Well, good news and bad news. Bad news first.

I spent an enormous amount of my time today trying to find this dog's owners. You would not believe the amount of phone calls I made, and the help that came pouring in from the community. And after all of that, there is NO WAY IN HELL this dog is going back to her original owners. Obviously they don't care enough to want to find her OR give her veterinary care.

She just got back from the vet. We found out why she growls every time we touch her tummy, and why she drinks so much, and why she's lost her appetite, AND why she's been vomiting. The vet is 95% sure that she has pyomtera. She's also 95% sure that the tumor is mammary cancer from not being spayed, and she's also pretty sure she's had puppies at some point. My roomate thinks maybe she came from a puppy mill or BYB that dumped her because she can't breed anymore. She is older than 7 or 8. The vet said that she just needs to be spayed to get rid of the pyometra, but I guess it's a little more complicated because it could cost up to $800.

The good news --- We called a lady who runs Canine Communications. She is going to do a little bit of sponsoring. She is going to pay for the rottie's X-rays tomorrow. She also gave us the number of a lady who can help us get her spayed for cheap, and then Canine Communications will reimburse us. There are some good people out there after all. We decided to name the dog HOPE.