When Juno arrived at DBARC for fostering with Janet, she was a miniature schnauzer with an obvious problem. She was, to put it mildly, on the large size. More precisely, she weighed in at 16.7kg. She was so fat, she found it hard to lay down and sat upright with her belly propping her up. Oh, and as if that wasn't enough for one dog to be putting up with, she'd recently been taken out of a puppy farm, having been bred from multiple times.
Janet immediately set about putting Juno on a strict healthy diet but knew that for a dog to be the size she was, there was a very good chance that she had a serious underlying, undiagnosed, untreated medical condition. DBARC arranged to get Juno correctly assessed by their vets and the diagnosis was soon confirmed: Cushing's Disease.
DBARC funded immediate treatment to get the condition under control and stable and ensured all necessary veterinary work was provided for as long as needed. When Janet considered Juno to be healthy enough to be adopted, the perfect home was found by her and Juno joined her new family by the sea in Sussex.
Juno now lives with Kathleen and Mel and their two miniature schnauzers, Schnapps and ex-puppy farm breeder, Darcie. With Juno's ongoing health issues - Cushing's disease is a life-long condition requiring regular monitoring and daily medication - Kathleen has available to her, full support and advice as needed from the team at DBARC. Whilst being fostered with Janet, Juno lost several kilos in weight and Kathleen has continued this excellent work and these days, Juno lives a full, active life. This would not have happened without the commitment to getting the diagnosis and early treatment that DBARC made sure happened.
Juno is a wonderful success story and her physical and emotional transformation is stunning.
Recently, she was a finalist in the RSPCA's Ruffs Competition in the "Best Rescued Ex-Breeder" category and appeared on TV, with Kathleen to receive her well deserved award. It wouldn't have happened without DBARC being there from the start for this very special dog, Juno Lucina.
Juno with her award
UPDATE: Following a short illness, the painful decision was made by Kathleen and her family to say goodbye to Juno in February 2016. You can read a tribute to her here.