The rescuer that was helping coordinate her capture was told that there was no room at the Barber house. Kris was willing to help catch the dog, but she couldn’t take her; all rooms were full! A few ladies showed up to see if there was a possibility to catch her without spooking her out into the road. This sweet dog barked at the approaching people but never left her spot of safety under the picnic table. Kris approached with a can of cat food that piqued her interest and prompted her to come close and wait for Kris to back up. Once she went back to the edge of the parking lot, the dog gobbled down the cat food. After a few minutes and sniffs of the air, the dog then approached the ladies to sniff them, as they all sat very still, never making eye contact. Fortunately, she did not seem to see any of the ladies as a threat. It wasn’t long before the dog started taking food out of the ladies’ hands, so Kris’s red slip lead was quickly dropped over her head, and she was caught!

She looked relatively young and after a quick visit to the vet for a microchip scan in the parking lot, it was discovered she did not have one. She did have a great personality and beautiful amber eyes and was excited to have people pay attention to her. She seemed very happy to be in Kris’s truck and not fending for herself any longer. As with most of the rescues that Kris had been a part of, it’s either the dog goes to animal control or home with Kris. You guessed it! She went to the Barber house! Hailey, Chuck and Kris talked about where she could stay. Every room was taken up with a rescue or sanctuary dog and there was no real way to see what her temperament would be with other dogs, so she was introduced to Gunther, a little pittie mix that had been rescued a few weeks prior. The plan was that they’d share a room.

Kris discovered pretty quickly that this sweet dog was not a fan of other dogs. She tolerated Gunther because he was confined to his crate when he was inside (he was a mischievous thief and destroyer of anything he found interesting!). She was never aggressive, but she did bark at him quite a bit. After a few tough weeks of them being roommates, Gunther was adopted, and she was quite content having a room of her own.

The appointment was made for her spay and Kris requested to have the large lump on her hip removed, thinking it was simply a lipoma. She thought it would help get her get adopted more easily without the softball sized mystery lump on her hip. Unfortunately, it was not a simple removal. The lump was an “infiltrative lipoma.” The vet that performed her spay and lumpectomy, said he had never seen a lipoma like that in his 40 years as a vet. A biopsy was sent out and she was referred to an oncologist for further follow up. The way the oncologist explained it, it is like an iceberg. The lump is a bit above the surface, but the unknown below the surface can grow into nerves, organs, bones – pretty much anywhere – that’s the “infiltrative” part. The vet removed some of it during the initial surgery but the tests (MRI for 3 sections of her body) would cost nearly five thousand dollars, just to see if there is anything that could be done. Kris and Chuck made the difficult decision to forego additional treatment and feed her a healthy diet, giving her lots of exercise and a loving place to call home while she is with them. Ultimately, infiltrative lipomas can cause premature death, unfortunately. However, vets have seen some of the dogs that were given a poor prognosis completely heal themselves.

Sunshine is a bundle of joy and lives every day to the fullest. She is the epitome of a happy dog and will live her life out as a sanctuary dog with RTTRS.