help it heal.  Dr. Holmsten said if we let it heal on its own, it will take about 38-40 days to heal.   If Dr. Sadanaga can do a skin graft, it could heal more quickly.  The biopsy results will determine our next step.

December 3, 2020

Kayla and Cindy Lou need some prayers and mojo as both are going in for surgery tomorrow.  Kayla will have the lump on her leg removed and biopsied.  It’s a possible mast cell tumor so pray for clean margins and no further treatment needed!  Cindy Lou will have two masses removed – one from her eyelid and one from her side.  The doctor isn’t concerned about either of these.  So once they are removed, Cindy Lou will be good to go.  We’ll also get a check on the girls’ weights to see how they are doing with their weight loss plan.  I don’t know what the scale will say, but I can say that both girls have a lot more energy and are getting around much better.  They are much more playful and sometimes wrestle and play “bitey-face”.  They both get excited about tennis balls.  Neither really chases them yet, but Cindy Lou loves to catch them.  Kayla gets excited like she wants to catch one, but when it’s thrown her way, she closes her eyes and turns her head.  😉

Kayla loves to snuggle and get loving.  She is happy just being around people.  No further entertainment is needed!

Cindy Lou continues to go for physical therapy twice a week and is doing well with it.  Oscar goes for PT, too.  Maybe that has helped them bond.  Cindy Lou decided that Oscar is not so scary after all!

In fact, he’s actually kind of fun to play with!

They have become “pool cover buddies”. (UGH!)

Kayla and Cindy Lou have been getting ready for the holidays by practicing their Christmas carols.  I think Santa will be impressed!

How could these two beauties not end up on Santa’s Nice List?!

Remember to send some Brookline mojo for the girls tomorrow!

November 23, 2020

Turns out our neighbor’s little dog, Buster, is a great exercise trainer!  He gave Cindy Lou and Kayla a great workout.  When the girls got too tired to run across the yard, he ran circles around them and kept them moving.  😊

November 21, 2020

Cindy Lou and Kayla are doing great.  They continue to work on their weight-loss program.  We haven’t had the girls weighed again, but Kayla seems to be getting a bit of a waistline.

Cindy Lou says waistlines are overrated!

Cindy Lou is doing well in therapy and we’ve already seen difference.  The day after her first PT session, she played with Kayla for the first time since they arrived here!  Both girls are now able to go up and down the stairs to the back yard and they both have more energy.  We took all the dogs next door to play with Buster, the neighbor’s dog.  Buster got the zoomies… and both Kayla and Cindy Lou ran with him!  Yes, they actually ran!  Not for long, but it’s a start.

Kayla sometimes tries to get puppy Oscar to play, but her big bark scares him and he runs away.

I don’t want to say that Cindy Lou is afraid of Oscar, but … well, you be the judge!

Both girls are scheduled for surgery on December 4^th.  Cindy Lou will have the growth on her eyelid removed and also have the lump on her side removed.  Kayla will have the large lump (which we believe has grown over a mast cell tumor) on her leg removed.  That will give the girls plenty of time to recover and be ready to greet Santa on Christmas Eve!

The girls continue to steal the hearts of everyone they meet.  They just love attention from people!  Meal times continue to be high on their list of awesome things, but they seem to enjoy being petted and loved on even more that!

November 7, 2020

On Wednesday evening, we took Kayla, Cindy Lou, and Oscar to the Pet Clinic to get microchips.  What a trip that was!  Loading everyone into the car wasn’t bad.  But when we got there, Kayla did not want to get out of the car.  I wrangled Cindy Lou and Oscar while Mary pushed, pulled, and prodded to get Kayla to move!  😉 Finally Kayla cooperated and we headed into the store.  The girls found the store very exciting and wanted to say hello to everyone they saw.  Everyone working at the clinic commented on how sweet they are.

Last night, Kayla and Cindy Lou went to the vet for vaccines, heartworm tests, and an assortment other thing.  It was a long (2+ hour) visit since there was a lot to be checked for each of them. They both had bloodwork done (Kayla because of her history of mast cell tumors; Cindy Lou because of her history of seizures).  Both of their bloodwork looked good.  The doctor did not find any mast cell tumors on Kayla, but there is likely one ‘hidden’ under the large lump on her leg.  The doctor wants to remove that and, assuming he can get good margins, no further treatment will be needed.  Cindy Lou has a mass on her side and (more concerning) a growth on her eyelid.  Both need to come off.  So, once we get estimates and approval, both girls will have surgery.

Cindy Lou was put on Keppra for seizure management and Apoquel for allergies.

The biggest concern for the girls is their weight.  Kayla weighs 107.2 pounds.  Cindy weighs 144.2 pounds. 😳 Both girls should weigh around 75 pounds.  The doctor recommends keeping them on the prescription Metabolic + Mobility food.   Kayla has been doing well with slowly increasing her exercise.  She enjoys her walks and has been able to do them without a problem.  It’s more of a struggle for Cindy Lou.  She will start physical therapy next week so she can do aqua therapy and whatever else the rehab doctor recommends for her.

The girls were very tired when we got home last night.  Kayla was ready for a nap. Cindy Lou only got her paws on the bed before falling asleep.  😂

October 30, 2020

The girls continue to do well, working hard on their exercise routine and being adorable.  Kayla is still doing 10 laps around the pool and it seems to be getting a little easier for her.  We’ll increase the number next week.  Cindy Lou does 2 laps initially, but after resting for a bit, she joins Kayla for another lap, then rests again, then does another lap!

Around lunch time I took the girls out for walks in the pouring rain.  Kayla didn’t seem to mind.  She wanted to keep going when it was time to turn around.  Cindy Lou, on the other hand, was not up for a walk in the rain.  As I tried to walk her past the end of our property, she said down… and then “threatened” to lie down… in the mud!  Ugh!  I told her “No, no, no!  We’ll go back inside!”  So, she got up and walked again.  Phew!  I can deal with bringing a soggy dog in the house.  But a soggy, muddy dog is another story!

After walk time comes nap time.  Kayla is happy to share a bed with Murphy

But Cindy Lou prefers to take up the whole bed, and then some!

October 28, 2020

Kayla and Cindy Lou are sticking to their exercise plan and building their endurance.  😊 Kayla is doing 10 laps around the pool twice a day and a walk to the corner (2 houses away from us) and back twice a day.  Cindy is doing 2 laps around the pool twice a day and walks from our house down to the next-door neighbor’s house and back twice a day.  Kayla didn’t want to come back inside after her lunch time walk today.  Cindy, on the other hand, decided to lie down in the middle of the street as we were crossing.  She’d had enough!  Luckily, our street is not busy.

The girls showed some interest in tennis balls for the first time today.  Floyd and Murphy were chasing tennis balls in the yard.  Kayla and Cindy looked interested and even took a few steps towards chasing a ball!  I can’t wait until they are really able to play.

They went next door today to meet Buster, our neighbor’s 17-pound dog.  Buster is only a year old so he has lots of energy and loves to play.  Kayla actually tried to play with him a little bit!  Go Kayla!  It didn’t last long, but it’s a start.

Tonight, we learned that Cindy talks in her sleep.  She was snoozing in the other room – snoring loudly – and then we heard a very loud “Wooooo woo woo woooo”.  I would love to know what she was dreaming about!

October 25, 2020

Kayla (black) and Cindy Lou Who (yellow) made the trip to Camp McGee yesterday.  Luckily, we were able to fit both the girls and their big beds in the car, though there was little room to spare!

Kayla is 11 years old (birthdate 5/27/2009) and Cindy is 6 (almost 7) years old (birthdate 12/19/2013).  They had lived with their owner since they were puppies.  Their owner is moving into a nursing home so her family contacted Brookline for help with the girls.

The intros to Floyd and Murphy went very well – lots of wagging tails.  The girls explored the yard a little, but took lots of breaks to lie down.  Cindy, in particular, has a very hard time getting around because of her size.  The girls were able to get up the deck steps to go in the house once, but needed help.  They were hesitant to do it again.  We don’t want to push them and risk injury – especially for Kayla who (according to vet records) has bilateral CCL tears.  So now we take them out the front door (only two steps down) and walk them around to the back yard.

The girls love attention from people and will sometimes whine for pets.  They haven’t shown any interest in toys yet.  Surprisingly, the don’t beg for food when we’re eating.  They came with a bag of prescription food (Metabolic and Mobility formula) and a box of ‘The Farmer’s Dog’ food, which appears to be high quality food, but probably not helping with weight loss.  We’ll ask our vet’s opinion, but will probably restrict them to the Metabolic + Mobility food.

We are hesitant to take them for a “real” walk since we don’t think they could go very far.  We decided to start their exercise routine by walking laps around the pool.  On the first attempt, Kayla was able to do 10 laps before needing a break.  Cindy was only able to do 2 laps before resting.  We’ve got a long road ahead of us!

Despite their challenges, Kayla and Cindy Lou are happy girls.  We’ve seen lots of tail wags and ‘smiles.  We can’t wait to see them even happier when they are able to run and play!