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Foster UPDATE: 11-01-2009  We are the original foster Mom & Dad of Sweet Pea Too. My opinion of why she hasn't been adopted is the fear of her heart murmur, keep on reading and have no fears.
I have her here at my home again and it's like she never left! I'm aware of her heart murmur, but she is as rambuncious and playful as any dog I have ever owned or fostered. She is as fast as the wind, loves to run, tumble, play tug of war with the other dogs...let's put it this way- if her heart murmur is affecting her quality of life, I'll eat a Milkbone! In fact, she needs to have an nice, big yard to run in & another dog to play with, that is just as fast and the same temperament. I believe that she would thrive in an obedience class, as she is very smart. The love the new family would give, combined with the obedience, running and playmate- wow, you would have one fine dog!
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Sweet Pea Too is the runt of a litter of puppies that we rescued along with their momma, Lilly.   Lilly is a fifty pound Treeing Walker Coonhound who has a wonderful temperment.  We're thinking these darlings are going to take right after her!  Sweet Pea Too has a heart murmer.  There is no predicting how this will affect her.  Not an unusual condition, many dogs live a long life with no effect but it is unpredicatable.  What is, however, fully predicatable, is that Sweet Pea Too is a doll that will bring joy to her new family.

Foster update 7/18/2009:
Sweet Pea has been living with me for the last week! She is a darling puppy who is just a complete love. She is excellent with my 3 cats and 3 other dogs. Very playful and sweet. She has a grade 5 heard murmur and the doctors predict that if this murmur does not improve then she will not live very long. Right now she has a life expetency of about 5-6 months. So I have taken her home to live with my pack, unless someone would like to adopt her knowing about her condition. Now being that she is so young her heart murmur could improve and she could end up living for years, but at this time we do not see any improvement! She is turely a great dog and already housetrained at 8 weeks! I have to give thanks to her great foster mom Maggie for that one! Sweet Pea can not be spayed due to her heart condition. If she improves at around 6 months we will spay her!

Foster update 8/7: She has been a wonderful puppy to foster.  She is having a great time with
our four other dogs.  It is funny because she looks just like our Bassett Hound Caesar but with long legs :).   She is fully kennel trained and goes in there for naps and night night.  We are working on the house training. She is doing a wonderful job with only a few accidents, but that is more our fault then hers. 

She has a wonderful disposition and is a very active and playful puppy!  She has really fallen in love with our bean bag chairs as you can see in the photos.  She loves her chewies as well!

We took the liberty of taking Sweet Pea to our vet at Lake Emma Animal Hospital ( Dr. John Dee, D.V.M.).  I want to acknowledge their generosity and help in her medical condition.   Dr. Dee felt she has a grade III heart murmur.  He also said that she did not appear to be exhibiting any symptoms of fatigue or coughing that is normally associated with a heart murmur but he could definitely hear it on exam.  He did not charge for the exam and provided us a reduced fee for the x-rays he said would assist in whether we should move forward with the echocardiogram.  We went ahead and got the x-rays completed.  Dr. Dee reviewed the x-rays along with his associate and they both concur she has an enlarged heart for her age that is also touching the sternum.  He felt that even though she was not having any symptoms that we should move forward with an Echocardiogram to fully diagnose the heart defect and what options there are for treatment.  Dr. Dee was helping us by contacting a local Dr. that performs the Echocardiograms.  They normally run about $500.

We are pleased that we have heard today from Dr. Dee that he was able to get the fee reduced to $150.00!  We were so excited to hear that.  She has an appointment on August 18th for the Echocardiogram!

We love fostering her and really hope that with all this information we can get her the treatment she may need and find her a great family that will adopt her!

 

According to www.dogbreedinfo.com, the Treeing Walker is a descendant of the English Foxhound, which Thomas Walker imported to Virginia in 1742. Sometime in the 1800's, a dog known as "Tennessee Lead," a stolen dog of unknown origin, was crossed into the Walker Hound. He was a powerful dog, excelling in game sense, drive and speed, and having a clear, short-chop mouth. The Treeing Walker was not recognized as its own breed until 1946. This direct lineage brings us this efficient hunter. This coonhound has retained the looks of its ancestors, the English Foxhound. An underlying sense of game coupled with untiring speed and manly drive makes this coonhound unstoppable. The coonhound lineage doesn't really stop at the Walker, for American hunters also employ other varieties as well. One such coonhound is known as the Running Walker. The Treeing Walker Coonhound is an efficient and reliable hunter of raccoons, squirrels, and possums. The Treeing Walker "trees" its prey, and can then sometimes virtually climb the tree to get at it. With a little training, however, it will merely bay its distinctive howl, telling the hunter that the prey has been cornered. The Treeing Coonhound is good with children and gets along with other dogs. Training is accomplished with little trouble, as these dogs are able to learn from example. They are primarily working and hunting dogs but will also make a great companion dog. Working, to the Treeing Walker Coonhound, is not work but a sport and diversion. They thrive on consistent and ample attention. High-strung but loving and eager to please, the Treeing Walker is intelligent, skilled and confident. Some say they are the best breed for coonhound field trials because of their speed, ability to locate quickly and good treeing ability. They are swift with a very good sense of smell and a distinctive howl. Socialize at a young age. They have a life expectancy of 12-13 years.