Our little sweetheart Willow is now available for adoption! She is 6 months old and has plenty of puppy energy. She will be on the smaller side, but she has a large personality!

Willow came into FBV's care as an emergency situation. She was surrendered by her owner to an emergency hospital who contacted us. She was in crisis mode and was diagnosed with Typical Addision’s Disease. She spent 5 days at the emergency hospital getting her levels normal and requiring fluid 24/7 before she was released to FBV’s care. She was very small and underweight when she came into her foster home. It took time for Willow to begin to feel better once her medicine routine came into place.

Willow has Addison's and will require monthly management for her disease for the rest of her life. She is known as an Addisonian dog. She requires daily prednisone and a monthly Percortern shot to help stabilize her levels. She is currently on the lowest dose of Prednisone every day. Currently, she requires this shot every 35 days. At the moment, she must have her lytes checked monthly before her Percortern shot to ensure she receives the correct amount. This will taper off as she gets older. The Prednisone should remain the same. If she is going to be in a situation that will increase her anxiety, she has to have her prednisone dose increased. Addisonian’s dogs usually require an increased dose if they are having surgery, vet visits or anything that will cause them anxiety. If she goes into a crisis, it WILL require a trip to an emergency vet that could be 4-5 days at the hospital with fluids and meds to get her stabilized. (The monthly care maintenance is fairly inexpensive especially if you are capable of giving her the Percortern shot – that is once her levels are stabilized and a vet approves of this).

She currently goes to the Internal Medicine specialist to give her the monthly shot and check her Lytes since she is still very new with the disease. The Internal Medicine visit is about $130 per visit. This does not include the Percorten shot. Prednisone is not expensive and at this time as her pill is cut into fourths. Because of her disease, she also requires a special diet. Addisonian dogs should be on a high-quality food. Willow can have bouts of lethargy, diarrhea, vomiting, increased thirst, increased urination, shaking episodes, and weight loss or weight gain...these are all signs of a dog with Addision’s. These are also the signs that need to be looked for at all times, because they can lead to a crisis.

Because of Willow’s disease, she should not go into a home with young children. Although she loves them, she needs a stable family life that does not increase her anxiety. Her home needs to be low key but with social and play time. She LOVES everyone and everything she meets. She wants to greet/play with everyone! She is VERY active and loves walks! She is a typical Frenchie puppy, but with her disease her adopter will need to understand and learn what environments could cause her to have a crisis. However, with this being said, she adapts well to different environments because she is so young. The more the new home can socialize/introduce her to new environments and things, the better she will adapt because of her age.

She will need to be around other dogs...she follows and craves their attention. She can be bossy at times, though. She is still learning social cues and loves to chew/bite on other dogs while playing. She is a food monger. She LOVES food so she will need to go into a home where another dog is not food aggressive. She knows feeding time and runs in the kitchen, sits on the heating vent and waits patiently; however, if you try to fix her food while in her crate it is death screeching howls! She loves toys as well...especially antlers!

Her foster mom states, “She is feisty and will stand her ground until one of my dogs puts her in her place.” She is a complete cuddle bug and loves a lap to cuddle up on...bonus points if you have a heating pad. She does not like the cold and is obsessed with the heating pad. She is very TINY and will be a TINY Frenchie! Willow is estimated to be around 10-12 lbs when fully grown!

She has a lot of puppy energy, but once she gets that out you can find her in a lap or lying on the sofa with other dogs. She is very food motivated and can learn things very quickly. She would do great with some puppy classes. She knows the sound of the treat bowl! When she hears that she comes running! At bedtime, she runs to her crate waiting patiently for a treat. She does not go into the crate until she sees the treat....her foster home is still working on getting her to go in on her own. Willow sleeps in her crate...it is her safe space; however, she also loves a really nice cuddly bed.

She loves doing zoomies, especially in the yard! Willow thinks it’s a game of cat and mouse and wants you to chase her; this is why she should have a fence. Willow doesn't always pay attention to her surroundings and will run where she pleases. She is also clumsy when running and has no issue tumbling across the yard or running into a tree or fence. She is a complete goof! She has to be leashed and monitored anytime in the yard.

Willow is currently on a dry food mixed with wet food - she will need to have wet food mixed in with her food for life. She is so excited to eat that she literally inhales the food and if there is not wet mixed in, she will eat too quickly and get sick.

Willow is not yet potty trained so she will need a home where she can get mid-day breaks or someone who works from home. Willow is also like any typical puppy and will literally try to eat anything found on the ground; she will need to be supervised at all times! Her adopter needs to have the ability to take off a few days when bringing Willow into her forever home to monitor her stress and ensure that she does not have a crisis. Her Prednisone will need to be increased for travel to her new home. The foster family will go over her needs in detail during this transition.

The new home will need to be financially stable to handle the extra monthly meds she requires and understand that if/when she has a crisis it can cost anywhere from 3-6K for an emergency hospital visit. You can get insurance for her; however, most plans will not cover her Addison’s because it is a pre-existing disease. It is imperative to do your research for an Internal Medicine specialist in your area. You should speak with your current veterinarian and make sure that they are capable and willing to manage Willow’s condition. (She can been seen by a regular vet once she is stable; however, it is common practice to visit an Internal Medicine specialist to have her checked out periodical to revisit her medication plan.) As long as Willow stays stable, she will not need to have her Lytes checked monthly; this usually only happens a few times a year. While Willow is growing, she will require check-ups more frequently.

Willow would love for her forever family to take her places! She loves the car and right now her foster family takes her everywhere they can to help socialize her and adapt to different surroundings. Adapting Willow to different things is one of the most important things that can be done for her so that she can learn new environments and manage her anxiety levels. Willow also needs to be in a home with other dogs...she loves them and craves the attention.