Penny #8 Labrador Retriever Mix Female 9 Years Old ID #3338

Penny came in to Brookline with a mass in her chest and stage 3 kidney disease. Follow her progress by reading her blog posts from bottom to top.

February 8, 2026

Penny continues to do well in our home. We are all hibernating with all the snow, ice and cold. The resident dogs run out and come right back in. Penny likes to spend time outside to check out all the interesting smells. She has a thicker coat than the resident dogs.

Since she is small, she can walk on top of the snow. The morning after the storm the snow was so high she disappeared when she jumped off the deck. She is a tough girl. It didn’t slow her down one bit.

We had a visitor a few weeks ago with our friend and another Brookline dog Ozzy. Penny was happy to meet Ozzy and was the perfect welcome dog. Penny loves everyone people or dogs.  She is a very sweet and gentle girl.

She gets so excited to get a treat. She almost dances with joy. She loves snoozing on our couch she claimed the love seat. The other favorite spot is one of the 2 dog beds in the family room. Penny is the consummate easy dog. She is reliable in the house and never touches anything that doesn’t be2ong to her. She is does do a little counter surfing. She is so little yet she has managed to pull a few things off the counter, a loaf of crusty Italian bread (can’t blame her) she only ate a tiny bit.

December 31, 2025

Penny is on a renal diet, phosphate binder, and we give her 250 ml of Lactated Ringers subcutaneous 2 times a week. It’s not hard, she is really good about it and stays still. We do this for our resident golden Betty. She gets 500 ml 2x a week. We have an assembly line going.

Penny now weighs almost 50 lbs. up 7 lbs. I could feel her ribs and spine. It’s nice to see some weight on her. She eats with gusto. She also is getting fish oil and her coat is so shiny. I brought her to BCK where she got a bath and a good brushing. She looks great.

Her BUN was 80 and creatinine was 2.9. After 1 month on her new diet and fluids her numbers are now 40 and 1.8, respectively. BUN is a little high still but the everything is improving. We will continue what we are doing. She will go back for a recheck in 3 months. I am so happy that all of this is helping.

She is so easy to have. She is sweet and happy. She loves Phoebe. She is a really nice dog.

December 2, 2025

Penny seems really happy being here. She sleeps either on the dog bed in the family room or in our bed. She sleeps through the night. She has been super easy.

Phoebe, Penny and I went for a walk in the woods. She walks great on leash. She doesn’t pull. It’s been amazing having her here. She hasn’t started playing with toys yet. She is just enjoying her new home. I am taking her to the groomer to treat her to a spa day. She really needs a bath and a good brushing. We have been adding salmon oil to her food and her coat is looking better.

We have administered 2 subcutaneous fluid treatments to the help flush the toxins from her kidneys. She tolerated it well. She sits there without squirming. We do the same with Betty twice a week. Maybe seeing Betty being calm helps. It’s hard to believe she is sick. She has so much energy. She gobbles her food down.

Penny did discover the pills in the cheese trick. She will not eat cheese anymore. She is on antibiotics since she tested positive for tick borne illness. Now I mix the pills in wet dog food. Hopefully she doesn’t catch on.

Penny is thriving here. We love having her, she is so happy and sweet. She and Phoebe look for critters in the wood pile. She has become Phoebe’s apprentice. It has been so easy having her. I hope she is here for a long time. We are very attached to this sweetie.

November 25, 2025

Penny joined our pack yesterday. She is so sweet and chill. She met Phoebe and Betty without issue. Betty was nervous and string drooled for a few hours. She is fine now. Phoebe was great although she tried to get Penny to play later in the afternoon. Penny wasn’t ready to try and steal Phoebe’s 2-inch stick. Can’t say I blame her.

Later I was throwing a toy and Penny and Phoebe were racing to get it. Penny always allowed Phoebe to take it. Penny ate her dinner and breakfast with absolute gusto. She is part lab after all. She spent yesterday hanging on the couch or dog bed. She loves belly rubs and full body massages. I felt it was my duty to comply. She spent last night on the dog bed in the family room. When I woke up, she happily greeted me with a number of tail thumps. She is the type of dog that wags her tail constantly. Who’s a happy girl….Penny.

Penny came in to Brookline with a mass in her chest and stage 3 kidney disease. I brought her to Pennridge this morning for a baseline check. She weighs 48lbs, she is a little peanut. They think 9 is about right on her age. I asked them to aspirate the mass to check, the shelter only pulled blood. As it turns out the mass is just a fatty lipoma. Nothing to worry about. The kidney disease is her main issue.

We have a plan to help her. Our golden retriever Betty also has stage 3 kidney failure we kind of know the process. We have switched Penny to Hills KD food which Betty eats. We have added Naraquin which is a phosphate binder (which Betty is on). The shelter also has her on a vitamin and phosphate binder powder. The thought was adding Naraquin would be an added benefit. Finally, we give Betty subcutaneous fluids 2x a week. We will do the same for Penny. Penny will get 250 ml 2 times a week. Penny goes back in a month to see if there is any improvement with her kidney values. This has been working for Betty. She has been holding at early stage 3 for about 2 yrs. Penny’s values are a significantly higher than Betty’s. We want to see if we can extend her life.

She is really a sweet and happy girl. She is showing no sign of feeling sick. We would like to keep it that way. Penny is not going up for adoption; she will stay with us for as long as she has. She is so easy to be with. We feel like we won the lottery with her.